THE Common Framework on Zambia’s debt restructuring has called on the country’s bondholders to fully engage in a large-scale debt restructuring, “including significant haircuts”. And the Common Framework has lamented that over the last decade of low global interest rates, private lenders charged high-interest loans to lower-income countries. The Common Framework called on BlackRock and other bondholders to agree to fully engage in a large-scale debt restructuring in order to make Zambia’s debt sustainable. This is according to an open letter dated September 16, 2022, signed by over 100 economists and development experts addressed to BlackRock, which is the largest owner of Zambian bonds, holding $220 million, Zambia’s creditors and the G20. “Negotiations in Zambia are now at a crucial...