The Zambian Debt Default: A Structuralist Perspective | GJIA

Debt relief in Zambia has proven to be complex and elusive over the past four years, with the economy held hostage to a long-drawn out process. This failure exemplifies the woefully inadequate nature of the international financial architecture, under which many African countries have experienced several debt crises. As of July 2024, 22 African countries were either in or at a high risk of debt distress, unable to fulfill their financial obligations and in need of debt restructuring. This pattern will likely recur unless there is a fundamental rethinking of the global financial system to move away from flawed economic theories and status-quo reenforcing policies. The continued emphasis on neoliberal policies like deregulation, limiting inflation at the expense of employment, and procyclical policies only exacerbate the conditions that led to the default originally.Default and the Debt Crisis in ZambiaZambia, like other African countries, had faced high debt levels before 2020 due to its...