DEBT RESTRUCTURING WITHOUT RELIEF:ZAMBIA AND THE FAILURE OF THE G20 COMMON FRAMEWORK

Grieve Chelwa and Ntazana Siame Kaulule –

The G20 Common Framework for debt restructuring, as applied in Zambia, failed to
provide meaningful relief and did not address the root causes of debt distress.

Rather, IMF-imposed austerity measures, such as subsidy removals and tax increases,
led to a cost-of-living crisis, higher fuel and electricity prices, and a food crisis,
disproportionately affecting ordinary citizens.

After restructuring, Zambia’s debt servicing costs rapidly returned to pre-default
levels, threatening to trap the country in a cycle of repeated debt crises and limiting
fiscal space for essential services like health and education.

The brief recommends that countries like Senegal should seek genuine debt
cancellation, not just rescheduling, and demand a freeze on debt servicing during
restructuring to avoid self-defeating cycles and allow for economic recovery.

Effective debt restructuring requires transparency from all parties, comparable
treatment across all creditor classes, and the elimination of preferred creditor status
for multilateral institutions to ensure fair and lasting solutions.

This Policy brief is part of the editorial series published during the Experts meeting and International Conference organized by IDAN on Senegal’s debt Crisis (11 to 13 May,Dakar,Senegal).