Zambia has met most of the requirements to qualify for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) relief programme that could slash its $6,8-billion debt by more than half, an IMF official announced on Thursday.
A joint IMF and World Bank mission to assess Zambia’s economic performance and make a recommendation on partial debt cancellation said Zambia’s economy has greatly improved in recent years.
”Information received indicates that all triggers relating to poverty reduction and social sectors have been met,” the IMF’s representative in Zambia, Joseph Kakoza, said in a statement.
Zambia is one of several African countries currently implementing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, which seeks to provide debt relief to poor nations that adhere to IMF conditions.
The IMF and World Bank board are expected to make a final decision next month on whether Zambia will qualify for about $3,8-billion of its $6,8-billion debt to be written off.
”IMF and World Bank staff will finalise the overall evaluation of Zambia’s performance,” Kakoza said after the joint IMF and World Bank mission concluded its assessment.
”Zambia is at last turning a corner towards attaining economic growth,” he added.
Zambia, where three-quarters of the 11-million population live below the World Bank poverty threshold of $1 a day, owes international creditors more than $6,8-billion.
Zambia was suspended from the World Bank and IMF programmes after it overspent its 2003 national budget by 610-billion kwacha (about $130-million), notably giving wage hikes to public workers.
But last year it launched a series of belt-tightening measures, including a freeze on wage hikes and higher income-tax rates. — Sapa-AFP