Africa-Press – Zambia. Let’s develop a culture of recognizing and giving credit where it’s due.A culture of honoring distinguished citizens who have exceptionally contributed to this country while they are still alive unlike waiting for national mourning.
I have in mind Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, currently serving in Zambias cabinet as Finance Minister and in the ruling UPND as Chairperson on the committee of economics and finance.
Dr.Musokotwane is a PhD holder in Monetary Economics obtained from the Konstanz University in Germany.He holds a Masters from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam and a Bachelor from the University of Zambia.
He is the current Minister of Finance, a leading regional Monetary Economist with several decades of experience in developing markets having served as Finance Minister, Secretary to the Treasury, Deputy Governor of the Zambian Central Bank, IMF Advisor and Founding Head of the Financial Markets Department at the Zambian Central Bank.
Dr Musokotwane has also acted as an alternate Governor at the IMF, African Development Bank, and World Bank.
At the Bank of Zambia (Zambia’s Central Bank) he was responsible for the re-introduction of Treasury Bills and Government securities auctions in Zambia, as well as the introduction of Central bank Open Market Operations.
He led the development of Zambia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper which among others led to the re-introduction of National Planning in Zambia.
During his time in public service he was part of the country’s economic management team whose efforts led to the reduction of inflation from rates of over 100% to 8%, and interest rates in excess of 45% to 18%.
During the tenure of President Levy Mwanawasa, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane served as the Economic Advisor to the President from 2003 to 2008.
If you agree with me that Mwanawasa’s administration exhibited remarkable economic growth,then you’ll also agree with me that Dr Musokotwane was the engine behind Mwanawasa’s economic success story.
As Finance Minister during Rupiah Banda’s presidency, he was active in the promotion of Zambia as an investment destination which brought a 7.6% growth in Zambia’s economy and generated US$6 billion over a 3 year term.
As Minister of Finance and prior to that of Secretary to the Treasury, he was responsible for Zambia’s national budget, managing in excess of US$3 billion when he left the Ministry of Finance.
As an entrepreneur, Dr Musokotwane founded an agri-business in 1988, which included a cattle ranch and dairy operation that is today among the larger dairy farming operations in Zambia.
Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane’s contributions in the current government can be epitomized to debt restructuring expert efforts.
Did you know that debt restructuring had helped avert a disastrous fiscal catastrophe that would have befallen Zambia?
Try being in a situation where you excessively borrow high interest loans “Kaloba” from no nonsense shylocks, spend it on consumption and after defaulting, the shylock no longer interested in any further discussions with you,is at the verge of possessing the house you’re staying in with your in-laws?
It was at that point when Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane and President Hakainde Hichilema came in to negotiate on your behalf over the debt they were even advising you to re-assess your capacity to repay.
Dr Musokotwane,a quiet and reserved person on public political platforms but a lethal weapon in high level boardroom negotiations and discussions.
A combination of Dr Musokotwane and President Hakainde Hichilema remains a blessing to this nation especially at the time when the country’s international image,credibility and trustworthiness was at crossroads after debt default.
Dr Musokotwane remains a key figure in Zambia’s debt restructuring on the technical team including President Hakainde Hichilema who led the government’s effort.
Today, Zambia is poised to lead not only Africa but the world in GDP growth.
According to Bloomberg’s updated economic outlook (Mathew Wikler, August,2025) the anticipated rapid growth of over 6% will be the highest since 2018 when the economy grew at 4%.
The newly published Bloomberg forecast follows Zambia’s significant financial turnaround,marked by a critical debt restructuring milestone attained in June 2024, which sparked a remarkable 26% total return on Zambian bonds-doubling the average return of emerging and high-yield markets since July 2024.
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