A senior Zambian government official has said there are no conditions attached to the major debt cancellations the country achieved last year, Zambia Daily Mail reported Thursday.

Vernon Mwaanga, chief government spokesman, was quoted as saying the southern African country's creditors canceled the debts as a reward for its prudent economic management.

Mwaanga, who is also minister of information and broadcasting services, made the remarks as reacting to challenge by one trade union leader that the government should explain the conditions attached to the debt cuts.

"What our lenders are saying is that we have achieved prudent economic management and we have put economic fundamentals in place. So as a reward for that, they have decided to cancel all the debts we owed them," he said.

In 2005, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) wrote off Zambia's debts after it reached the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) completion point.

At the end of the year 2005, Japan, France, Russia and the United States canceled Zambia's debts.

Source: Xinhua