On Monday, 25 March 2024, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, announced that an Agreement In Principle had been reached with the negotiating committee representing bondholders. What a relief! After two false starts, the deadlock debtlock had finally been broken.
As I’ve said before, concluding negotiations with the bondholders was always a question of when not if. At times, it seemed as if Zambia was taking a step forward and then several steps backwards, but lo and behold, another major milestone has been reached.
The fact is that it is in no one’s interest for the issue to remain unresolved. The impasse was confidence-draining and uncertainty-fueling. It also meant that the creditors would wait even longer to start getting paid their dues, albeit adjusted ones. It’s not ideal at all.
