It Is Now Clear Hakainde Hichilema Is Equal To The Task
By John Nyambe Kalunga
Evidently, support for the UPND is generally skewed towards Hakainde Hichilema as an individual because of his astuteness, gregariousness, affluence, humility, and of course charisma. President Hichilema’s natural popularity among Zambians, youths in particular, is unwavering and it is mainly anchored on the accolades alluded to.
This is evidenced by how thrilled the University of Zambia (UNZA) students were when President Hichilema made his maiden visit to the institution since assuming authority of the highest office of the land. It is not surprising that the students were so enthusiastic with HH’s visit because they have mainly been voting for the UPND President in past elections.
From the foregoing, it was easy to conclude that students are unforgiving to the former ruling party – PF – a party, which stripped them of their meal allowances, a party that limited the awarding of bursaries to a few students with connections.
President Hichilema has repeatedly stated that his victory in the previous election was largely due to the youths who sought a better alternative. For this, he has rewarded them by fulfilling his promise to provide free education, to reintroduce student meal allowances and to increase the number of bursary beneficiaries among others.
It is thus easy to fathom why President Hichilema will easily retain his position in 2026 especially with a weak and disorganized opposition. Statistics indicate that Zambia has a youthful population and it is these youths whom HH is taking great care of who have put him on the path to victory.
Even though he insists that his preoccupation is to work and not necessarily to win the 2026 polls, winning the election will be straightforward for President Hichilema. However, it might prove otherwise for some of his ministers and Members of Parliament.
President Hichilema realizes that Zambians crave to find their feet in life. He knows that there is a strong desire to access the necessities of life that have rarely been made available by successive administrations especially during the PF reign when corruption and outright theft of public resources was the toll order.
HH is alive to the fact that his methodical approach of doing things is being perceived as being slow but it is one of the instruments that he is using to awaken the interest of the electorate in what to expect from their elected officials since their assumption of office. President Hichilema notes that it is work and not rhetoric that will endear government to its people.
During the PF reign, corruption, theft, the high cost of living and other harrowing economic issues combined and gave birth to the current situation that has led to an increase in the country’s poverty index.
This notwithstanding, HH is slowly and methodically reversing the status quo by paying off pensioners (including partial preretirement pensions), empowering citizens through the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), paying money owed to contractors and restructuring the country’s huge debt among other initiatives aimed at poverty alleviation.
While HH’s deeds are there for all and sundry to see, most UPND MPs are not doing enough to showcase their constituency projects for the benefit of endearing themselves to their constituents and for matching up with the executive arm that is usually receiving a trail of praises from structures on the ground.
Undoubtedly, HH is up to the mark but the works of some of his ministers and MPs are obscure and unremarkable and these have to up their game going forward. Citizens from all parts of the country are stuffed ideally as to what is happening to some of their MPs. They are poised on who to vote for and who should be collectively sacked through the ballot.
The UPND politicians, ministers and MPs in particular, must learn from the mistakes of their colleagues who have fallen from grace. They must think beyond their personal gains and center
their goals to what might change and uplift the already broken trust from the people.
Notably, some of the ministers and MPs have never stepped in certain areas of their constituencies since they were voted into office. The show of empathy and passion for the people that they waged as they sought their vote was feigned as they are not showing care for the electorate.
Of course, most politicians promise the electorate heaven on earth because elections aren’t easy to win by presenting facts as they are, seekers of elective offices will always devise avenues to awaken voters’ sensitivity by making mind-blogging pledges that could hardly be achieved in the world of reality. But then there should be some semblance of compassion among them.
As loyal Zambians, nothing should matter more than the absolute enthusiasm to salvage the country, to bring sanity into the system, to ignore every distraction marauding in the political space. There is also a need for us, led by our elected officials, to be intentional in our quest for a country that works.