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The Civil Society Organisation (CSO) 2024, Zambia Alliance has urged the government to complete the debt restructuring process with transparency, shift away from unsustainable debt and prioritize climate resilience and pro-poor spending.
The Alliance claimed that as at the end of 2024, Zambia’s public and publicly guaranteed debt stood at a staggering US$25.03 billion, or 97.24 percent of the GDP.
CSO Debt Alliance Chairperson, Father Daniel Mutale, made the call during the 2025 National Debt Indaba in Lusaka on Thursday held at Radisson Blu Hotel under the theme: “Zambia’s debt status post-International Monetary Fund extended credit facility support/an analytical assessment of the g20 common framework.”
Mutale said while this reflected a nominal reduction from US$31.2 billion at the end of 2023, the rising debt-to-GDP ratio told a sobering story, one of declining national income and economic vulnerability.
“Our external debt now stands at US$16.8 billion, domestic debt at US$8.2 billion, and domestic arrears at US$3.7 billion, owed to suppliers including Independent Power Producers and fuel suppliers,” he highlighted.
He said the increasing domestic borrowing—up 76.5 percent since 2020, risks crowding out the private sector, stifling innovation, and weakening our already struggling economy.
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Mutale stated that despite some progress, including the successful restructuring of bilateral and bond debt, negotiations with certain commercial creditors remained unresolved.
“Until all parts of this debt puzzle are addressed, we remain in a state of fragility, unable to fully focus on recovery or development,” he warned.
To Parliament, Mutale called on the house to use its oversight power to curb fiscal indiscipline, particularly in the run-up to the 2026 elections.
To Development Partners, he argued that there was need to rethink the frameworks that kept Zambia and others perpetually indebted
“Zambia’s debt story is still being written. But it must not end in despair. With the right reforms, the right voices at the table, and the courage to demand justice, economics and reparative, we can rewrite this story,” he said.
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