THE ZAMBIAN DEBT FREEDOM BILL: LET THE PEOPLE REDEEM OUR NATIONAL DEBT 📊 THE PEOPLE’S ECONOMICS
How long shall Zambians remain spectators to their own country’s indebtedness when they can become creditors of their own Republic? Before proceeding with my examination of Zambia’s indebtedness, I wish to make an important distinction. There is Saviour Chishimba the politician, and there is Saviour Chishimba the intellectual and researcher. These are separate spheres of my public engagement, each carrying its own obligations.
My scholarly pronouncements will remain answerable to empirical evidence, intellectual probity and the uncompromising demands of analytical integrity. Matters affecting the livelihood of our people deserve examination beyond the suffocating confines of partisan allegiances. We have permitted political antagonisms to colonise virtually every dimension of national discourse, frequently subordinating economic reasoning to partisan expediency. I shall not surrender my intellectual independence to that disposition.
I am presently undertaking an extensive examination of the proposed 2027 National Budget. Its fiscal provisions, revenue assumptions, expenditure priorities and implications for household welfare demand meticulous scrutiny. Immediately upon completing my research, analysis and written review, I shall publish my comprehensive commentary under THE PEOPLE’S ECONOMICS. Meanwhile, Zambia’s public indebtedness warrants immediate attention because the proposed budget provides for additional borrowing while committing substantial public resources to servicing accumulated obligations.
1. Zambia must liberate itself from perpetual indebtedness
The proposed 2027 National Budget amounts to approximately K284.77 billion. Of this, K41.9 billion is expected from domestic and external borrowing, while K67.59 billion is allocated to debt servicing, representing approximately 23.7% of the national budget. Of the debt service allocation, approximately K50.8 billion relates to domestic debt and K16.8 billion to external debt. These figures disclose the magnitude of our fiscal encumbrances. Almost one quarter of the proposed national budget is committed to servicing indebtedness while additional borrowing remains necessary to finance public expenditure. How much longer shall successive generations inherit liabilities without an equally resolute programme for their eventual extinguishment?
My advocacy of a citizen driven debt redemption programme predates the present administration. I advanced this proposition during the Patriotic Front government and reiterated it during my presidential candidature in 2016. The proposal received little institutional attention. I return to it today because its economic rationale has survived successive changes of government. Were the United Progressive People entrusted with governing Zambia, we would pursue this initiative with legislative precision, fiscal prudence and unwavering administrative diligence
2. Let Zambians become creditors of their own Republic
I propose the enactment of The Zambian Debt Freedom Act, establishing a statutory mechanism through which citizens, cooperatives, pension funds, financial institutions and Zambian enterprises can participate in the progressive redemption of eligible external public debt.
A market trader contributing K1, a farmer investing K100, a teacher subscribing K1,000 and a corporation committing K1 million would each acquire a proportionate financial interest under clearly prescribed investment terms. No citizen should be excluded merely because of modest means. The legislation would provide for fractional investment units and the aggregation of small contributions through a regulated investment platform, ensuring that even K1 represents a recorded financial interest without being eroded by disproportionate administrative charges.
These contributions would constitute investments carrying contractual entitlements to repayment and applicable returns. They would never be treated as charitable donations to the Treasury. The proposition is to transform ordinary Zambians into financial participants in the redemption of their country, allowing national patriotism and personal wealth accumulation to reinforce each other.
3. How the National Debt Freedom Fund would operate
Parliament would establish a professionally administered National Debt Freedom Fund, empowered to mobilise domestic capital and undertake carefully negotiated refinancing or repurchase of eligible external obligations. Participating investors would acquire Debt Freedom Bonds, while the proceeds would be applied exclusively towards authorised debt redemption transactions. Where financially advantageous, Zambia would replace obligations owed to external creditors with domestic securities held by its own people and institutions.
The State would remain responsible for honouring the new securities. Interest and principal repayments would accrue to domestic investors according to their contractual entitlements. Every transaction would be subjected to rigorous assessment of financing costs, exchange rate exposure, maturity profiles, contractual restrictions and the implications for the national Treasury. The programme would proceed through two distinct stages.
The first stage would progressively transfer eligible external debt into domestic ownership, provided that the financial terms demonstrably advance Zambia’s fiscal interests. The second stage would progressively extinguish the replacement domestic obligations through sustainable fiscal surpluses, productive economic expansion, improved revenue mobilisation and disciplined repayment.
Transferring debt from foreign creditors to domestic investors does not, by itself, eliminate the country’s liabilities. The ultimate economic achievement must be their actual retirement. Domestic ownership would constitute an intermediary milestone towards comprehensive debt emancipation. The greater economic benefit of this initiative is that Zambia would progressively owe its debt to its own citizens rather than foreign creditors. This would financially empower Zambians, allowing them to earn interest from their investments while keeping debt repayments circulating within our economy, stimulating local businesses, strengthening household incomes and contributing to national prosperity.
4. Protecting citizens against financial improvidence
The proposed legislation must prescribe stringent fiduciary safeguards, independent investment administration, parliamentary oversight, annual external audits and comprehensive public disclosure. Every investor must possess a verifiable ownership record, transparent statements of accrued returns and enforceable repayment rights. The Fund must operate under appropriate financial sector regulation, with independent custody arrangements and statutory prohibitions against political patronage, administrative caprice and diversion into recurrent government expenditure.
The legislation must also protect the smallest investors through pooled subscriptions, transparent transaction charges and equitable treatment of fractional bondholders. Crucially, Zambia must avoid exchanging concessional external loans for prohibitively expensive domestic securities. Debt redemption must reduce the country’s financial vulnerability without transferring an intolerable interest burden onto taxpayers, compromising pension savings or depriving productive enterprises of essential domestic credit.
5. National debt freedom demands fiscal rectitude
The patriotic willingness of citizens to invest their savings in the financial emancipation of their country must be reciprocated by exemplary stewardship of public resources. Government cannot solicit public participation in debt redemption while perpetuating fiscal extravagance, unproductive borrowing and the dissipation of national wealth.
The Act must therefore prescribe measurable annual debt reduction objectives, transparent borrowing parameters, mandatory parliamentary reporting and periodic independent evaluations of the programme’s financial performance. Every debt redemption transaction must demonstrate a discernible economic advantage. Every new borrowing decision must withstand scrutiny against the country’s long term repayment capacity.
A country cannot purchase its freedom from yesterday’s creditors while recklessly manufacturing tomorrow’s indebtedness. Our national aspiration must ultimately be the complete extinguishment of external public debt, accompanied by a progressively diminishing domestic debt burden.
6. Let the people redeem the Republic
Zambia possesses enormous mineral endowments, agricultural potential, entrepreneurial ingenuity and human capital. These national assets must underpin a coherent programme of wealth creation capable of sustaining our sovereignty without interminable dependence upon external creditors. Envisage millions of Zambians holding enforceable financial interests in the redemption of their country’s debt. Contemplate the proceeds of prudent public debt investments accruing to Zambian households, pension funds, cooperatives and enterprises. Visualise a country whose fiscal policy is governed by an enduring legislative obligation to reduce indebtedness rather than perpetually renegotiate its repayment.
The Zambian Debt Freedom Bill would give statutory expression to that national ambition. Let the poorest Zambian participate with K1. Let those with greater means invest according to their capacity. Let every investment be accounted for. Let every repayment be honoured. Our national destination must be unequivocally zero external public debt.
Saviour Chishimba
(Yehudah Ben David)
Principal & Founder
THE PEOPLE’S ACADEMY