THE Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) has started a process of writing off “non-performance” loans amounting to K693.5 million which were issued to some politically exposed persons (PEPs). About K71,603,789 million has since been written off, according to sources within the Ministry of Finance who fear that the execution of the debt cancellation was illegal as it did not have blessings from the Secretary to the Treasury. DBZ Board Chairman, Noel Nkhoma, has however explained that the decision to write off non-performing loans was a directive from the Bank of Zambia, in accordance with the law, stressing that authority had actually been sought from the Minister of Finance. According to correspondence obtained by News Diggers, the directive to cancel the...