Every Zambian Owes K37,000

The UPND is among those to continue its warnings on Government’s huge external debt, which will have to be repaid with interest by current and future generations. 

With total debt now standing at over US$33 billion the UPND calculates that Zambia’s 18 million citizens of all ages each owe around K37,000. 

According to the UPND’s national chair Mutale Nalumango, President Lungu’s PF Government have borrowed more in six years than UNIP and MMD borrowed in their 47 years in office. 

The UPND chair also noted that the debt translates to 122% of GDP when the “maximum recommended debt position for a resource based developing economy like Zambia is 40 per cent of GDP.” 

“From the onset, the PF shunned all reasonable advice on how to desist from excessive external public borrowing, claiming that they were within the threshold of their capacity to continue contracting debt,” Nalumango stated.  

“Whenever the UPND raised the red flag, the PF arrogantly dismissed our concerns and accused us and our party president, Mr Hichilema, of being bitter because we were not in government,” she continued. 

Nalumango’s comments come ahead of a possible debt default on Friday. The looming default comes as a result of a missed payment worth $42.5 million on one of the Eurobonds in October. The subsequent 30-day grace period comes to end on Friday.   

Nalumango rebuked claims by the PF that they were not properly advised on the matter. She pointed to advice offered up by UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and UPND MPs in Parliament, as well as from former Bank of Zambia governors and former ministers of finance and commerce.