Zambia has no backup plan should IMF deal fail – Haabazoka – as think tank says IMF and US should not paint China black over Zambia’s debt

Zambia has no contingent plans should the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal collapse and the results of the failure of the deal would be disastrous, former Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) president Dr Lubinda Haabazoka has said.

Dr Haabazoka said the plan Government has is only centred on the IMF bailout and that achieving the deal would give the new dawn administration the credibility which they have been yearning for should the debt restructuring under the Common Framework come to fruition.

Dr Haabazoka said the IMF and the US had taken an aggressive approach towards China which was very disturbing at the moment.

He said it was not possible for the country to achieve debt restructuring without the help of China but the aggressive role by the west would have a negative impact on this.

Dr Haabazoka said the Chinese were watching Zambia’s actions and that the best thing to do was for Zambia to engage the creditors separately in order to strike a balance.

And an International Think Tank Development Reimagined chief executive officer Hannah Rider has said the visit by the US Secretary to the Treasury Dr Janet Yellen and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Ms Kristalina Geogievia needed to acknowledge that China had been an all-weather friend to Zambia and its debt was not attached with any conditionalities.