“PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S ADDRESS, EMPTY PROMISES AND UNFULFILLED OBLIGATIONS” – NGOCC
In a scathing response to President Hakainde Hichilema’s recent address to Parliament, the Non-governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has laid bare the government’s repeated failure to deliver on its promises.
While the President touted progress in areas like marriage age harmonization and healthcare, the NGOCC has forcefully pointed out that these are just empty claims, masking a brutal reality of neglect and systemic failures.
Beauty Katebe, NGOCC Chairperson, expressed the organization’s dismay, stating, “The President’s speech was a veil of half-truths.
While the government continues to boast about its achievements, the truth is that vulnerable women and girls are still being failed by the very systems meant to protect them. These promises, when put to the test, turn to dust.”
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One of the few areas the President highlighted with pride was the harmonization of the marriage age in 2023. However, Katebe quickly noted that despite the law, child marriages remain rampant in rural areas.
“The law might have changed, but the mindset and practices of communities haven’t. Our girls are still being married off under customary law, and the law is only as effective as its enforcement,” she added, underlining the government’s failure to tackle entrenched cultural practices.
On healthcare, the President mentioned the establishment of new maternity annexes and health posts, yet Katebe sharply criticized the government for not addressing the severe inadequacies in these facilities. “How many of these facilities are operational? How many of them are properly equipped to handle the high mortality rates we see in rural areas? These are questions that remain unanswered,” she said, emphasizing that healthcare in Zambia is still a distant dream for many citizens.
The brutal reality of the correctional system for women was also not spared. While the government announced a new correctional facility for women with children, Katebe expressed frustration with the lack of urgency.
“Women continue to suffer in overcrowded cells with their children, and the government continues to drag its feet on promises of change. This new facility remains a distant hope,” she stated, highlighting the long-standing neglect of women in the prison system.
Perhaps the most damning critique came regarding the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which President Hichilema claimed was a success. Katebe shot down this assertion, calling it a blatant distortion of the facts.
“The CDF has been riddled with corruption, irregularities, and political misuse. It’s a scheme designed to appease the political elite, not a genuine effort to develop our communities,” she said.
The NGOCC chairperson called for a drastic overhaul of the fund, demanding greater accountability before any further funds are allocated.
On the issue of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the President’s claims of progress were met with disbelief. The Anti-GBV Act remains largely unimplemented, with no shelters or anti-GBV funds in place.
Katebe didn’t mince words: “The government talks a big game about addressing GBV, but when it comes to putting actions behind the words, they fall short. Women and girls continue to suffer in silence without the necessary support systems.”
The government’s failure to implement the Gender Equity and Equality Act, including the establishment of the Gender Equity and Equality Commission, was another sore point.
Despite its constitutional mandate, the Commission remains nonexistent, and Katebe made it clear that the government’s inaction is an insult to Zambia’s women. “This is the reality of Zambia today – a country where promises are made but not kept, where women’s rights are ignored, and where accountability is a foreign concept,” she concluded.
In conclusion, President Hichilema’s address, filled with grand declarations and empty promises, only served to expose the government’s inability to address the fundamental issues that continue to plague the nation.
NGOCC has demanded urgent action on these issues, warning that failure to deliver will only deepen Zambia’s crisis and further undermine the trust of its citizens.
March 1, 2025
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“PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S ADDRESS, EMPTY PROMISES AND UNFULFILLED OBLIGATIONS” – NGOCC
