The stock of government securities increased by 42.5% in 8 months to K114.3 billion with the capital raised targeted towards FISP, according to a statement from the Minister of Finance during the budget presentation.
“Mr. Speaker, the stock of Government securities increased to K114.3 billion as at end August 2020 from K80.2 billion as at end December 2019, and this includes the COVID-19 Bond”, read the statement from Hon. Dr. Bwalya Ngandu on 25th September 2020 when he delivered the 2021 national budget to parliament in Lusaka.
According to the Minister of Finance, “the increase of 42.5 percent was on account of the need to finance key expenditure areas such as Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP)”.
The government’s participation in the Capital markets has been seen through the issuance of Treasury Bills and Government Bonds, with the recent bond being the COVID-19 Bond.
“The proceeds of the issuance are earmarked to be utilised in mitigating the negative impact of the pandemic on economic activities”, read a statement from the Central Bank of Zambia’s website regarding the COVID Bond. “Amount of bonds available on offer is K2,671,000,000.00 (Two Billion Six Hundred and Seventy-One Million Kwacha) at cost”. The bonds on offer included, 5, 7, 10, and 15 year bonds.