Zambian business leaders are looking beyond the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 to economic growth, according to the Bank of Zambia’s (BoZ) quarterly survey of business opinions and expectations.Support given to Zambia by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June will further bolster optimism.“Zambia's implementation to date of its home-grown economic programme is impressive.“This is a robust programme that can achieve the authorities’ goals of restoring macroeconomic stability and laying the foundations for more resilient and inclusive growth,” said Antoinette M Sayeh, deputy managing director of the IMF at the conclusion of her visit to Zambia recently.This was followed by an announcement that Zambia's creditors had pledged to negotiate a restructuring of the country's debts.IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva welcomed the news as “clearing the way” for a $1.4-billion fund programme.Zambia defaulted on its debts of around $17bn in 2020, in part due to the global slowdown caused by the reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic.Between 2019 and 2021, the Kwacha lost roughly 50% of its value against the US dollar, due to political uncertainty.This has changed since general elections on August 12 last year, with Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front in the presidential contest.Soon after, Bloomberg reported that “Zambia's new president, Hakainde Hichilema, is turning the nation's economic fortunes around barely a week into the job”.This is ref lected in the BoZ survey, which found that “the outlook for investment remains positive over the next 12 months as firms expect the macroeconomic environment to improve further on the back of favourable policies of the new government”.The government has prioritised tourism, mining and energy as sectors to grow the economy.
