HH -“THE ZAMBIAN MODEL. A CASE FOR AFRICAN REFORM.”
President Hakainde Hichilema has published a new op-ed in News24 setting out “The Zambian model. A case for African reform.” The President described the case for African-led reform built on fiscal discipline, investment, democratic governance and long-term development.
President Hichilema argued that Zambia has rewritten the narrative from being “the first sovereign default of the Covid era” to becoming an example of recovery driven by domestic reform rather than external rescue. “The story Africa is told is too often one of what happens to us,” he wrote. “The story we are writing in Zambia is one of our own making.”
The President highlighted Zambia’s landmark debt-for-development swap, expected to save US$275 million for investment in electricity infrastructure, alongside a reduction in public debt from 133% of GDP in 2023 to below 95% today. The President added Zambia’s commitment to policy certainty and partnership has helped restore investor confidence over the past five years.
He also pointed to economic reforms that have reduced public debt, restored investor confidence and revived the mining sector through stable, partnership-based policies, with rising copper production and increased mineral revenues supporting future growth.
Beyond the economy, President Hichilema cited free education, teacher recruitment, allowing “nearly 2.6 million more pupils” back into school.
The President emphasised the expansion of the Constituency Development Fund which has “multiplied by more than twenty-five-fold” to advance healthcare services and has helped “lower maternal mortality from 278 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 to 187 in 2024.” He reinforced the importance of development funding as proof that the benefits of reform are being directed towards citizens.
In anticipation of the upcoming elections, the President urged citizens to exercise free, fair and credible elections in the eyes of observers, both domestic and international.
Framing the article as a broader argument for the continent, he contended that Africa can combine economic recovery with democratic accountability, concluding that “the world needs sovereign reform that holds” and that Zambia’s experience offers a practical model for others pursuing sustainable growth and in a new era of AI revolution.