By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane says Government has disclosed that the formation of the official creditor committee is likely to take place within few weeks to pave way for the commencement of the restructuring discussions.
Dr Musokotwane said the committee will be composed of Zambia’s bilateral creditors.
Dr Musokotwane said the bilateral creditors will analyse Zambia’s debt situation as illustrated in the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis.
He said the bilateral creditors will then provide indications of the debt relief that they would be willing to provide to Zambia and indicate that comparability of treatment which will be expected from commercial creditors.
“In the aftermath of the completion of the Debt Sustainability Analysis, the next important milestone is the formation of the Official Creditor Committee. The committee is composed of Zambia’s bilateral creditors.”
The bilateral creditors will analyse Zambia’s debt situation as illustrated in the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis. The bilateral creditors will then provide indications of the debt relief that they would be willing to provide to Zambia and indicate that comparability of treatment which will be expected from commercial creditors,” he said.
Dr Musokotwane said commercial creditors, though not participants in the official creditor committee will be invited to provide comparable relief to Zambia to ensure fair burden-sharing.
He said Government is anticipating that the Official Creditor Committee will be formed within the next few weeks paving the way for the commencement of the restructuring discussions.
“The discussions with the Official Creditor Committee on Zambia’s debt are expected to culminate in them providing financing assurances to the IMF Executive Board to enable the approval of a US$1.4 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Zambia,” he said.
