Zambia’s external debt increased from US$13 billion in 2021 to US$13.6 billion as of September 2022.
SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, the minister of finance and national planning, has ascribed the increase to loans taken out for ongoing projects.
According to Dr. MUSOKOTWANE, the projects are crucial to the nation and couldn’t be scrapped since Zambia would have lost because they were so far along.
The Minister was speaking this morning in Lusaka at a Town Hall Forum on Economic Performance and Budget Execution.
He disclosed that the loans in question are highly concessional, with interest rates below one percent, and were obtained from international organizations like the World Bank many years ago.
Dr. MUSOKOTWANE has since reaffirmed his prediction that the GDP will expand by 4% this year.
According to Dr. MUSOKOTWANE, the government aims to keep inflation between 6 and 8% in an effort to lower the cost of basic goods.
Regarding mining, the Finance Minister stated that the government aims to address problems with the underperforming Konkola Copper Mines and Mopani Copper Mines.
