• Outcomes of the meeting between the MoF and IMF will solely depend on the Funds evaluation of Zambia’s fiscal performance.
• For the IMF to grant Zambia the much needed bailout package, the organization will have to set perimeters arising from the fiscal control.
• IMF is evaluating Zambia’s fiscal performance for the past one year from the last engagement with the ministry of finance officials.

An Economist says the outcomes of the meetings between the Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will solely depend on the Funds evaluation of Zambia’s fiscal performance.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Mambo Hamaundu explained that for the IMF to grant Zambia the much needed bailout package, the organization will have to set perimeters arising from the fiscal control of the nation, in terms of how the country is adhering to the national budget and what measures have been put in place to enhance the revenue basket.
Mr Hamaundu added that the IMF is evaluating Zambia’s fiscal performance for the past one year from the last engagement with the ministry of finance officials.
“Before the package is given to Zambia, the Organization wants to ascertain if the country has the capacity to pay back the loan,” Mr Hamaundu said.
Zambia and the IMF have been holding virtual meetings from the 11 of February 2021 and are scheduled to be concluded on the 13th of March 2021, over the need for Zambia to be granted the IMF package.
And Mr Hamaundu further commended the move taken by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to increase the Monetary Policy Rate (MPC) in a quest to mitigate inflationary pressures.
He however said the Central Bank alone cannot lead to the drop in the inflation rate, but that there is need to look at other factors contributing to the increase in inflation.
“The high rate of inflation is being necessitated by the depreciating Kwacha due to high debt levels, hence increasing the monetary policy rate will not help the Kwacha to stabilize against major convertible currencies,” Mr Hamaundu explained.
Mr Hamaundu lamented that the continued increase in the inflation rate is causing a lot of misery in the lives of majority vulnerable Zambians through the high cost of goods and services on the market.