LUSAKA, Aug. 29 — Zambia’s successful debt restructuring has substantially eased external debt-service pressures, the Zambian government has said. Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa said in a statement on Friday that the restructuring has also helped restore macroeconomic stability and free up resources for social protection, infrastructure and other development priorities.
Before the restructuring, nearly three-quarters of collected domestic revenue was needed to service external debt, leaving limited resources for public-sector salaries and other government expenditures, Nkulukusa said.
“Debt restructuring was therefore not optional. It was essential to restore sustainability, protect essential public services and prevent the debt burden from suffocating the economy,” he added.
Nkulukusa pointed out that the combination of debt restructuring and economic reforms has also contributed to the stabilization of the local currency, a return of inflation to single-digit levels and average economic growth of about 4 percent over the past five years.
Zambia defaulted on its external debt in 2020 and requested debt treatment under the G20 Common Framework in 2021. In 2023, Zambia reached an agreement with its official bilateral creditors on comprehensive debt treatment, and the country subsequently completed the restructuring of its Eurobonds in 2024.(Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
