The Zambian government on Tuesday confirmed that the African Development Bank (AfDB) has imposed sanctions on the country over outstanding arrears amounting to 14 million U.S. dollars.

The Ministry of Finance, however, said in a statement that the development should not cause any panic as the situation was under control unlike what was being portrayed on social media.

“The government acknowledges that the African Development Bank Group did write to the Ministry of Finance yesterday (23 December 2019) to inform the ministry that the bank had not received full payment in respect of Bank Group Bills.” the statement said.

It added that the position of the government was that payment of the outstanding amount was being processed and will be finalized as soon as possible.

According to the statement, the delay in the settlement of the bill was due to the sudden depreciation of the local currency.