By 
Zambia’s public and publicly guaranteed debt has surged to US$25.3 billion as of September 2024, the Ministry of Finance has disclosed, citing financial strain exacerbated by last year’s drought.
Speaking at a town hall forum on the 2024 budget performance and economic developments in Lusaka on Tuesday, Acting Permanent Secretary for Economic Management and Finance, Mulele Mulele, detailed the debt figures to stakeholders.
Mulele revealed that central government external debt rose by seven percent to US$15.33 billion by September 2024, up from $14.27 billion in September 2023.
“This increase was mainly driven by disbursements from multilateral creditors,” he explained.
Read more: Central bank moves to modernize Zambia’s payment infrastructure, with digital economy project
In contrast, publicly guaranteed external debt for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) decreased by two percent, from US$1.41 billion in 2023 to US$1.38 billion in 2024, due to debt service payments by guaranteed institutions.
Domestically, the government’s stock of securities grew by 2 percent to K225.3 billion as of September 2024, compared to K221.7 billion the previous year.
Mulele attributed the increase to securities issued to address budget deficits.
Despite the swelling debt, Mulele highlighted progress in Zambia’s debt restructuring efforts, noting that the country had secured 90 percent agreement in principle with its creditors.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments