By Patson Chilemba
Former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande says the Americans should be seen to be helping Zambia by talking directly to the Chinese on the country’s debt crisis, rather than talking to them over the window that they are the ones delaying debt talks
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Magande said Zambia should count itself lucky that one the creditors was a country they knew, China, saying a breakthrough with them could also open other doors for the others to come on board.
“And that is why even now you can see, the Americans come here and who talked about China while they were here? This Treasury Secretary (Janet) Yellen, although I didn’t see it but somebody said she actually mentioned it at one point to say because China is the one who is delaying this, or it’s somebody who went to Davos who mentioned that. Now there is no point coming to us to talk about China. Everybody knows that,” Magande said. “If these people want to help us let them go and talk to the Chinese, since they understand each other. Two thirds of the American Treasury Bills, it’s with China. So China has actually quite a lot of influence on America because of the credit that they have with the American government. So we should be asking them to go and see the Chinese to plead on our behalf instead of them talking outside the window and saying China is the one who is delaying this. Have they made an effort to talk to them?”
But several stakeholders have called on President Hichilema to take a trip to China and engage that country’s President and government. However, Magande said he did not know the UPND administration’s foreign policy to suggest who they should befriend.
“I deal with money and not with relationships … What I have been discussing here are money matters that if I owe you money and I find that there is a problem that I can’t approach you about it might as well be better I go and approach Mr Mulenga to say ‘can you please talk to your friend on my behalf.’ That is done even at personal level,” said Magande.
Magande said the debt crisis now was different from the debt situation he and president Levy Mwanawasa handled, as the debt the country had right now was from private individuals as opposed to the US$7 billion that was owed to governments or “parastatals” like the IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank and others negotiated by Mwanawasa.
He said the money the PF administration borrowed was from private individuals, saying that was why the President was saying that he was waiting for the creditors to agree when to talk, saying most likely he did not even know most of the creditors on account of his busy schedule.
“And that is not a fault, you can’t blame him. It’s because these could be hundreds of people who were lending us K2, K3 and so on. So to organise now those people after they have discovered that these people now owe us, that’s why they said let’s form a committee of us the creditors so that we don’t go to Zambia as individuals. So there is a credit committee of the creditors. The difficulty now is to get those creditors to agree on what to do with your debt,” Magande said. “Now to get somebody to make sure that he sits and brings all those ideas in one place it takes time. So it’s completely different. That’s why even the IMF they can’t do anything now. That is not their money. Those are not their nkongoles and that is why they are saying ‘we hope the creditors can agree quickly.’ They are just hoping because one of the individuals says I want my money this year.”
Magande said the state President Hichilema was in was that of just hoping that the credit committee would meet, and that in the same credit committee there are countries like China, which also happens to be the biggest lender to Zambia.
“But then for China to decide to forgive us the money we have to go to them and say by the way this money it was a good idea you gave us for putting up whatever it is we are unable to pay so can you forgive us. Now China is a country and the others are individuals. You now have to get China which is a country to sit down with individuals,” said Magande. “To begin with if that individual doesn’t come from a country which is friendly to China he will not sit with the Chinese.”
