ZAMBIA, IMF TALKS REACH ‘NUMERICAL’ STAGE
GOVERNMENT is now exchanging numbers with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the on-going virtual meetings for an Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
Once this stage is done, Government and the IMF would then move to discuss policy issues during the meetings, says Finance Minister, Bwalya Ng’andu.
The on-going virtual meetings started about 10 days ago and would end on March 3, this year.
“We are at the numbers stage right now. Once the numbers are done then we will get into the policy issue but we are at the numbers stage. That is the stage we are at. “We are on, we are discussing. At this stage, it is a stage of looking and sharing numbers,” Dr Ng’andu said in an exclusive interview.
The Minister said Government was confident that it was exchanging useful information with the IMF.
“We are discussing. They are going on accordingly, I mean we have gone this far because there is expectation that we are exchanging useful information between us, for us to reach an agreement of some sort.
“We know what they want, they know what we want, and it is just a question of bridging the gap between us through the sharing of information,” Dr Ng’andu said.
Under the ECF, member countries agree to implement a set of policies that will help them make progress towards a stable and sustainable macroeconomic position over the medium term.
On January 22 this year, Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba said the meeting comes after a request by Government last November for a formal programme and a visit by an IMF team in December.
Mr Yamba said that the programme discussions would centre on the Government’s objectives to attain fiscal and debt sustainability and on key pillars in the country’s economic recovery programme.
“In line with the need to stabilize the economy and gain traction on its reform agenda, the government as espoused in the economic recovery program, 2020-2023, and prior cabinet approvals has prioritized having a formal program with the IMF,” he said.
The talks, he said, would also focus on the need to scale up social protection programs and undertake the much-needed reforms in the agriculture and energy sectors.