CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND HIS TEAM
“However,
Government must disclose details of the “bold and am bitious economic reforms” it has pledged to the IMF, to implement”
The IMF team reached a staff-level agreement with the Zambian authorities on a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for 2022-2025 to help restore macro-economic sta bility and provide the founda tion for an inclusive economic recovery.
The former ruling party, the Patriotic Front Government chased this agreement under various Ministers of Finance; Felix Mutati, Margaret Mwanakatwe and Bwalya Ngandu, but to no avail.
So congratulations to Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane and his team as this is a remark able achievement.
However, this agreement is based on the government’s commitment to the IMF to undertake bold and ambitious economic reforms.
Further, the staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Management and Executive Board approval and receipt of the necessary financing assurances.
Government must disclose the details of the commitment the team has made to make “bold and ambitious economic reforms.”
This is an area of backroom agreements and conditional ities that make Governments implement with the IMF, re forms that may be hostile to the social and economic-well being of the country.
And it’s this part that is nev er publicly disclosed to the citizenry.
Will Government remove subsidies that may cause fuel and electricity tariffs to go up? Will they implement both an employment and a wage freeze for public service workers?
Will Government be made to implement strong austeri ty measures in the next three years?
Will it be forced to
restructure and privatise state- owned entities such as Zesco? Will Government be made to wabandon subsidies to the agriculture sector such as scale-down the Farmer Input Suppirt Programme (FISP) Programme? Will Social Cash Transfer to the poor be affected?
How will Government deal with the current public debt?
How will Government deal with both KCM and Mopani Mines? And the mining policy in general?
This is the part that Government must make full disclosure and inspire honest discussions.
So before Government makes these disclosures, com mitments and assurances to the IMF Executive Board, it is imperative that the undertak ing and details made to em bark on “bold and ambitious economic reforms” are made public.
This helps us remove sus picions, myths and mysteries around the IMF Programme.
Besides, it’s our lives as a nation that will be affected by the “bold and ambitious” decisions.
Make the details public.