• It’s a positive laudable achievement.
• Zambia can finally begin to shake off the ugly reputation of being a credit defaulter.
• Zambia will not struggle to service its re-structured debts which are mostly dollar denominated.

Ndola & District Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the recently clinched International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal will help attract the much needed capital by de-risking Zambia’s credit profile.
Chamber President Paul Chisunka told Money FM News that this will give the country’s public and private sectors unprecedented access to regional and global funds at affordable medium to long term rates.
Mr. Chisunka stated that the deal will also be constructively useful because besides boosting Zambia’s international reserves, it will help the country to achieve steadiness in its balance of payments, stabilize the Kwacha and extend its gains against the US Dollar.
“It’s a positive laudable achievement because Zambia can finally begin to shake off the ugly reputation of being a credit defaulter which then derails our development agenda and causes untold suffering to the masses because we become a pariah and cannot access affordable finances for our development.”
“This means that all things being equal and going forward Zambia will not struggle to service its re-structured debts which are mostly dollar denominated. The other benefit is that with a strong stable Kwacha, prices of various goods and services will begin to reduce due to lower costs of imported production inputs and thus the cost of living for ordinary Zambians will become more manageable,” Mr. Chisunka said.
He added that Zambia needed the IMF bailout because the country is part of a global system that requires enormous liquidity in order to provide for all sections of society.
Mr. Chisunka noted that the country remains undercapitalized, thereby making it very difficult to embark on significant industrial investments and infrastructural projects that can help to break poverty by increasing availability of sustainable jobs and business opportunities, hence the IMF deal is timely.
“It is however imperative that riding on the success of the IMF Deal, we should all rally behind the government and focus on accelerating the pace of reforms in the public and private sectors so that we can consolidate the gains and work towards eliminating all currents of superficial resistance such as excessive bureaucracy, corruption, poor service delivery, and high regulatory and statutory costs which are disastrous to trade, industry, and job creation.”
“We must now adjust ourselves to the realities on the ground. We all have to make Zambia a prosperous country by employing Zambians, giving business to Zambians, buying Zambian goods and services, and by encouraging foreign investors to partner with Zambians so that a substantial amount of the capital inflows and profits can be retained domestically for maximum socio-economic impact,” he stated.
He advised government to remain steadfast and resilient in exercising the best tenets of good governance, free markets, upholding the rule of law, and prudent fiscal discipline.