With borrowings estimated at 12.7 billion euros, a third of which is due to Chinese creditors, the country last year became the first in Africa to have defaulted on its debt since the start of the Covid pandemic. -19, for lack of agreements between previous governments and creditors.
But a hundred days of power and intense negotiations, the new Zambian president obtained in early December a promise of aid of 1.24 billion euros from the IMF, a chance for the country strangled by a colossal debt to get its head out of the water.
The debt problem "could have plunged the new government into crisis" but "we managed to manage this default quickly", Mr. Hichilema told AFP, insisting that previous governments "had tried to reach an agreement with the IMF, for seven, ten years, without succeeding".
It was, according to him, "credibility, seriousness, walking the talk, there is no doubt about it", he declared during an interview given to the occasion of a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa.
The three-year agreement in principle was granted on the government's commitment to undertake deep economic reforms.
– “Difficult” reforms –
Mr. Hichilema concedes that the task "is not easy", while highlighting his first achievements.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema at a political rally in Zambia on August 24, 2021 Salim DAWOOD AFP
The Zambian president is particularly pleased with the fact that "for the first time in 17 years, the local currency has appreciated" and that "during the first months (of his presidency, editor's note) we have been able to roll back inflation".
However, "we know how difficult it is. Some things will take a little longer because the hole is deeper, but we have to get out of this hole together," he said.
Praised for president in August, "HH", the eternal opponent, was elected on the promise of eradicating rampant corruption, resuscitating the economy and bringing back investors.
His election has raised hope in the landlocked southern African country and far beyond, interpreted as good news for democracy on the continent.
In this poor country despite its wealth in copper, half of the population lives below the poverty line and expectations are high, at the height of the hopes raised after the electoral victory.
Elsewhere in Africa, Mr Hichilema's surprise election has also raised hopes among some opposition parties, on a continent where incumbent leaders routinely rig elections.
The Zambian president also urges the leaders of the region to respect the constitution of their country.
Despite being a "newbie, I'm learning at the same time, I'm sending a message to my colleagues that we can do better," he pleads.
"As a continent, we can be defined differently. We should not be defined by military coups" but by "constitutionalism, respect for human rights, democratic space, inclusion and not exclusion".
© 2022 AFP