In an effort to reinstall fiscal stability in Zambia, the African Development Bank Group has approved an $11.1m loan.

The Abidjan-based African Development Fund approved the funding in order to aid Zambia’s management of public resources.

Zambia has recently struggled with public debt caused by a shortage of its currency, among other reasons, and is therefore working to implement new measures that will help stabilise its economy again.

Even with a fiscal consolidation programme, the deficit in 2018 still fell short of its target as a result of high capital spending, increasing debt servicing and money owed.  

The project, which would take place from 2019-2022, will boost the capacity of staff in sectors such as public finance, economic management, development planning and statistics.

A 5% increase is forecast in Zambia’s mining output, however this ought to be counterbalanced by global trade tensions impacting copper prices.

According to the AfDB, a main priority for Zambia is to improve debt sustainability, as an active debt management strategy would help boost confidence in the economy greatly as well as reinstall fiscal space.

The most recent loan was approved by the ADF in order to boost institutional capacity in fiscal and debt management, development planning, public investment management, monitoring and evaluation, and statistics. – Lusaka Times reports.