Zambia has just crossed a milestone that any serious nation would treat as a national triumph.
Zambia’s international reserves now stand at a historic US$5.2 billion. This is the highest ever recorded in Zambia’s history and the 13th highest on the African continent.
In the SADC region, Zambia now sits comfortably behind only South Africa, Angola, and Tanzania. 
This is not luck. This is not an accounting trick. It is the consequence of disciplined policy, rising exports, and a clear recovery in investor confidence.
Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane put it plainly: reforms are working, the external position is strengthening, and the world is finally viewing Zambia as a country back on its feet.
S&P and Fitch have upgraded Zambia’s sovereign rating.
This is the same Zambia that was recently the continent’s poster child for default.
Credit agencies do not hand out upgrades for free. They do it when a government shows consistency, seriousness and the ability to turn a collapsing economy back toward stability.
The real question is: Why are some people, especially the opposition political leaders, Church and non- governmental organisation still pretending not to see what thus government is achieving right in front of them? All they see is Bill 7 and the man they hate the most because of his ethnic grounding!
President Hakainde Hichilema has taken Zambia from the edge of financial bankruptcy to a point where global markets are opening doors again.
Reserves do not grow to historic levels in a collapsing economy.
Sovereign ratings do not improve in a chaotic policy environment.
Exports do not surge when a country lacks credibility.
Yet there remains a loud minority that can not acknowledge a single positive development.
Their anger is so deeply rooted that even when the numbers break records, they twist themselves into knots looking for something anything to hate.
This is not political analysis. It is emotional blindness. You can not claim to love the country while refusing to recognise its progress simply because you dislike the person leading it.
Patriotism is not measured by how loudly you insult President Hichilema. It is measured by whether you can put the nation above your personal bitterness.
Today, Zambia is more stable, more credible, and more trusted internationally than it has been in more than a decade.
The data is public.
The world sees it.
The markets see it. Investors see it.
Those who refuse to see it do so by choice.
Whether one supports President Hakainde Hichilema or not, facts remain facts: No administration in recent memory has rebuilt Zambia’s external position this quickly, this transparently and with outcomes this measurable.
At some point, as a nation, we must decide whether we value progress or we value hatred. Because the two can not coexist.
