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PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA: THE FIRST PRESIDENT EVER IN AFRICA TO REFUSE A SALARY — A LEADER WHO PUTS ZAMBIA BEFORE MONEY
Hakainde Hichilema — the man who has shown Africa that leadership is bigger than money.
I have watched presidents come and go. Zambia has had six presidents before President Hakainde Hichilema: Kenneth Kaunda, Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, Rupiah Banda, Michael Sata and Edgar Chagwa Lungu. Each one came with a different style of leadership. Each one left a different mark on the history of Zambia.
But this young man is different.
This is why many Zambians call him Bally. Others call him the Calculator Boy. Others have even gone as far as calling him the President of Africa. To me, Hakainde Hichilema has demonstrated something that is extremely rare in African politics: money is not his priority. The people of Zambia are his priority.
And let me make one thing clear. President Hakainde Hichilema does receive the presidential salary, but his position has been that he donates his salary and allowances to charity. That alone tells us something about the man. To president Hakainde Hichilema, a salary is not a motivation for serving the people.
Can anyone mention another country where a president was elected at a time when the country was in such serious economic distress?
Zambia was facing a debt crisis. Zambia had defaulted on its sovereign debt. In 2020, Zambia became the first African country to default on its sovereign debt during the pandemic era.
The country was economically wounded.
The country was struggling.
The country was rotten to the core.
Then Hakainde Hichilema came in.
And what did he do?
Free education.CRIMINALITY MUST NEVER BE DRESSED UP AS DIALOGUE
A country that had defaulted on its debt was now introducing free education.
Students who had struggled to remain in school were given a new opportunity.
Skills training was expanded.
Student meal allowances were restored.
Free examinations became part of the education reforms.
And today, we can talk about Zambia successfully negotiating a major restructuring of its debt.
That is leadership.
Anyone can stand on a podium.
Anyone can wave at crowds.
Anyone can make promises during campaigns.
But not everyone is a leader.
Sometimes we abuse the word leader. We call every politician a leader simply because they hold a position.
But leadership is tested when the country is in trouble.
Leadership is tested when resources are limited.
Leadership is tested when difficult decisions must be made.
And that is where I say President Hakainde Hichilema has proved beyond the ordinary meaning of the word leader.
Who can imagine an African leader refusing to put immediate money before the future of his people?
Look at the proposed American health funding arrangement worth more than $1 billion. Zambia pushed back because the government believed the conditions attached to the arrangement did not sufficiently protect Zambia’s national interests.
To me, that is a serious decision.
I ask myself: What would happen if we accepted money today and our children suffered because of the conditions attached to it tomorrow?
President Hichilema looked beyond today’s money.
He looked at the little Zambian girl growing up today.
He looked at the Zambian boy who will become a father tomorrow.
He looked at the Zambia that our children will inherit.
That is what leadership is about.
It is not about saying, “Give me the money now.”
It is about asking, “What will this decision do to my country ten or twenty years from now?”
IN A WORLD WHERE MONEY MEANS EVERYTHING
We are living in a world of fashion.
A world of pleasure.
A world of party after party.
A world where some people are prepared to sell their souls simply to make money.
Yet here we have a president whose advisers have confirmed that he donates his presidential salary and allowances to charity.
That shocks me.
Because the presidency is one of the highest offices in the land. The opportunity to receive money, benefits and privileges comes with it.
But President Hakainde Hichilema has shown that the salary itself does not have to be the reason for becoming president.
And that is why I say:
Money is not President Hakainde Hichilema’s priority. Zambia is his priority.
Let us not forget where Zambia came from.
This was a country that had defaulted on its debt.
A country that was struggling to meet its international financial obligations
A country that needed serious economic reconstruction.
But under President Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia secured major debt restructuring agreements.
In 2023, Zambia reached an agreement with its official creditors to restructure about $6.3 billion in debt.
That was not magic.
That was negotiation.
That was economic diplomacy.
That was leadership.
And when you combine that with free education, expanded skills training and other social interventions, you begin to understand why I say that Hakainde Hichilema brought a different type of leadership to Zambia.
Imagine being told that President Hakainde Hichilema is ranked among the top presidents in the world.
Imagine being ranked number five.
And then ask yourself:
Would the same achievement receive greater recognition if the president came from Europe or another Western country?
This is the problem I have with the world.
Anything from Africa is often valued less.
When an African does something extraordinary, the world sometimes looks twice before recognising it.
But when the same thing is done somewhere in the Western world, suddenly everybody wants to celebrate it.
Why?
Africa is not short of intelligent people.
Africa is not short of capable leaders.
Africa is not short of resources.
What Africa has suffered from is poor leadership, corruption, tribalism, inequality and leaders who have sometimes placed personal interests above national interests.
That is why I look at Hakainde Hichilema differently.
Sometimes I look at the things this man has done and I ask myself:
Where did this man come from?
Because he came into State House when Zambia was in serious economic trouble.
He started implementing free education.
He pursued debt restructuring.
He has spoken strongly against corruption.
He has spoken against tribalism.
He has spoken about inequality
And he has demonstrated that personal wealth does not have to be the centre of presidential service.
To me, it is almost as if Hakainde Hichilema came from another planet.
Because in a world where people are fighting over money, this man has demonstrated that there is something bigger than money.
There is a country.
There are children.
There are young people.
There are mothers.
There are fathers.
There are farmers.
There are teachers.
There are workers.
There are millions of Zambians whose future depends on the decisions made today.
I am not saying President Hakainde Hichilema is perfect.
No human being is perfect.
But I am saying we must recognise a different type of leadership when we see it.
A leader is not measured only by how much money he has.
A leader is measured by what he does when the country is suffering.
A leader is measured by whether he can make difficult decisions.
A leader is measured by whether he can put the future above his personal interests.
A leader is measured by what he leaves behind.
And this is why I say that Hakainde Hichilema has gone beyond the ordinary definition of a leader.
He has shown Zambia that leadership can be about sacrifice.
Leadership can be about discipline.
Leadership can be about economic recovery.
Leadership can be about education.
Leadership can be about protecting national interests.
Leadership can be about looking at a little girl today and asking:
“What kind of Zambia will she live in tomorrow?”
That, to me, is the difference.
Hakainde Hichilema is not simply occupying State House. He is writing a different chapter in Zambia’s political history.
And history will judge every president differently.
But one thing I will continue saying:
MONEY IS NOT THE PRIORITY.
THE PEOPLE ARE THE PRIORITY.
ZAMBIA IS THE PRIORITY.
BY BA MEDIA 100%
R. CHIKANYA
Indeed.We have reached a point were people would do anything for money,illegal or not,anything,immoral or not,as long as they get the money,these are very dangerous times.Money is important but the love of it is the root of all evil.We need a disciplined leadership.Men and women of high moral standards.God continue to guide all men and women in positions of authority.