By Given Mutinta
CONFUSED PF LEADERSHIP: ONE OF THE GOOD REASONS TO RETAIN PRESIDENT HICHILEMA IN 2026
In an audio recording that has gone viral, Kambwili is heard accusing Mundubile, a member of parliament from Mporokoso and a candidate for president of the Patriotic Front (PF), of being a thief who ought to be put behind bars for taking funds meant for road constructions that he never delivered, while Kashishi is accusing Kambwili of stealing rail lines.
This is a tale we have been hearing for the past four years: the fractured PF leadership accusing and hiring and firing each other, heavily focused on individual presidential ambitions rather than cohesive policy platforms.
If the PF leaders have been unable to address their internal disputes in the last four years, they will certainly remain unresolved come the 2026 elections, giving the indication of an alternative not ready to govern.
At this point, we must be realistic, as governing a country is a serious issue. If the PF was an effective opposition, it should have already presented a comprehensive manifesto outlining how it would handle the country’s debt, attract foreign direct investment, and diversify the economy better than the United Party for National Development (UPND).
Seven months before the elections, no opposition leader has consolidated a unified message or presented a policy blueprint that demonstrably surpasses the framework currently being implemented by the UPND government – a serious cause for concern in the paradigm of good governance.
Therefore, prematurely introducing the PF and disrupting this emerging economic recovery—without clarity on its direction, lacking leadership, and devoid of a clearly superior policy framework—can undermine the UPND’s hard-earned economic gains and hinder the progress of ongoing structural reforms.
Therefore, maintaining the UPND-led government until 2031 is the most prudent course to safeguard ongoing economic stabilisation and avoid plunging the nation back into uncertainty due to fragmented and undefined alternative PF leadership.
The initial mandate of the UPND government centred on immediate fiscal discipline and debt restructuring. Since 2021, substantial progress has been made in navigating the complexities of the G20 Common Framework, a process that, while protracted, signals a commitment to sustainable fiscal health, as about 52% of the debt has been restructured.
This improved trajectory is evident in key indicators. Inflation, which had soared to multi-year highs, has shown sustained deceleration, providing essential relief to the average consumers.
Furthermore, efforts to curb non-essential public expenditure and bolster domestic revenue mobilisation have begun to yield fruit, creating a more predictable operating environment for foreign investors. This relative stability, manifesting as predictable foreign exchange movements and gradual improvements in key economic indices, represents a significant achievement that must be protected.
In addition, the effectiveness of a government is often measured against the viable alternatives presented to the electorate. Currently, no major PF figure or grouping has successfully presented a policy blueprint that demonstrably surpasses the UPND’s current approach to debt management, energy security, or investment attraction. The existing government, despite facing implementation hurdles, operates on a defined economic roadmap supported by international partners.
Replacing this established framework with one based on nascent ideas driven by leaders currently preoccupied with internal succession battles can introduce an unnecessary layer of systemic risk into the national economy.
Furthermore, political certainty inherently links with economic confidence. It is inherently risky to introduce a transition that aims to replace the current leadership before achieving its stated economic goals. Major infrastructure projects, investment pledges secured through recent diplomatic efforts, and the ongoing negotiations with multilateral lenders all depend on the continuity of policy implementation and predictable political outcomes.
Thus, a premature political shakeup in 2026, motivated by dissatisfaction with the pace of change rather than outright failure, could easily result in capital flight, currency depreciation – which is performing well against major currencies – and the stalling of critical macroeconomic stabilisation efforts.
Such instability would effectively undo the relative gains achieved since 2021, returning the country to a precarious position akin to the pre-2021 era.
Looking at the immediate chaotic political reality of the PF, which lacks the cohesive structure and superior policy vision required to warrant a change in leadership, and the country’s current benefits from economic stability and structured policy engagement that were lacking in previous years, retaining the UPND government would be the most prudent course for ensuring sustained national economic recovery.