By Ebi Kesiena
On Friday, Jubilant lawmakers in Lusaka sang Zambia’s national anthem after foreign lenders agreed to restructure part of the country’s debt, a move that entrepreneurs said brought hope for the crippled economy.
Relief was palpable in the capital Lusaka, where legislators in parliament belted out the national anthem in celebration.
In the city’s business district, groups of people shared copies of the morning newspapers, whose front pages were dominated by the debt story.
“It’s finally done,” the Zambia Daily Mail headlined, while the Times of Zambia led with “Bailout.”
According to the finance ministry figures, the country’s total debt at the end of 2022 amounted to $32.8 billion, including $18.6 billion owed to foreign lenders.
Part of the debt is held by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and multilateral development banks and is not covered by the restructuring.
A French official said the agreement covered $6.3 billion of bilateral debt, of which $4.1 billion is owed to China.
Private creditors, who are owed $6.8 billion, will have to “make a similar effort to what we have done,” the official said.
The restructuring deal came on Thursday at a two-day summit in Paris hosted by French President, Emmanuel Macron.
The victory is a major success for President Hakainde Hichilema, who swept to power in 2021 on the back of promises to revive the economy, root out graft and woo back scared investors.
“Unlike our colleagues that defaulted on repaying the debt we have secured a debt restructuring program,” said Garry Nkombo, an MP with Hichilema’s party.
Mooya Chilala, who runs a small business selling fertilizer and seeds, said he believed the deal would ease economic pressure on Zambia and improve living conditions for many people.
“This is something that the previous government attempted for years,” the 44-year-old father of four said. “It’s a good thing for the country.”
Zambia is Africa’s biggest copper producer, with a population of nearly 20 million people.
