Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The opposition All People’s Congress (APC) is shocked that government has congratulated itself for successfully issuing the US$1.25Billion Eurobond on the international capital market.
The APC does not see any need for government to congratulate itself for managing to borrow.
APC president Nason Msoni says his party thinks government is not mindful that it has actually inflicted misery on the people of Zambia to issue the US$1.25Billion Eurobond.
Mr. Msoni has told Qfm News by telephone that this is notwithstanding that Zambia is able to raise the borrowed amount locally.
Nason Msoni
He has observed that now that government has however borrowed this money it must also ensure that accountability and transparency is upheld in its utilization.
The APC president says his party wants to see that the Eurobond money is used for the intended purposes.
He has warned that the APC will criticize government if it notices that the borrowed money is not being used for the intended purposes as has been the case with the earlier two other Eurobonds government has issued but which it is allegedly failing to account for.
And Mr. Msoni has disclosed that his party is aware that the process of issuing the US$1.25Billion Eurobond begun way before the increase of Zambia’s Foreign Debt ceiling was approved by Parliament.
He says his party which had earlier indicated its intentions to persuade lenders against lending Zambia any further money, does not therefore feel beaten by government’s swiftness of issuing the bond.
The opposition leader states that the ball is now in the Patriotic Front (PF) government’s hands to use the borrowed money prudently as failure of doing so will certainly spell its exit in 2016.