The Editor Zambia
President Hakainde Hichilema is set to win the August 13 general elections because he has demonstrated focused leadership.
President Hichilema has positioned Zambia as a prime investment destination, stabilised the country’s economy, and improved and expanded social services. 
Zambians have placed greater confidence and largely settled for President Hichilema, given the way he managed to navigate the difficult terrain the country experienced.
Since taking office in August 2021, President Hichilema focused on economic stabilization, social reforms, and debt restructuring.
His administration has achieved a major milestone by successfully restructuring Zambia’s external debt, restoring confidence among international partners and investors and allowing the country to redirect resources toward development priorities such as infrastructure, health, and education.
To date, 94 percent of Zambia’s debt has been restricted, giving the country some headroom in debt servicing of around 2.2 billion to 900 million dollars annually.
President Hichilema has introduced free education and created a school feeding programme, allowing more than 2.5 million learners to return school without paying tuition fees.
The impact of this expanded school programme has enabled children from vulnerable families in both rural and urban areas to return to classrooms.
President Hichilema’s government has also undertaken one of the largest public sector recruitment drives in recent years conducted in a transparent manner.
Since 2021, the government has employed over 30,000 teachers and more than 20,000 health workers, significantly improving staffing levels in schools and hospitals that had previously struggled with severe shortages.
Other public sectors such as agriculture, military, police, and quasi- government institutions have also been employed in excess of 20, 000.
The impact of the move has improved accessibility of social services both in rural and urban areas.
President Hichilema’s agriculture policy is focused on transforming Zambia into a regional food hub through private sector investment, irrigation expansion, and early distribution of farming inputs (FISP).
His key initiatives included strengthening the e-voucher system, encouraging crop diversification, and bolstering smallholder resilience to achieve high-volume production.
These policies are aimed to achieve high production, with notable success stories in maize production in 2024/25 farming season.
In the mining sector, President Hichilema’s mining reforms have attracted approximately US$12 billion in new investment into Zambia’s mining sector since 2022.
He has created a conducive environment, microeconomic stability, and enhanced governance, with the goal of achieving three million tonnes of annual copper production by 2031.
Reforms undertaken in the mining sector are now yielding tangible results, with increased copper production, employment, and business opportunities for local people and businesses.
Under President Hichilema, Zambia has significantly expanded its Social Cash Transfer programme, increasing beneficiaries from 895,000 households in 2021 to 1.5 million by February 2026.
The government has doubled monthly payments to K400 and up to K600 for households with persons with disabilities, aiming to strengthen household resilience and provide better coverage for vulnerable citizens.
This programme is helping families in communities across the country to buy food, support their children’s education, and meet essential household needs.
Overall, President Hichilema is the most experienced politician spanning 20 years of leading a big political party with structures from the grassroots.
He remains simple, tolerant, and hamble, and his political experience is unmatched.
Currently, he has no competitor
