When President Hakainde Hichilema made his first ministerial appointment last year, naming Situmbeko Musokotwane as minister of Finance, he knew the to do list was long – the national debt was unstainable, inflation was skyrocketing and inflation spiralling.
One year on, some progress has been made – such as debt restructuring – yet a lot more remains on the to-do list.
Dr Musokotwane needed little introduction at the Ministry of Finance when President Hichilema appointed him.
He previously served in the same position under fourth President Rupiah Banda when he had to navigate the country through the global financial crisis of 2008.
When he returned last year, he was met by another crisis with the world confronted by COVID-19 and Zambia becoming the first African nation to default on its debt after opting to bow out of a US$42.5 million eurobond payment in November 2020.
Simply put, he had his work cut out. He had to prepare a new budget only weeks. This is contained in a report published by Zambia Daily Mail.