Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has warned that the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) government will soon have to resort to printing money due to the economic meltdown that the country is facing.

Hichilema said Zambia is in a much more serious economic situation than what most people realise, and that due to over expenditure the PF government would have no option but to resort to printing money in order to bridge the financing gap, the Lusaka Times reported on Monday.

The opposition leader added that following the recent downgrading of the economy by rating agencies and the failure to secure a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, the government would also find it difficult to attract credible investment into the economy.

According to Hichilema, Zambia’s economy is in dire straits because most of the revenue is not invested in the productive sector.

He further asserted that the government had over-employed a lot of PF cadres in parastatals and fired qualified engineers who were then replaced with PF cadres.