On 21st September 2022 a protest was held outside BlackRock, demanding that the asset manager #CancelZambiasDebt.
Zambia’s spends more on servicing its debts than it does on healthcare, education, sanitation, and social protections combined. As Zambia’s largest bondholder, Blackrock are on course to make 110% profit if the debts are paid back in full. They could also play a crucial role in securing a fairer deal for Zambia.
The demonstration was organised alongside our partners Debt Justice, Global Justice Now, Christian Aid and CAFOD. Together we set up a portable ‘waiting room’ outside the asset manager’s office and demanded a response to calls from Zambian civil society for debt relief. Supporting our demands was a petition signed by over 10,000 members of the public asking for the same.
The protest came at a crucial time in ongoing debt restructuring negotiations between Zambia and its creditors. In August 2022, government creditors agreed in principle to restructure the debt, and the IMF agreed a $1.3 billion loan which is dependent on a restructuring with private lenders. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been widespread support for private sector participation in debt relief. David Malpass, head of the World Bank, has argued that “throughout history there have been occasions where there needs to be deep debt reduction, and this clearly is one of those occasions”. The heads of the UN and IMF have also voiced their support.
Chitra Karve, Chairperson at ACTSA said “Zambia, like other Southern African states, remains constrained by decades of disadvantage resulting from colonialism. Unfair debt is yet another limitation on Zambia’s development by Western powers. We are in a new era of British history: I would like to see this era as one which rights historical wrongs. ACTSA urges the UK government, banks, and other institutions to stop creating new burdens. Now more than ever BlackRock should be held accountable for their tactics and must cancel this debt.”
Read more about the protest on the Guardian, and about the demands in this open letter to BlackRock, Zambia’s creditors and the G20.