GROW ZAMBIA: KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT President Hakainde Hichilema today officially opened the First Session of the Fourteenth National Assembly under the theme “Grow Zambia: an agenda for inclusive growth and opportunity for every Zambian.” The first term restored economic stability. The next five years are about turning that stability into […]

GROW ZAMBIA: KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT

President Hakainde Hichilema today officially opened the First Session of the Fourteenth National Assembly under the theme “Grow Zambia: an agenda for inclusive growth and opportunity for every Zambian.”
The first term restored economic stability. The next five years are about turning that stability into jobs, business opportunities and better living standards, with the private sector as the engine of growth and an ambition to more than double the size of the economy since 2021.

THE TARGETS: 10-10-5-3-3-1-1-1

• 10 million tonnes of maize, up from a record 5.1 million

• 10,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity
• 5 million tourist arrivals a year, up from 2.5 million
• 3 million tonnes of copper a year
• 3 million tonnes of soya beans
• 1 million tonnes of wheat
• 1 million tonnes of sugar
• US$1 billion a year from beef exports

KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS

• All Government institutions will now acquire only electric vehicles, with charging infrastructure to be built across the country in partnership with the private sector.
• Fuel pipelines linking Zambia with Angola, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe will be built to end reliance on a single supply route.
• Excise duty on fuel has been restored this month to sustain free education, the Constituency Development Fund, the School Feeding Programme and Social Cash Transfer. The Energy Regulation Board’s monthly pricing mechanism will be reviewed.
• A Healthcare City is to be developed in Lusaka, public universities will be established in provinces that have none, and every district will have a skills training centre.
• An inter-ministerial team will respond to the Super El Niño that scientists are predicting.

THE RECORD SO FAR

• Inflation down from over 24% in August 2021 to 6.1% in September 2026
• International reserves at their highest level ever, and a US$1.36 billion Eurobond buyback completed
• Free education now law, with more than 42,000 teachers recruited and over 2.6 million learners back in school
• More than 18,000 health workers recruited
• CDF increased from K1.6 million to K40 million per constituency
• 20 more women, 15 more youths and 5 more persons living with disability in Parliament

GOVERNANCE

A public service measured by results rather than hours, full digitalisation of Government services, and no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. In the President’s words: “if you engage in corruption, you are on your own.”
As the President put it: “Prosperity will not come from aspiration alone, it will be built through discipline, innovation and collective action.”

By Whitney Mulobela