Borrowing locally to fund supplementary budget may deepen debt burden – CTPD – Zambia: News Diggers!

THE Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has warned that government’s plan to finance part of the 2026 supplementary budget through domestic borrowing risks worsening Zambia’s debt-service pressures. In a statement, Thursday, CTPD Public Finance Researcher Robinson Nakambo pointed out that the proposal to raise K7.5 billion through the domestic government securities market points to elevated portfolio risk. He emphasised that while the supplementary budget contains measures that may support agriculture, social protection, mining oversight and liquidity, its financing strategy could deepen Zambia’s domestic debt-service burden. “The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has reviewed the 2026 Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure amounting to K26.3 billion. While the supplementary budget contains measures that may support agriculture, social protection, mining...