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Zambia is confident of reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a one-year extension of its economic reform programme before the end of 2025, Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has said.
Musokotwane expressed optimism that discussions with the Fund were progressing smoothly, buoyed by Zambia’s strong performance under the current three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, which is set to conclude this year.
“We are very confident that we will be able to reach a deal by the end of the year,” Dr Musokotwane said in an interview with CGTN Africa.
“This comes on the back of the track record we have had implementing a programme together with the IMF for the past three years. At every point when it came to testing, we were found to be performers,” he said.
He explained that the proposed one-year extension would help anchor economic stability and maintain investor confidence as Zambia consolidates gains from its debt restructuring.
“Even though we are, thank God, coming out of the debt crisis, we feel that to anchor the economy favourably and securely—especially in a turbulent global environment—the presence of a programme with the IMF will help solidify confidence and stability,” he said.
Musokotwane noted that Zambia’s turnaround began with acknowledging its debt crisis four years ago and working with international partners to restructure its obligations—a process he said had been largely completed.
“The most important step was admitting that we had a debt crisis and needed to deal with it. Having done that, our focus now is shifting from simply resolving the debt problem to implementing measures that make a difference to ordinary Zambians,” he said.
Musokotwane outlined the government’s next priorities as stabilising the economy, attracting investment, creating jobs, and improving livelihoods through infrastructure and human capital development.
“Investment is at the heart of our strategy. It is what is driving us towards achieving our target of three million tonnes of copper output. We are also seeing increased investments in infrastructure, such as roads, where we have signed Public-Private Partnership projects worth close to US$2 billion over the past three years,” Musokotwane said.
The Minister added that government reforms aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability, reducing regulatory barriers, and combating corruption had helped position Zambia as a key player in global supply chains for critical minerals.
“We are a country sitting on resources the world needs—especially critical minerals—and that has generated long-term investor interest. We are confident that this is sustainable,” he said.
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