Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Zambia

Chiluba calls for debt cancellation

    JOHANNESBURG

    Zambian President Frederick Chiluba on Monday urged his country’s creditors to cancel Zambia’ US $7 billion external debt, warning that “unless this is done all our efforts and resources will be dissipated in unsustainable debt repayments and deprivation”, news reports said.

    Addressing the three-day 12th Consultative Group (CG) meeting in the capital, Lusaka, attended by representatives from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and a number of donor countries, Chiluba said: “In order to consolidate the gains we have made, and will make from economic growth strategies, the heavy indebtedness, which is a yoke on our efforts, needs to be addressed.”

    Chiluba said since 1991, when his Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) took power, Zambia has undertaken perhaps the most comprehensive economic and structural reforms in the region. “Beyond all precedent in the region, we have decontrolled prices and interest rates, removed all subsidies, removed exchange controls and all restrictions on imports and exports and lowered tariffs significantly.” He added that these measures have brought about many changes.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join