By Merlyn Mwanza
Finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane says Zambia’s debt (including the one contracted by quasi government institutions) currently stands at US$ 14.48 billion, with the economy expected to grow at just above 2 percent for 2021.
Presenting a ministerial statement on the state of the economy, Dr Musokotwane said most Zambians were now more poorer today than they were 10 years ago, owing to a number of challenges, including fiscal deficits, debt unsustainably and the volatile exchange rate among other matters. He said the country’s economy contracted by 2.8 percent in 2020 on account of the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and excessive government borrowing by the previous administration.
He said the country’s external debt plus those owed by quasi government institutions whose debts government had guaranteed to pay, stood at US$14.48 billion, and would be back again to give the total debt situation when the local debt was factored in.
However, Dr Musokotwane said there were expected domestic improvements in the economy on account that some external debt servicing had been suspended.
But asked by Lunte member of parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya to state the correct position as the US$ 12 billion (minus quasi institutions debt) debt was the one given by the PF, but President Hakainde Hichilema recently claimed the debt stood at $20 billion, Dr Musokotwane insisted that he would be back to issue another statement soon.
And in announcing the release of K249 million constituency development fund to all the constituencies, Nkombo said this should have been done much earlier by the former PF administration.
