THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BORROWING TO SURVIVE AND BORROWING AFTER COLLAPSE: A LETTER TO MY BELOVED COUNTRY
My Dearly Beloved Zambians.
Our country must learn to speak honestly with itself, especially in difficult moments. The tragedy of African politics is that we reduce every serious national conversation into slogans, emotions and political camps. Yet economics does not listen to slogans. Debt does not listen to cadres. Markets do not respond to chants. Nations rise or fall on discipline, productivity, credibility and long term planning.
It is non arguable that Zambia borrowed heavily under the previous administration. Let us not rewrite history. Roads were built, airports were constructed, schools and hospitals were expanded. Infrastructure development is important for national growth, but the critical question has never been whether borrowing happened. The real question is, “was the borrowing sustainable, productive, transparent and matched with the country’s repayment capacity?”
A family can build a beautiful mansion through loans, but if the monthly income cannot sustain the repayment, eventually the same house becomes a burden instead of a blessing. This is exactly what happened to Zambia. The nation reached a point where debt servicing itself began choking liquidity, weakening the Kwacha, frightening investors and limiting government flexibility. In 2020, Zambia defaulted. That was not propaganda. That was a financial reality before the eyes of the world.
Now let us also be honest about the present government. The current administration did not enter office in a normal situation. They entered government in the middle of economic fire, debt restructuring negotiations, investor uncertainty, drought pressures, energy challenges and a wounded economy. This is why many citizens do not fully understand the difference between borrowing before collapse and borrowing after collapse.
There is a difference between borrowing while hiding a growing structural problem, and borrowing while trying to stabilise a country already in default. There is a difference between borrowing for political consumption and borrowing to prevent total economic paralysis. There is a difference between borrowing before the house catches fire, and borrowing to stop the fire from consuming the remaining structure.
Notwithstanding that, the current leadership ought to get to terms with reality that our people need relief. The market must breathe. Young people need jobs. Farmers need affordable inputs. Businesses need liquidity. Families need cheaper mealie meal and stable electricity. Debt restructuring alone cannot become the destination. It must become the foundation upon which real economic recovery is built as the country moves forward beyond 2026 elections.
This is why Zambia now requires a higher level of national thinking beyond PF and associated splinter groups versus UPND. The future of this country will not be rescued by recycled bitterness, personality cults or endless political vengeance. Neither will it be saved by blind praise singing. Zambia needs a new political morality anchored on truth, discipline, production and patriotism. It’s time to build on the current macroeconomic stability for real change in the lives of families.
The reduction of the cost of living will not come from campaign rhetoric or political grandstanding, especially from those who previously presided over policies that weakened the country’s economic foundations. It will come when Zambia begins producing more than it consumes; when electricity becomes reliable enough to drive industry; when farmers, miners, manufacturers and entrepreneurs are empowered to expand production; when the Kwacha gains stability through confidence and exports; when corruption stops inflating the price of public projects; and when the wealth beneath our soil begins to create prosperity in the homes of ordinary citizens instead of benefiting only a privileged few.
The greatest danger before Zambia today is falling into the trap of those who once recklessly drove the country into murky economic waters. Citizens are tired. Tired of propaganda. Tired of political warfare. Tired of fear. Tired of being forced to choose between anger and praise singing.
What Zambia needs now is maturity.
The responsibility of leadership now is not merely to mirror the frustrations of the people, but to guide the nation responsibly through difficult realities, make necessary corrections where mistakes were made, preserve national stability and create the conditions for long term recovery and prosperity. Serious economic challenges are not overcome through slogans, blame or perpetual political conflict, but through discipline, production, reform and sustained national effort.
Zambia will rise when institutions become stable, when confidence returns to the economy, when production expands, when leadership remains steady under pressure, and when citizens themselves embrace patience, responsibility and hard work as part of national recovery.
The Republic must outlive political camps.
Saviour Chishimba
President
United Progressive People (UPP)