By OLIVER SAMBOKO
KABUSHI Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo has demanded that the IMF should be candid enough and disclose what exactly is contained in the bailout deal given to Zambia.
In a letter delivered to IMF Resident Representative, Preya Sharma, at the IMF Country Office and copied to Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and Secretary to the Treasury Mr. Felix Nkulukusa, Mr Lusambo demanded full disclosure of the Staff Level Agreement that Zambia recently reached with the Fund so that the Zambians can know.
He said attempts to get the government to release the full contents of this agreement have failed.
“It now remains our solemn duty to push the IMF Country Office in Lusaka to immediately cause to be published the Staff Level Agreement entered into with the Zambian government. This should be done before the IMF Board convenes to approve the agreement,” he said.
He also asked the IMF Board not to proceed to approve the agreement until full disclosure is obtained.
Mr Lusambo explained that on December 6, 2021, Government and the International Monetary Fund announced that they had reached a staff-level agreement on a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for 2022-2025 to help restore macroeconomic stability and provide the foundation for an inclusive economic recovery.
He said the Extended Credit Facility is in the amount of about $1.4 billion, and according to the IMF, is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and foster higher, more resilient, and inclusive growth.
Mr Lusambo said the IMF deal is a matter of concern because Government has not taken time to fully engage the Zambians on the true contents of this Staff Level Agreement that it has entered into with the Fund.
He said in past economic programmes with the Fund, authorities through the Ministers of Finance were asked to submit a Letter of Intent to Washington D.C stating the country’s level of commitments.
He explained that the letters were published on the IMF website for all to see and scrutinize but this not the case in the latest program but instead, the IMF in its own version of reforms does not demand for any Letters of Intents anymore.
“The Fund through the Country Office and the Mission Teams merely prescribes a set of conditions for countries to sign documents called Staff Level Agreements. Once they are signed, then the Management and the Board in Washington merely performs a formality by officially approving these Staff Level Agreements,” he said.
“With everything that has been said and the supersonic speed at which the New Dawn administration is moving to restructure state institutions, it has become imperative that we call on the IMF to release the Staff Level Agreement it entered into with the Zambian government in December,” Mr Lusambo said.
Mr Lusambo said there is need for the IMF to be transparent through a full disclosure when engaging sovereign nations on matters that will impact directly on the lives of its people.
“The hypocrisy with which the IMF approaches engagements with countries like Zambia should come to an end. The fund should be reminded that Zambians never voted for them in the August elections,” said Mr Lusambo.
He said the UPND manifesto which was the basis of the social contract with the Zambian people did not promise harsh conditions for getting an IMF programme and President Hichilema never said he will relinquish the country’s economic sovereignty to the boys and girls from Washington.
“He told Zambians that he was a good economic manager who will fix the economy. President Hichilema told us he will use his economic management skills to engage all our creditors and secure debt restructuring in the first 30 days of his tenure. He never said he would run to Washington to help him talk to our creditors,” Mr Lusambo said.
