IMF predicts Zambia economy to shrink by 5% due to virus, drought

The economy of Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, is on track to shrink by five percent due to a dual shock of the coronavirus pandemic and a severe drought, the IMF said Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund made the projection following two weeks of discussions with Zambian authorities.

“The social and macroeconomic impact of the COVID-19 shock, on top of a severe drought last year, will be heavy,” the IMF said in a statement.

“Growth is forecast at around -5 percent in 2020,” it said.

Like other southern African states, Zambia has since 2019 grappled with one of the worst droughts in decades after months of erratic rainfall and record-high temperatures while fighting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The landlocked country has so far recorded nearly 2,000 coronavirus cases and 42 deaths.

The IMF had in June warned that coronavirus could further weaken sub-Saharan Africa’s ability to adapt to climate change, as measures to contain the pandemic stretch limited resources.