IMF Completes Zambia Programme Review, Releases $190m

Wednesday 28th January 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

Zambia IMF final review approval has unlocked $190 million after the Fund’s board completed the sixth and last review of the country’s extended credit facility, closing a multi-year programme that supported recovery after Zambia’s debt default.

Reuters reported that the programme began in 2022 at $1.3 billion and was later expanded to $1.7 billion. The IMF said Zambia made progress on correcting macroeconomic imbalances, advancing debt restructuring, and maintaining fiscal discipline while protecting priority social spending.

The decision arrives in a politically sensitive window. Zambia is heading toward August elections in which President Hakainde Hichilema is expected to seek re-election, and macroeconomic credibility remains a central campaign terrain given the country’s recent inflation and currency pressures.

The Reuters report said Zambia had initially considered a one-year extension that would have added funding, but it ultimately decided not to pursue that option.

For markets, the close of an IMF programme is not automatically a risk event, but it can change discipline incentives. Investors typically watch whether fiscal targets remain credible without the same level of external conditionality and technical monitoring.

For African peers, Zambia’s trajectory remains instructive: debt restructuring, transparency in public finance, and predictable policy signals can reopen access to concessional and commercial financing, but the political economy of reform is fragile.

Next steps

Zambia IMF final review completion now shifts attention to post-programme policy anchors, including whether authorities pursue a successor arrangement, maintain fiscal restraint, and accelerate growth reforms without destabilising social spending.

Why it matters

Zambia’s exit from the programme is a signal for creditors and investors across Africa about how default recovery pathways can restore confidence if reforms hold through electoral cycles.