….“The price of greatness is responsibility.” — Winston Churchill
By EditorZambia
When The Daily Telegraph, one of the world’s most influential conservative newspapers, places President Hakainde Hichilema among the standout global leaders of 2025, it is not indulging in flattery or African romanticism.
It is delivering a verdict grounded in outcomes, discipline, and international credibility. 
In doing so, it has unintentionally reopened a comparison Zambians themselves cannot avoid: the sharp contrast between President Hichilema’s leadership and the troubled misrule of his predecessor, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
The Telegraph’s analysis — “Africa’s ‘pretty girl’ caught in the Trump–Xi power tussle” — frames Zambia as a country newly relevant in global geopolitics, courted by competing powers not because of theatrics, but because of renewed seriousness at the top. That seriousness has a name: Hakainde Hichilema.
This recognition follows a series of high-level engagements that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
China’s Premier Li Qiang visited Lusaka in November 2025 to reset economic cooperation and revive strategic infrastructure such as TAZARA.
The European Union hosted the Lobito Corridor Business Forum in Lusaka, placing Zambia at the heart of a continental trade artery. Senior U.S.A. officials followed with visits focused on trade and investment rather than charity. These are not coincidences; they are consequences.
Yet critics scoff. They argue that Zambia is merely a pawn, that President Hichilema is overhyped, and that the global praise is public relations. But such dismissals collapse under scrutiny.
International actors do not engage at this level with leaders they do not trust. Capital does not move toward disorder. Diplomacy does not reward recklessness. What the world sees — and what The Telegraph affirmed — is a leader who restored credibility after near-collapse.
To appreciate this, one must revisit the inheritance President Hichilema received in August 2021. Zambia was in sovereign default, the first African country to fall during COVID-19. Debt was opaque and ballooning. Inflation was crushing households. Fuel and electricity shortages were routine. State institutions had been weakened by political interference, while corruption scandals frightened away partners. This was the legacy of the Patriotic Front (PF) under Edgar Lungu.
Lungu’s tenure, now widely acknowledged even by some former allies as deeply flawed, was defined by reckless borrowing, democratic backsliding, and the normalisation of political violence. Cadreism replaced governance. Law enforcement became partisan. The judiciary was dragged into political battles. International partners suspended aid, alarmed by corruption and fiscal indiscipline. The economy eventually buckled under the weight of unsustainable debt.
President Hichilema chose a different path. Instead of populist denial, he opted for painful reform. He assembled a technocratic cabinet, reopened dialogue with creditors, restored fiscal discipline, and prioritised long-term stability over short-term applause. These choices were unpopular in the moment — but history rarely rewards easy decisions.
Today, the results are visible. Zambia is nearing the end of a complex debt restructuring process. Growth projections for 2025 and 2026 are among the strongest in the region. Mining output is rising. Investor confidence has returned cautiously but steadily. Inflation, though still felt, is no longer spiralling. The Kwacha has shown relative stability. The ship that was sinking is now navigating.
Leadership is not only about policy; it is also about personal conduct and moral authority. Here, too, the contrast is stark.
President Hichilema’s lifestyle has been defined by discipline, restraint, and consistency. He is known for personal sobriety as a teetotaller, family stability having stuck to his wife Mutinta, and a deliberate avoidance of excess. These qualities matter because they translate into predictability, focus, and trust.
By contrast, Lungu’s public image was frequently dogged by his character as someone who loved the bottle, married twice, entangled himself in a legal misstep by cheating a client.
He was also known for controversy and questions about personal judgment — issues that, fairly or unfairly, weakened the moral authority of his office. Leadership is symbolic as well as administrative. When citizens are struggling, they expect sobriety of purpose, not spectacle.
Globally, Hichilema fits a familiar pattern: leaders who challenge entrenched systems often face disproportionate hostility at home even as they earn respect abroad. Like Barack Obama or Jacinda Ardern, he has been judged not only on performance but on identity, background, and stereotypes. He has had to be measured, calm, and relentlessly competent because any misstep would be amplified. That double standard is real — and it makes his achievements more, not less, significant.
This is not to say President Hichilema is perfect, but he has earned admiration because of his leadership; the seriousness with which they are confronted. On that score, President Hichilema stands apart from his predecessor.
When history weighs this era, it will not be swayed by noise or nostalgia. It will ask whether Zambia regained credibility, restored order, and re-entered the world as a serious country. The answer, increasingly recognised from London to Beijing, is yes.
That is why President Hakainde Hichilema belongs among the world’s best leaders — and why the comparison with Edgar Lungu is not only inevitable but instructive.
