WHY HON. FLORENCE IS RIGHT ZAMBIAN WOMEN WANT DEVELOPMENT, NOT JUST DEMOCRACY
By the community updates
Much has been said about the video of Honourable Florence Chileshe Chama thanking President Hakainde Hichilema for nominating 20 women in Parliament, where she stated that as women, they want development, not just democracy.
Her statement has been taken out of context by some, but the truth is she spoke the mind of many Zambian women.
What Hon. Florence meant is clear: Democracy without development is empty. For years, women in villages have heard big political English about democracy, but what they need is practical development that changes their daily lives.
Why Development is More Important:
1. Development Feeds Families, Slogans Don’t: A mother in Nakonde, Mwenzo or anywhere in Zambia does not take democracy to the market. She needs cheaper mealie-meal, fertilizer on time, good roads to take her maize to FRA, and money in her pocket. That is development.
2. President Hichilema Has Shown Development IS Democracy: By nominating 20 women to Parliament, President HH has demonstrated true democracy in action – inclusive, practical democracy that empowers women to be part of development. This is not just talking about democracy, this is living it.
3. Women Understand Priorities: Zambian women are the backbone of farming, trading and raising families. They know that clinics, schools, clean water, and empowerment funds are more urgent than political debates on social media. Hon. Florence was speaking for that rural woman who wants her child to go to a decent school.
4. Continuity is Key: This is why she says “beyond 2031”. Development needs continuity. You cannot build a Mwenzo Airport, finish FRA payments, and transform agriculture in one term. The New Dawn Government needs time to finish what it has started.
Let us salute Hon. Florence for being bold and truthful. She did not insult democracy – she simply reminded us that democracy must deliver development. And under President Hakainde Hichilema, it is delivering.
Zambian women have spoken: Give us development, and we will support the President who is delivering it.