IMF to discuss Zambia’s debt levels July 23

An International Monetary Fund team is expected in Zambia next week as part of consultations on the country’s debt levels, Treasury secretary general Fredson Yamba said on Monday.

Yamba said in Lusaka that the consultations would take place from July 23-28 and address Zambia’s debt, fiscal deficit and related issues though not its request for a new IMF aid programme.

Copper-producing Zambia has since come up with a new debt plan it hopes will clear the way for the IMF to agree a 1.3 billion dollar loan.

Zambia’s debt was sitting at 9.3 billion dollars, roughly a third of its gross domestic product, at the end of March.

In February, the IMF rejected Zambia’s borrowing plans, saying they risked making it harder for the southern African country to sustain its debt load.

“We want to look at our debt figures. They submitted a number of questions, which we have responded to. We are just verifying how the numbers are seated,” Yamba told Reuters.