Zambia is going head-to-head with the largest investment company in the world, BlackRock.
Zambia is in the middle of a huge debt crisis. Debt payments were already more than health, education and social protection spending combined.
As one of Zambia’s biggest lenders, in 2020 BlackRock refused the request to suspend debt repayments during the pandemic, alongside other big global banks.
Zambia ran out of money and had to stop paying anyway. Negotiations will now take place over whether the debts are paid or Zambia can fund public services.
“Wealthy bondholders are now demonstrating plainly, in the midst of the global Covid-19 crisis, that their sole priority is their own profit.” Nalucha Nganga Ziba, ActionAid Zambia
As Zambia and BlackRock go into the final stages of their negotiations, Zambian campaigners are calling for debt cancellation. But what BlackRock doesn’t know is that they are not alone. Thousands of us around the world are campaigning with them.
Stand with Zambian campaigners calling for BlackRock to #CancelTheDebt, sign the petition now.