Zambia to Close IMF ECF, Pivoting to Growth driven Successor Programme

Zambia has confirmed it will not seek an extension of its current International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported Extended Credit Facility (ECF), choosing instead to bring the programme to an orderly close and immediately begin negotiations on a new, full-term successor arrangement anchored on economic growth, investment and job creation.

Finance and National Planning Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane said the decision reflects confidence in the country’s reform trajectory rather than any retreat from IMF engagement. Since the ECF was approved in 2022, Zambia has successfully completed all programme reviews, underscoring what the Minister described as a strong record of policy implementation and sustained cooperation with the Fund.

The ECF, originally scheduled to expire in November 2025, is now expected to conclude in mid-January 2026 following a short technical extension designed to allow a comprehensive assessment of performance through end October. A staff-level agreement on the sixth and final review has already been reached and is awaiting consideration and approval by the IMF Executive Board.

According to Dr. Musokotwane, the programme has played a central role in restoring macroeconomic stability after years of fiscal and debt distress. He noted that Zambia has consistently recorded primary fiscal surpluses exceeding 2 percent of gross domestic product, alongside marked improvements in public financial management and significant progress in strengthening debt sustainability.

“These outcomes demonstrate that the stabilisation phase of the reform agenda has largely been achieved,” the Minister said, adding that the policy focus must now evolve to address the country’s medium-term development priorities.

The envisaged successor programme, he explained, will retain a strong reform backbone while pivoting decisively toward growth-enhancing structural measures. Key priorities will include resolving outstanding elements of the debt restructuring process, mobilising investment, promoting value addition across productive sectors and ensuring that economic expansion translates into broad-based and inclusive gains.

For policymakers, the transition marks an inflection point: from crisis stabilisation to growth acceleration. For markets and development partners, it signals continuity in policy discipline, coupled with a renewed emphasis on leveraging stability into jobs, productivity and long term prosperity.