Zambia has agreed to a $1.3 billion loan with the International Monetary Fund that is intended to bolster the debt-laden country’s macroeconomic stability. But the agreement’s conditions are evoking fears in Zambia and elsewhere across Africa of the debt crises of the 1980s and 1990s, and are likely to be unpopular with Zambians.
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development was held last weekend in Tunis, amid major transformations in international politics since the last conference in 2019. Japan’s efforts to expand its influence in Africa are regarded by many Africans and other observers as a model of international cooperation to be emulated.
Voters in Angola cast ballots on Wednesday to give President Joao Lourenco and his ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, another five-year mandate in office. But the MPLA’s dwindling share of the electorate points to trends that may spell trouble for its fortunes going forward.
