NEWS that Zambia has reached an agreement in principle to restructure $6.3 billion of debt with bilateral lenders has choked some opposition leaders in the country and they have been peddling a narrative that it’s nothing much of an achievement and people should not expect anything to change. In 2020, Zambia under President Edgar Lungu, became the first African nation to default on its debt payments. The country remained overburdened by loans and high interest rates that severely restricted the government’s ability to invest in critical social programmes and infrastructure development. That was the period that economic growth grounded to a zero. But following months of travelling, talks and negotiations, President Hakainde Hichilema, less than two years into his first...