Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release about US$188 million to Zambia even if its creditors are not able to reach an agreement on how to deal with the nation’s debt.
Zambia’s creditors have yet to settle on new payment terms for the country’s debts, thereby holding up payouts under a US$1.3 billion bailout deal with the Washington lender.
About a third of the country’s external debt, which is slightly around US$18 million, is owed to Chinese lenders, while private creditors, including international bondholders, are responsible for just over another third, with the rest split between other governments and multilateral lenders such as the IMF and its sister organisation the World Bank.
“What will be the point of punishing a country that is performing,” Dr Musokotwane, who is in Washing attending the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.
“Zambia has performed according to the programme, so it must not be punished. It must be rewarded” He said.
This is contained in a report published by Zambia Daily Mail.