Vol 65 No 6 | ZAMBIA Can mega discovery end debt impasse? 14th March 2024 Bad management and lack of accountability – not the lack of new finds – have held back the mining business After its two year-long attempt to restructure US$4 billion in dollar bonds fell apart last November, President Hakainde Hichilema's government has been turning to its mining industry to...
Vol 65 No 1 | ZAMBIAAFRICA IN 2024 Public's patience is running short 4th January 2024 Election promises remain unfulfilled, and unresolved big issues like debt and mining policy raise questions about ruling party competence Despite surging into government on a wave of popular relief at the departure of President Edgar Lungu's haphazard, venal government in August 2021, Zambians still await, with dwindling...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 24 | ZAMBIA Debt deal teeters on the brink of collapse 29th November 2023 G20 creditor committee rejects revised Zambia agreement, potentially deterring other countries from applying and putting the relief programme at risk The threats to Zambia's painstakingly agreed debt restructuring deal could be the last nail in the coffin on the Group of 20's Common Framework debt relief programme. READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 14 | ZAMBIA Hichilema hails 'mission impossible' deal 6th July 2023 Lusaka's debt-restructuring brokered by France's Emmanuel Macron resonated more than his summit to redraw the global finance system A deal to restructure US$6.3 billion of Zambia's foreign debt gives President Hakainde Hichilema much of what he was looking for – a resolution after almost two years... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 4 | BOTSWANAZAMBIAZIMBABWE A bridge 100 metres too far 16th February 2023 Zimbabwe failed to invest in a key trade link over the Zambezi and now that truckers are using it to avoid the country altogether, Harare wants back in Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi is happy to call himself one of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa few friends abroad. Masisi has been outspoken in calling for western sanctions on...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 3 | ZAMBIACHINAUNITED STATES East-West blame game on debt heats up 24th January 2023 IMF chief Georgieva and US Treasury secretary Yellen call for creditors to speed up key talks on Lusaka's finances Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema urged creditors on 23 January to accelerate negotiations to restructure some US$13 billion of the country's $17bn foreign debt after meeting with Kristalina Georgieva,... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 2 | ZAMBIAAFRICA IN 2023 Hichilema faces critical delivery test 18th January 2023 Belts are tightening and scepticism is growing about the government's ability to fulfil its election pledges At the present rate of progress President Hakainde Hichilema and his United Party for National Development (UPND) – elected in a landslide by voters fed up with six...
Vol 63 No 23 | ZAMBIA Loans before haircuts 17th November 2022 Finalising a US$1.3 billion loan with the International Monetary Fund in September was the easy part of Zambia's bid to avoid insolvency, according to analysts and officials from...
Vol 63 No 19 | ZAMBIA Fears of pain in prospect 22nd September 2022 Pundits and public alike are waking up to the economic sacrifices entailed in the US$1.3 billion IMF rescue package agreed at the beginning of the month amid concern...
Vol 63 No 18 | ZAMBIA Debt deal boosts kwacha 8th September 2022 It was months in the making, but Zambia's $1.3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund has made an instant impact. The kwacha currency gained more than 3%...