Africa-Press – Zambia. Zambia’s Socialist Party President, Dr. Fred M’membe, has released a post on his Facebook page addressing the free fall of the country’s currency, the Kwacha. In the post, Dr. M’membe expressed his concerns over the current situation, stating that it is time for the government to address serious matters rather than engaging in endless politicking.
“It will be interesting to watch the monetary policy briefing on Wednesday and hope journalists will ask relevant questions such as, ‘what is the book value of unfulfilled forex demand?’” Dr. M’membe said. He went on to point out that the Bank of Zambia has a daily “pipeline” of remittances that customers have placed but cannot be executed due to supply constraints. This, he believes, is a cause for concern.
Dr. M’membe also urged journalists to inquire about the country’s external debt arrears, asking, “How much have external debt arrears accumulated to both interest and principal on debt stand still/unserviced? What is the external due date? What’s the reserve position? How much forex has been pumped in as market support by the Bank of Zambia?”
He further stated that it is important to understand what multi/bilateral debts the country is servicing and how much they are per annum. In addition, he questioned how much of the total government securities debt constitutes foreign portfolio investors in value and percentage terms, and how much forex reserves the country is currently holding. Dr. M’membe also expressed concerns about the risk of foreign investors pulling out upon maturity.
“Contrast this with how much forex reserves we are holding at the moment. And, should foreign investors pull out upon maturity, how much maturity risk are we carrying?” Dr. M’membe asked.
Dr. M’membe believes that it is the government’s responsibility to address these serious matters and communicate them to the nation. “These are serious matters that the government should be addressing and communicating to the nation rather than just carrying on with endless politicking,” he stated.
He also called on the Bank of Zambia to provide an indicative GDP number for 2023 given the measures they have undertaken, and also taking into account the stalled debt restructuring exercise. “The Ministry of Finance announced a 4.1 per cent growth. Does this still hold? Our view is that the revised number should be around 2.5 to 3 per cent,” he said.
Dr. M’membe’s statement highlighted the need for transparency and accountability from the government and the central bank in what he sees as these challenging times. He has urged journalists to ask the right questions and demand answers from those in power. It remains to be seen how the government will respond to these concerns, but Dr. M’membe’s statement is an important reminder that the issues facing Zambia are too important to be ignored.
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