Melo News | Friday, April 5, 2024 | Lusaka
Zambia’s Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, has made it clear that the payment to Lazard Feres for debt advisory services will only amount to around $6 million, contrary to reports claiming it had escalated to $45 million.
During an appearance on Phoenix FM’s Let the People Talk Program, Dr. Musokotwane emphasized that the $45 million mentioned in the debt restructuring agreement is a standard consent fee to the creditors, not the actual amount Zambia will be paying.
Dr. Musokotwane highlighted that without the debt restructuring, Zambia would have been faced with a staggering $5 billion debt payment this year alone, a figure that would have been unsustainable given the country’s national budget of $7.5 billion, potentially leading to economic collapse.
Furthermore, he revealed that the creditors turned down the proposal to completely write off Zambia’s debt, instead agreeing to extend the repayment period to up to 30 years with more manageable conditions that the country can handle.
In addition, Dr. Musokotwane pointed out that Zambia’s mining tax system remains relatively high, offering no tax incentives to mine owners when compared to other mining nations such as South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
