01/09/2026
The first five years were about fixing the foundations; the next five are about building the fortune.
President Hakainde Hichilema made the vision clear today: the past five years were dedicated to restructuring, stabilizing, and re-establishing trust. Having achieved that, the nation's priority shifts decisively toward rapid economic growth, industrial capacity, and national wealth creation.
Restructuring was a necessary first phase. It required hard decisions to stabilize our macroeconomic environment, restore fiscal discipline, manage national debt, and rebuild institutional credibility on the global stage. But stabilization alone does not create long-term prosperity, it simply creates the conditions where wealth can be built.
Now, the mandate for the next five years is clear: convert that stability into tangible economic output.
This second phase must be defined by:
Production over reliance : Scaling up local manufacturing, value addition in agriculture, and expanding domestic industrial capacity rather than relying heavily on raw commodity exports.
Capital and local enterprise : Creating environment and funding mechanisms that allow Zambian entrepreneurs and SMEs to access capital, scale operations, and capture real value in key supply chains.
Jobs and real incomes : Translating top-line macroeconomic balance into microeconomic benefits, increased employment, higher purchasing power, and expanded trade opportunities across all nine provinces.
Stabilization was necessary, but growth is essential. With the structural groundwork now firmly in place, the focus shifts to ex*****on, productivity, and making national wealth creation a reality for every Zambian. Twalumba Kapati 🫱🏾🫲🏿🇿🇲
