Zambia has inched much closer to securing a $1.3-billion (R17-billion) bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, nearly three years after it first approached the global institution for help with its tanking economy. Analysts this week said the finalisation of a deal with the IMF would guarantee "fiscal discipline" in Zambia's economy and also help boost foreign investor confidence. The lack of fiscal discipline has been the fatal weakness of President Edgar Lungu's administration. Two presidential polls, held in 2015 and 2016, fuelled the government's spending as it pursued populist economic policies and borrowed excessively, raising concern that Africa's second largest copper producer would sink into a debt trap. This week's IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington are expected to give the thumbs-up to Zambia's bailout package. The first tranche of funding, about $400-million, could be released in June this year. Central to the discussions at the spring meetings...
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