Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane says government has no alternative plan to resuscitate the economy and get the country out of debt besides obtaining the US$1.4 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking during a media briefing at Mulungushi International Conference Centre today, attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Musokotwane said getting the IMF bailout package is the practical thing to do in order to resuscitate the economy adding that this is a plan that Zambia has used before to get out of a debt crisis.
When asked by a journalist if the Ministry of Finance has a plan B in the event that Zambia does not secure the IMF deal, Musokotwane said this is a plan that has worked for many other countries therefore there is no reason why it will not work for Zambia.
“There is no plan B because this plan A is going to work. Please do remember that from 2016 to 2021, there was an attempt to go it alone, that plan did not deliver anything that is why we are still talking about the debt crisis today. You can see that with the process that we have already engaged in, the benefits are already visible even before we have concluded the process”, he said.
The Minister explained that the country must remain consistent on the reforms, continuative discipline in implementing the budget and avoid commercial borrowing to ensure that Zambia accesses the IMF loan.
He mentioned that the IMF is providing support to Zambia and its efforts to restructure the debt adding that Zambia expects to finalize the $1.4 billion bailout from the IMF by June this year.
