ZAMBIA RISKS FACING HUGE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES ON ITS ECONOMY IF DEBT RESTRUCTURING FAILS

By Lukundo Nankamba

Economist Naylor Kopakopa says Zambia risks losing potential investors, lower national savings, tax hikes and spending cuts in an event that the country fails to restructure its debt.

Mr. Kopakopa tells Phoenix News that government’s projection of restructuring debt through the International Monetary Fund –IMF- bailout plan by end of June 2022 has proved impossible, a situation he says seems unattainable anytime soon.

He is concerned that the country has been

made to understand that when the IMF comes on board, it will be easy to convince creditors to have the debt restructured but what is prominently coming out is that the IMF will only come as a guarantor after creditors have agreed to restructure the debt.

Mr. Kopakopa has warned that debt restructuring is a huge undertaking for the economy and if it fails has huge negative consequences to the economy.

PHOENIX NEWS