🇿🇲 ANALYSIS | Brian Mundubile, The Telegraph Praise, & Zambia’s Economic Record
Brian Mundubile’s reaction to The Telegraph naming President Hakainde Hichilema among its “World Leaders of 2025” is emotionally charged and deliberately confrontational. He has framed the recognition as detached foreign applause that ignores domestic hardship.
“When a British editorial board at The Telegraph decides that Hakainde Hichilema is one of the ‘best presidents in the world,’ Zambians should pause, not to celebrate, but to laugh bitterly,” Mundubile wrote.
“The Telegraph may see a statesman; Zambians see a salesman of hope who forgot to deliver.”
His central argument is simple. International praise does not reflect lived realities. He cites poverty levels near 70 percent, unpaid farmers, drug shortages, load shedding, and high fuel prices as evidence that foreign approval is hollow.
This framing resonates emotionally. It also requires context.
First, The Telegraph list is editorial, not statistical. It reflects how global institutions assess macroeconomic management, debt restructuring, investor confidence, and geopolitical positioning, not household welfare.
The distinction matters. The paper praised Zambia for restoring fiscal discipline after the 2020 debt default, advancing debt restructuring, stabilising public finances, and rebuilding credibility with creditors and investors. Those claims are supported by IMF programme reviews, World Bank assessments, and bond market reactions.
Second, Mundubile’s critique omits Zambia’s economic inheritance. Under the Patriotic Front government, in which he served as a senior figure, Zambia defaulted on its Eurobond obligations in November 2020. Public debt rose above 120 percent of GDP. Foreign reserves fell below two months of import cover. Fuel and electricity subsidies were financed through unsustainable borrowing. By 2021, the country had lost access to international capital markets.
Those outcomes are not disputed. They are documented by the Ministry of Finance, the IMF, and rating agencies.
Mundubile writes, “If poverty were a medal, President Hichilema would be a world champion.”
That line is rhetorically sharp, but poverty levels did not emerge in four years. Zambia’s poverty rate was already above 60 percent before 2021, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency. Structural poverty, informal employment, and rural vulnerability predate the current administration.
Third, Mundubile challenges governance credibility, citing global indices. It is accurate that Zambia ranks mid-table on the Mo Ibrahim Index. It is also accurate that governance indicators improved modestly after 2021 in debt transparency, procurement disclosure, and fiscal reporting. Corruption control remains contested. That debate is legitimate. What is missing is Mundubile’s own governance record.
As a PF leader, Mundubile does not point to a major economic reform he led, a fiscal correction he championed, or a stabilisation policy he defended when PF held power. During PF’s tenure, civil service recruitment was largely frozen. Fuel prices rose sharply in 2018 and 2019. Load shedding intensified due to delayed investment and drought exposure. Hospitals experienced chronic drug shortages. These conditions did not begin in 2021.
Mundubile writes, “Zambians need bread, not bouquets.”
This is true. It is also true that bread requires macroeconomic stability to be affordable and available at scale. Debt restructuring, currency stabilisation, and fiscal control do not feed people instantly, but without them, food inflation worsens.
The Telegraph recognition does not cancel hardship. It does not mean President Hichilema has succeeded in all areas. Load shedding, cost of living pressures, and delayed payments remain serious concerns. The praise reflects external confidence, not internal satisfaction.
What weakens Mundubile’s argument is selective memory. He demands immediate welfare outcomes while ignoring the fiscal collapse his party presided over. He warns against foreign applause while offering no alternative economic framework beyond moral outrage.
He concludes, “Foreign editorial boards don’t vote.”
This is correct. Voters do. But voters also weigh credibility. A critique carries more weight when paired with accountability.
This analysis is not an endorsement of government performance. It is a reminder that economic debate must rest on records, timelines, and responsibility, not only slogans. Zambia’s challenges are real. So is its recent fiscal repair. Both truths can coexist.
Clarity demands acknowledging them together.
© The The People’s Brief | Editirs
Mundubile was part of the cohort of thieves that borrowed recklessly. You can not detach the obligation to repay the kaloba PF contracted from the prevailing cost of living. Even in yowa own house, if 90% of yowa salary is going towards paying back kaloba, don’t expect yowa wife or spouse to prepare chicken every day. Prepare yowaself to eat cabbage and soya pieces. Until the day that the kaloba is paid in full.
If Mundubile can not compute that simple domestic economics equation and translate it to national level, he is clearly to fit for responsible and transformative leadership. HH is in a class so far above these imbeciles who have zero insight into their deadly affliction.
If this is the type of opposition leaders we have, then forget about meaningful checks and balances. They perceive national issues at such an elementary level it is amazing that they can even aspire to lead the nation.
Not surprising that PF got us in the mess we are in. Its leadership lack depth.