Can Matsheka slay the beast with seven billion heads?

Traditionally, finance ministers have a handful of choices to cover deficits. Dip into the country’s foreign reserves, borrow from supranational bodies such as the African Development Bank or borrow from the local capital market.

Each of those options has its own Ts and Cs. These include the interest rates offered, the impact on the pula’s value, the stability of public finances, possible violation of debt thresholds and other fiscal rules and others.