Zambia’s Public Debt, Social Sector Financing and the Role of Faith Leaders in Promoting Socially Just Debt Sustainability

Zambia’s renewed debt crisis reflects deep structural vulnerabilities, weak public debt governance and repeated external shocks. Despite abundant mineral resources, more than 60% of Zambians live in poverty and inequality remains high. Rapid accumulation of largely non concessional public debt since the early 2010s culminated in a sovereign default in 2020 and protracted restructuring under the G20 Common Framework. Rising debt service has crowded out expenditure on health, education, water and sanitation, and social protection.
This article synthesises evidence from a 2022 Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) study, AFRODAD’s 2024 Zambia Debt Profile, civil society research and official documents to: (i) analyse Zambia’s debt dynamics and social consequences; (ii) interrogate the legal and institutional framework for public debt management (PDM); and (iii) examine the role of faith leaders and civil society. Grounded in public choice, accountability and participatory governance theories, it advances the hypothesis that active participation of the Church and other civil society organisations (CSOs) in PDM can contribute to more desirable debt sustainability outcomes and greater accountability and transparency in public finance. The article concludes that, while existing literature and historical experience (notably Jubilee 2000) strongly suggest such a link, current studies under theorise and under specify the concrete mechanisms and conditions under which faith based participation improves debt outcomes, highlighting an important agenda for further empirical research and policy experimentation.

Zambia; public debt; debt sustainability; social sectors; faith leaders; civil society organisations; accountability; transparency; public debt management; participatory governance.

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