WE HAVE HEARD YOUR CRIES, SAYS HH
….pledges that Zambia’s macroeconomic gains will now directly transform household livelihoods through jobs, business opportunities and enhanced food security
WE HAVE HEARD YOUR CRIES, SAYS HH
….pledges that Zambia’s macroeconomic gains will now directly transform household livelihoods through jobs, business opportunities and enhanced food security
By DAVID KANDUZA
PRESIDENTbHakainde Hichilema has sent a direct message of relief to the Zambian people: “We have heard your cries.”
Addressing thousands of jubilant citizens and regional heads of when he was inaugurated for a second term of office in Lusaka September 1, 2026, that included Kenyan President William Ruto and four other regional presidents, Mr Hichilema acknowledged the economic hardships ordinary households were faced with.
He declared that the hard-won fiscal adjustments of his first term would now aggressively translate into tangible prosperity at the grassroots level.
“Economic growth must mean something at the dinner tables to all our people,” President Hichilema stated during his inaugural address.
“It must mean a job to a graduate, a market for a farmer. It must mean customers for a marketeer,” he said.
Since sweeping to victory in the August 13 polls, President Hichilema’s administration had defined this next chapter as the ‘Grow Zambia Agenda.’
Having spent his first term restructuring crippling national debt and restoring macroeconomic stability, the President emphasised that structural balance sheets were no longer the ultimate goal.
Instead, the next five years would focus entirely on growth, expansion and direct household wealth.
The President unveiled an aggressive economic framework dubbed the 10-10-5-3-3-1-1-1 vision, which outlines targets aimed at tripling the size of Zambia’s economy.
The pillars of this expansion include hitting 10 million tonnes of maize production, 10,000 megawatts of electricity generation, 3 million tonnes of copper extraction, 5 million tourist arrivals, and US$1 billion in beef exports
While promising that the Government would implement deliberate interventions to lift people out of poverty, the President firmly reminded citizens that State efforts must be met with local enterprise.
He called for an immediate national shift away from a culture of waiting for handouts toward hard work, entrepreneurship and productivity.
“Having done the heavy lifting in our first term, the next five years is all about growth, expansion, opportunity and prosperity,” Mr Hichilema said, reinforcing that true relief comes from an economy that actively puts income directly into the hands of its citizens.