Restructuring Zambian debt Part II. The Nkongole Bus theory

Restructuring Zambian debt Part 2. Part one can be read here Click Link . The fictional story continues....

Fade IN.

Once upon a time in land far away was a man named Bally….

Bally, the farmer, receives a call to go to town and get on an airplane for an important meeting. He starts off, but remembers he needs to pay for his children's school fees. He sends something through mobile and realizes he is slightly short for his bus fare. He goes to the road side to hike for a bus. After waiting for a while, he hops on the "nkongole" bus and notices it's different.

Bally walks towards the back of the bus and sees 13 people he owes money, all sited in various places, traveling on the bus. There are 6 Chinese bankers, 3 American bankers, and 3 multilateral bankers, and two white women, Janet Yellen and Bretton woods. The conductor, Bruce Lee, is appointed the co-chair with Louis from France, under the G20 committee to look into the debt issue for Bally. Bally sits next to his accountant, who informs him of all the people he owes money on the bus and how much.

Somewhere in the bus is a guy by the name of Boyka from Russia. Boyka usually get cheap fuel for the bus.Boyka is part of group of guys in the bus called OPEC Gang and they control fuel. However Boyka doesn’t really get along with the Bus driver Agent Smith, they have constant passive aggressive arguments. Suddenly, a fight breaks out between Boyka from Russia and Oleg from Ukraine. The driver, Agent Smith, takes Oleg's side, while Bruce Lee mediates for peace and moderately engages Boyka. This causes tensions in the bus.

The two white women, Janet Yellen and Bretton woods, approach Bally with an offer with certain conditions to help him with the bus fare and other debt issues. He agrees to some conditions and instructs his accountant to follow through. Discussions continue under a staff level agreement.

Later on the Accountant is seen walking the bus complaining that the two women specifically Bretton woods are punishing bally by refusing to help him just because his debt issue with the people he owes on the bus is taking longer than expected to be resolved through the committee. .

A guy with round gogos enters the bus carrying a sack of kandolo (sweet potatoes). The conductor Bruce lee asks him why he is moving with kandolo and round gogos replies saying, “The price of mealie meal is behaving irrationally”. He sits down. Discussions in the bus continue with everyone chipping in ideas.

A guy by the name of umubalyuda sits next to round gogos and they get chatting about the nkongole bus situation and predicament for bally and the accountant and how to solve it. Here is the solution as the two conclude:

The problem stalling the debt talks under the G20committee is that the conductor Bruce lee wants the multilateral bankers to also give Bally a debt hair cut by also accepting less for the nkongole. It just means everyone wants a fair creditor treatment, even the conductor Bruce Lee. The solution is for bally to either go himself or assign his accountant to go and visit the conductor and three other Chinese bankers. One of the Chinese bankers goes by the name EXIM. EXIM calls the shots and the other bankers appointed EXIM as the leader of debt negotiations. Hence to solve this debt situation the accountant needs to get a letter from EXIM saying some relief will be given. Another guy in the bus just managed to get a letter. This guy did it without being part of a committee under the G20 and even before getting a deal from the Bretton woods lady. His name is Ranil. Ranil is from Sri Lanka.

No one knows how this story ends. All we know is that Boyka from Russia is still fighting Oleg from Ukraine and that due to the price of mealie meal some guy with round gogos is now eating kandolo.

FADE OUT.