Situmbeko Musokotwane - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

US Treasury official discusses cholera outbreak, debt with Zambia minister

THE U.S. Treasury Department's top international official spoke with Zambia's finance minister and discussed Zambia's ongoing debt restructuring and its response to a recent cholera outbreak, the U.S. Treasury Department said. Zambia faces a major cholera outbreak that has killed at least 333 people since October, with over 8,000 cumulative cholera cases during this period, according to the website of the U.S. Embassy in Zambia. U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh reiterated the U.S. government's "commitment to partner with Zambia" to end the outbreak when he spoke to Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, according to the Treasury…

Nov

2023

By KARIN STROHECKER

Zambia debt rework delaying impede key investments, hitting the ‘most vulnerable’ – FinMin

BUSINESS

LONG delays in Zambia's debt restructuring have hamstrung much-needed investments, curtailed economic growth, weighed on local financial markets and added to living costs for its people, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told Reuters. Zambia defaulted three years ago and is trying to rework its debt under the G20 Common Framework, a programme designed to ensure swift and smooth debt overhauls for low-income nations. But the process has been beset by delays, with Zambia suffering a major setback on Monday when official creditors rejected a preliminary deal agreed between the country and its bondholders to rework $3 billion over objections on whether it offered…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Zambia criticises debt restructuring delays – FT

BUSINESS

ZAMBIA'S finance minister criticised the prolonged nature of the country's debt restructuring talks, the Financial Times reported, after a Chinese call for the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to offer debt relief sparked concern about further delays. In an interview with the newspaper, Situmbeko Musokotwane said that "time is of the essence" to finish a restructuring of about $13 billion of external debt this year. Multilateral lenders, who don't usually take haircuts, should participate in debt relief for Zambia, a Chinese foreign ministry official said last month. This insistence was one of the main sticking points in talks, a…