Zambia has officially requested a new programme with the International Monetary Fund, and a team from the lender is expected to visit the country between February 25 and March 4, the country’s treasury secretary told Reuters on Wednesday.
According to Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa, if discussions progress smoothly, Zambia expects to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF in May.
“After the staff-level agreement, we will then have to wait for the IMF board’s approval and that will determine when actual implementation of the programme can begin,” he said.
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Zambia’s previous IMF programme ended in January and involved total disbursements of $1.7 billion, which helped support the country as it worked through a lengthy debt restructuring process.
The request for a new programme comes ahead of Zambia’s national elections scheduled for August, when President Hakainde Hichilema will be seeking re-election.
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Image Credit: CNBC Africa
