Zambia may access the US$184 million dollar financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before the end of this month. IMF Spokesperson Julie Kozack says Zambia’s performance under the IMF programme and the agreement in principle with official creditors on the Memorandum of Understanding is sufficient to bring this review to the fund’s Board toward the end of this month. Ms. Kozack says the approval of the review by the IMF’s Executive Board will give Zambia access to the 184 million dollars in financing under the programme. She says Zambia’s economy is showing resilience as Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is now projected at 4.3 percent this year and 4.7 percent next year. Read more: ZNBC
About 15 countries have expressed interest to join the Freshwater challenge which is currently being implemented in six countries including Zambia, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia has said. WWF Country Director, Nachilala Nkombo, said the new member countries are from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. Nkombo in a statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday, said the 15 were officially unveiled at a high level event with 15 Ministers hosted by the Conference of all Parties (COP28) Presidency. She stated that the 15 were joining the six countries that launched the initiative at the United Nations (UN) 2023 Water Conference in New York namely Colombia, Democratic Republic Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico and Zambia. “The champions and new signatories include Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, Dominican Republic, Fiji, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique and Nepal,” Nkombo disclosed. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) and South Africa Bureau of Standards Commercial (SABS) have signed an agreement to promote trade between the two countries. ZABS Executive Director, Nathan Sing’ambwa, and SABS Commercial Chief Executive Officer, Sadhvir Bissoon, signed on behalf of their respective institutions. After signing the agreement on Wednesday in South Africa, Sing’ambwa said the objectives of the agreement included co-operation in the area of services offered by ZABS and SABS commercial to promote trade. He explained that the scope included the promotion of quality in products and services. “Both Zambia and South Africa are signatories to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Trade that recognises that the development of trade and investment was essential to the economic integration of the community,” Sing’ambwa said. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says the prolonged debt restructuring will not affect the implementation of the 2024 budget because Zambia’s MoU with the Official Creditor Committee allows financing institutions to lend into arrears. Recently, the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZiCA) raised a concern that the implementation and execution of the 2024 national budget may be affected by the prolonged debt restructuring process. “As ZICA, we take this opportunity in joining the rest of the world in congratulating the Zambian government for achieving a successful debt restructuring with the official creditors and for striking a deal with institutional and with private creditors. Read more: News Diggers
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