Zürcher Nachrichten - Zambia's leader says turning around economy, despite empty coffers

EUR -
AED 3.849023
AFN 71.377105
ALL 98.713018
AMD 408.027217
ANG 1.888169
AOA 956.757159
ARS 1045.773778
AUD 1.6014
AWG 1.888888
AZN 1.790592
BAM 1.967019
BBD 2.115265
BDT 125.194055
BGN 1.966739
BHD 0.394852
BIF 3094.650597
BMD 1.047927
BND 1.412054
BOB 7.23929
BRL 6.078989
BSD 1.047676
BTN 88.429063
BWP 14.312633
BYN 3.428555
BYR 20539.367995
BZD 2.111745
CAD 1.460103
CDF 3008.598175
CHF 0.933105
CLF 0.03714
CLP 1024.7943
CNY 7.590121
CNH 7.588128
COP 4600.137266
CRC 533.643681
CUC 1.047927
CUP 27.770064
CVE 110.897513
CZK 25.354598
DJF 186.564084
DKK 7.458169
DOP 63.140125
DZD 140.654233
EGP 51.730874
ERN 15.718904
ETB 128.254711
FJD 2.385029
FKP 0.827147
GBP 0.832195
GEL 2.871238
GGP 0.827147
GHS 16.552408
GIP 0.827147
GMD 74.40309
GNF 9030.506244
GTQ 8.087126
GYD 219.180112
HKD 8.156576
HNL 26.475002
HRK 7.475134
HTG 137.524382
HUF 411.442327
IDR 16707.675541
ILS 3.888244
IMP 0.827147
INR 88.48302
IQD 1372.427756
IRR 44091.525793
ISK 146.374379
JEP 0.827147
JMD 166.901939
JOD 0.743084
JPY 161.400652
KES 135.673827
KGS 90.645742
KHR 4218.058045
KMF 495.144769
KPW 943.133847
KRW 1471.823666
KWD 0.322605
KYD 0.87308
KZT 523.103565
LAK 23012.252297
LBP 93817.093604
LKR 304.919132
LRD 189.098539
LSL 18.905328
LTL 3.094256
LVL 0.633881
LYD 5.116181
MAD 10.539412
MDL 19.10899
MGA 4889.889894
MKD 61.882955
MMK 3403.625819
MNT 3560.855681
MOP 8.399809
MRU 41.685758
MUR 49.095582
MVR 16.200603
MWK 1816.66148
MXN 21.338895
MYR 4.68214
MZN 66.973076
NAD 18.905328
NGN 1778.018417
NIO 38.549872
NOK 11.531786
NPR 141.486983
NZD 1.787143
OMR 0.40329
PAB 1.047676
PEN 3.972658
PGK 4.218058
PHP 61.763748
PKR 290.932457
PLN 4.335792
PYG 8178.647597
QAR 3.820792
RON 5.009395
RSD 117.676176
RUB 108.684182
RWF 1430.15702
SAR 3.934367
SBD 8.785353
SCR 14.355505
SDG 630.325516
SEK 11.490398
SGD 1.407224
SHP 0.827147
SLE 23.819044
SLL 21974.508901
SOS 598.71482
SRD 37.195159
STD 21689.971872
SVC 9.167286
SYP 2632.947722
SZL 18.898791
THB 36.095812
TJS 11.157437
TMT 3.667744
TND 3.328384
TOP 2.454353
TRY 36.229795
TTD 7.115584
TWD 34.145125
TZS 2786.794716
UAH 43.342206
UGX 3871.079021
USD 1.047927
UYU 44.554118
UZS 13440.659923
VES 48.790577
VND 26637.254851
VUV 124.411992
WST 2.925383
XAF 659.719767
XAG 0.033387
XAU 0.000385
XCD 2.832075
XDR 0.796945
XOF 659.719767
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.90314
ZAR 18.881343
ZMK 9432.600526
ZMW 28.941068
ZWL 337.432047
  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

Zambia's leader says turning around economy, despite empty coffers
Zambia's leader says turning around economy, despite empty coffers

Zambia's leader says turning around economy, despite empty coffers

President Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday said his new government was on the fast track to restoring Zambia's credibility and creditworthiness after inheriting an economy strapped for cash and crippled by debt.

Text size:

Previous governments had failed to unlock bailouts in tough talks with creditors and in 2020, Zambia became Africa's first country to default during the Covid pandemic.

But last December, Zambia clinched a $1.4-billion, three-year credit line from International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- a breakthrough that came just four months after Hichilema won historic elections at his sixth attempt.

He told AFP in Johannesburg that the deal was evidence that the copper-dependent economy was at last starting to turn around.

Inflation -- at 15.1 percent, according to official figures -- is now the lowest in nearly two years, and the local kwacha currency has appreciated for the first time in 17 years, he said.

Zambia's external debt swelled to $14.7 billion under his predecessor Edgar Lungu.

"The debt crisis is one that would have sent a new leadership into a crisis" but "we went on to manage that default quickly," he said.

He said previous governments had tried "for seven, 10 years" to enter into an agreement with the IMF, yet his team had concluded it within a few months.

It was about "credibility, seriousness, walking the talk, there's no question about that," he said.

- Tough turnaround -

Hichilema, a businessman turned politician, swept to power on promises to revive the economy, root out graft and woo back scared investors to Africa's second biggest copper producer.

"It was never going to be easy", he said, proudly chronicling some of his achievements this far. In the case of the kwacha, the currency gained 27 percent against the greenback in 2021, according to market data.

"But we know how tough it is. Some things will take slightly longer because the hole is deeper, but we have to dig ourselves out of that hole together," Hichilema cautioned.

He said he had also delivered on a promise to offer free primary and secondary school education.

Retired public workers, he said had not been paid for 20 years, received a first payout last month despite his government inheriting a "largely empty treasury."

Hichilema's surprise election has spurred hope for opposition parties elsewhere in Africa, where incumbents routinely rig elections.

Despite being a "new kid on the block... I'm learning at the same time, I'm sending a message to colleagues that we can do better," he said.

"As a continent, we can be defined differently. We shouldn't be defined by military coups" but by "constitutionalism, respect for human rights, democratic space, inclusion, not exclusion."

He was in South Africa on a private visit, as a guest at the launch of a book titled "Expensive Poverty" by Greg Mills. He also held talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday.

P.E.Steiner--NZN