Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Public debt management is a topical issue in international policy. On the continent of Africa, public debt management continues to be a challenge. While public debt has contributed to infrastructure development projects in many countries, it is increasingly becoming a source of concern. Some experts say one key risk threatening the outlook of Africa is a looming debt crisis (Brookings, 2019). A number of countries have borrowed funds beyond their ability to sustain the debt burden both in the short and long-term. As a result, at least 14 countries—one third of all countries in the Africa region—are judged to be either in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress, up from only six countries in 2013 (Brookings, 2019). In 2017, Zambia came to the spotlight over its public debt levels when the International Monitoring Fund (IMF) stalled negotiations for a loan. According to the IMF, Zambia’s public debt as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose sharply from 36 percent at the end of 2014 to 60 percent at the end of 2016; breaching the 40 percent IMF threshold (IMF, 2017). This paper analyzes public debt management with a focus on the policy framework in Zambia and how that has facilitated or fallen short in ensuring good public debt management.The paper argues that though Zambia has not had a good public debt management record, a deliberate commitment to implementation of a public debt management policy framework could help the country to recover from its current position.