Zambia's Ministry of Finance and National Planning published a statement confirming it will conclude the sixth and final review of the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement and then engage the IMF on a successor programme. The government said it will not pursue a previously envisaged one-year extension of the current ECF, instead aiming to transition to a new, full-length programme that retains focus on completing debt restructuring commitments while placing greater emphasis on growth and investment priorities. The ministry said the ECF, which started in 2022 and was expected to end in November 2025, is now expected to conclude in mid-January 2026 due to a technical extension to allow assessment of performance as of end-October. A staff-level agreement on the sixth review was reached last month and now awaits IMF Executive Board consideration. It cited delivery against quantitative performance criteria and structural benchmarks, including primary fiscal surpluses exceeding 2 percent of GDP, with the IMF projecting growth above 5 percent in 2025 and inflation returning to the 6 to 8 percent target range within the next two years. During any interim period before a new programme is approved, policy continuity will be anchored on adherence to the approved national budget and Parliament-approved ceilings, alongside ongoing IMF engagement including Article IV consultations, while priorities include disciplined borrowing, fiscal consolidation, transparent resource management including mineral revenues, and stronger domestic resource mobilisation through improved tax administration and a broader tax base. Immediately after the current programme is concluded, the government plans to resume discussions with the IMF on the successor framework, with the sixth review still subject to IMF Executive Board approval.

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