US applauds Zambia’s debt restructuring efforts

Published

11 months ago

June 22, 2023

The United States Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen has applauded Zambia's effort at its debt restructuring deals with creditors, notably the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and China.






Yellen said she was encouraged "by progress on Zambia and I think debt treatment can move forward soon," ahead of a summit in Paris aimed at boosting crisis financing for poorer nations.






The IMF on Wednesday hinted that agreement around Zambia's debt restructuring could be reached "within a few days." A spokesperson for the creditor said in a statement on Tuesday that the IMF was "very encouraged by the significant progress being made in discussions between official creditors and Zambia on a potential debt treatment”.






Zambia's aspirations of restructuring its approximately $12.8 billion in external debt have been hindered by the key creditors' worries about the extent of relief that would be required.






"Delaying debt treatment hurts both creditors and debtors. It simply worsens the economic fundamentals and increases the amount of debt relief borrowers will eventually need," Yellen said.






The nation's Monetary Policy Council has increased the country's monetary policy rate by 25 basis points to 9.50% in an effort to sustain the economy amid the financial crisis.

Related Topics:Debt restructuring Featured IMF US YELLEN Zambia

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Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

21 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.

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Uganda considers nuclear energy to meet increased electricity demand

Published

23 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development announced on Tuesday that it was collaborating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to develop nuclear energy in the country as power demand rises.

Irene Batebe, permanent secretary of the ministry, stated that the government, with the assistance of the IAEA, is investigating and evaluating uranium deposits to ensure a sustainable supply of nuclear fuel for the projected nuclear power plants and research reactors.

“Uranium is the most widely used nuclear fuel material in nuclear power plants and research reactors and is required for Uganda’s nuclear power program.

“The planned nuclear power capacity will require about 4,000 tons of Uranium annually when fully operational. Thus, there is a need for sustainable sources of uranium,” she said at the opening of the nine-day meeting with the experts from the IAEA.

Batebe stated that the government is modifying the Atomic Energy Act of 2008 to tighten the legal framework for the exploration, mining, and processing of nuclear fuel reserves. She stated that even if completely exploited, the country’s electricity generation capacity from hydro, biomass, geothermal, and peat will fall short of Uganda Vision 2040 ambitions.

“To meet our development targets, nuclear energy among other sources must be integrated in the electricity generation mix,” she said.

The Cabinet approved the Energy Policy for Uganda, 2023 in April 2023, which envisions the long-term development of 52,481 MW of generation capacity to meet future demand, with nuclear power accounting for 24,000 MW.