Tag: world bank

    Statement of Socialist Party on Zambia’s shrinking economy

    Statement of Socialist Party on Zambia’s shrinking economy

    September 4, 2020 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    As we have consistently been warning, our country’s economy has collapsed.

    And one didn’t need to be an economic expert to foresee the consequences of the irrational path that was being pursued by our rulers – unbridled borrowing and irrational expenditure.

    All the advice given to them – even by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and their other multilateral and bilateral partners – was ignored and arrogantly scoffed at.

    Today they are like soaked chickens – humbled by the reality they can’t ignore or conceal and do not know how to resolve.

    We are clearly headed for very serious economic challenges. Our economy is shrinking at a frightening rate.

    Next year’s budget has been reduced by 47 per cent. This means that the 2021 budget will only be K56,180 bn. The government’s wage bill was K25,601bn at the beginning of this year. And debt repayment was K33.726bn. This gives us a total of K59,327bn – which is K3,149bn more than our 2021 budget.

    This means that without very serious down sizing, retrenchments or massive
    international assistance, government will only barely manage to service the debt and pay salaries in 2021 and nothing else.

    What does this mean for the Zambian people, especially the poor? More suffering, more agony, more poverty, more despair!

    Zambians have no sensible alternative but revolutionary change if they have to harbour any hope of a reversal of fortunes. And only a revolutionary party – the Socialist Party – with a revolutionary programme can deliver the nation out of this hell.

    Issued by Fred M’membe, President of the Socialist Party

    Mwika Royal Village, Chinsali

    September 4, 2020

    Statement of the Socialist Party on the hiring of Lazard to advise government on debt restructuring

    Statement of the Socialist Party on the hiring of Lazard to advise government on debt restructuring

    May 30, 2020 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    After arrogantly failing to listen to the free advice of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and many others, including ourselves, to rationalise its borrowings and infrastructure projects, today this government has turned to Lazard, to lizards to advise on restructuring its $11bn foreign debts that have threatened to become Africa’s first sovereign default during the coronavirus pandemic.
    The investment bank was hired on a $5m contract to advise on “liability management” of the country’s debt.

    Zambia is facing $1.5bn of debt payments this year, more than its official international reserves as of January. Fitch Ratings cut Zambia’s credit rating to double C in April and said that default was “probable”.

    Clearly, this government is in very serious trouble. It has failed to manage its debt. It has borrowed beyond what it can manage.
    They are now looking for a scapegoat in Lazard. Tomorrow they will say, ‘We were advised by most competent institution.’

    But we all know the right thing to do; we all knew they could not sustain the debt this government was accumulating from the most expensive sources. We are now looking for some institution to tell us what to do – at a fee of $ 5 million – even though they know already what is required.

    Going to seek advise from Lazard, from lizards is also an indication that they consider our institutions – our Ministry of Finance, our central bank, our Ministry of National Planning, our legal ministry – not competent enough to provide correct advice. It is a vote of no confidence in those managing these institutions. This is an admission that as a political party, as a government they are not competent enough to manage our country’s economy.

    Are they telling us that all our institutions – universities, research institutions, professional firms – are not competent enough to help manage this debt?

    But how different is Lazard’s advice going to be from what has already been given locally and internationally? Even the institutions that we already know their purpose is to serve the interests of the powerful nations that dominate them – the IMF and the World Bank – gave them advise, right or wrong, but they overlooked it.

    So now that they are in deep trouble they want to look for messiah, a saviour in Lazard! This government is going to pay Lazard $ 5 million to tell them what they already know!

    This is what happens when leaders stop listening to advice and only listen to their own inner demons. They used to arrogantly brag that their government will not stop borrowing! Can they say that today?

    We are reminded in Proverbs 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”

    Issued by Fred M’membe on behalf of the Politburo of the Socialist Party

    Garden Compound, Lusaka