🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Kasama Vicar General Links Economic Hardship to Thursday’s Vote
A senior Catholic cleric in Northern Province has urged Zambians to use Thursday’s general election to respond to economic hardship, citing high fuel prices, difficulties in the crop marketing season and poor roads among pressures affecting households and businesses.
Very Reverend Father Rodgers Fikwamo, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Kasama, made the remarks this morning during the 2026 Kasama Archdiocesan Catholic Men’s Organization Conference at Lubushi Minor Seminary, according to Lutanda Radio.
Father Fikwamo told the gathering that high fuel prices had constrained business activity and contributed to economic difficulties facing citizens. He urged eligible voters, particularly men attending the conference, to exercise their right to vote and use the ballot as an opportunity to seek relief from prevailing conditions.
His intervention also moved directly into agriculture, an important political and economic issue across Northern Province. Father Fikwamo questioned the handling of this year’s crop marketing season, arguing that the Food Reserve Agency had not been adequately prepared and that delays surrounding the government’s announcement of the programme had compounded uncertainty for farmers..
The Vicar General also raised the condition of Northern Province’s road network, saying deteriorating infrastructure was affecting livelihoods and economic activity. Taken together, his remarks placed fuel, agriculture and roads at the centre of his assessment of the economic pressures confronting communities in the region.
The timing gives the remarks additional political weight. Zambia votes on Thursday, August 13, leaving the governing UPND and opposition parties only days to make their closing arguments. Northern Province is also an important part of the electoral contest, having historically leaned towards the former ruling Patriotic Front while the UPND seeks deeper penetration ahead of this year’s vote.
Father Fikwamo did not, according to the remarks reported by Lutanda Radio, endorse a political party or presidential candidate. His message was framed around voter participation and prevailing economic conditions. He also appealed for peace and order as the country enters the final days before polling.
The intervention is significant because Zambia’s Catholic Church has historically carried considerable weight in national conversations on governance, elections and social conditions.
Coming from a senior cleric in Kasama, the remarks place some of the opposition’s strongest campaign issues, particularly household economic pressure, into a broader civic conversation immediately before the vote.
This year’s Kasama Archdiocesan Catholic Men’s Organization Conference is being held under the theme, “Men, the Faces of Saint Joseph in the Modern Families.”
Source: Lutanda Radio | Picture: Lutanda Radio
© The People’s Brief | Mwape Nthegwa
The Catholic Church priests will never stop to amaze.