The Ministry of Finance and National Planning has disclosed that central government external debt rose by six percent to US$15.43 billion dollars as of end-December 2024, from US$14.57 billion dollars recorded at the end of December 2023.
Secretary to the Treasury, Felix Nkulukusa, says the increase is due to continued disbursements to social sector projects, largely from multilateral institutions—most notably under the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Credit Facility programme.
Mr. Nkulukusa, however, says Zambia’s Public and Publicly Guaranteed Debt Stock saw a marginal reduction from the end of 2023, mainly due to adjustments in guaranteed and domestic debt.
He says publicly guaranteed external debt stood at US$1.36 billion dollars as of end-December 2024—a 4 percent drop from US$1.41 billion dollars in December 2023.
Meanwhile, domestic debt declined by 1 percent to 229.37 billion Kwacha, from 232.6 billion Kwacha during the same period.
This was revealed during a town hall forum on the 2025 first quarter budget and economic performance held in Lusaka.
By Best Jere
