Zambia’s 6% GDP Growth Is Economic Theatre—Pan-African Advocate Warns of IMF-Led Illusion

Follow

( 0 Followers )

X

Follow

E-mail : *

Follow Unfollow

The Zambian government is celebrating a projected 6% GDP growth in 2025, a figure that has drawn praise from global media and institutions like Bloomberg and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But African development expert and pan-African advocate Farhia Noor says this so-called success story is not what it seems.

In a powerful critique posted on LinkedIn, Noor dismantles the notion that GDP growth automatically translates into real progress for everyday citizens. According to her, the current economic narrative coming out of Zambia is more about investor confidence than about the well-being of its people. Despite being hailed as a comeback story, the reality for many Zambians remains harsh—rising fuel prices, unaffordable food, inaccessible education, and under-resourced public services are still widespread.

Noor points to the rapid gains in Zambia’s bond market and currency strength as examples of what she calls “economic theatre.” While the kwacha is currently the world’s best-performing currency and bond yields are climbing, these gains are largely driven by investor speculation and tight monetary policy—not by any significant improvements in Zambia’s industrial capacity or internal wealth distribution.

She argues that this economic “recovery” is heavily propped up by IMF-imposed austerity measures: deep subsidy cuts, wage freezes, and increased taxation. These steps may stabilize financial metrics, but they worsen living conditions for the average Zambian. Noor believes the country is trapped in a development model that prioritizes international approval and foreign investment over national ownership and human dignity.

Zambia, she warns, remains dangerously reliant on copper exports, with 70% of its revenue coming from a single commodity, much of which is controlled by foreign companies. The so-called recovery, in her view, benefits external actors far more than Zambians themselves.

Noor’s message is clear: if a country’s GDP is rising but its citizens can’t access basic needs like food, education, and healthcare, then what’s growing isn’t the economy—it’s inequality. She calls on African leaders to reject externally designed economic frameworks and to build models rooted in sovereignty, local ownership of resources, sustainable industries, and people-first policies.

Her post has sparked wide engagement online, resonating with growing concerns across the continent about the cost of borrowing from institutions like the IMF and the illusion of progress painted by elite-driven economic statistics.

For Farhia Noor and many others, true African growth cannot be measured by GDP alone. It must be seen in the quality of life of its people.