The Illusion of Stability: When the Numbers Don’t Feed the People
By Dr Lawrence Mwelwa
The government keeps telling us that things are getting better. They say the kwacha has become stronger and that Zambia now has more money in its reserves. They tell us inflation is under control and that our economy is on the path to recovery. But for the average Zambian, these numbers mean nothing. Go to the market. Go to the filling station. Go to the pharmacy or pay school fees—and you will quickly realise that nothing has changed. Life is still hard. Food is still expensive. Electricity is still unreliable. Jobs are still few. That is the real Zambia, not the one being spoken about in budget speeches and economic reports.
Yes, the kwacha is now buying more dollars than it did a few months ago. But how has that helped the ordinary person? Prices of mealie meal, cooking oil, soap, bus fares, and medicines have not gone down. In fact, some are going up. What’s the use of a strong kwacha if it doesn’t bring relief to families? We were told a stronger currency would bring down prices, but in our homes and pockets, there is no change. The cost of living continues to climb, and many people are just trying to survive one day at a time
The truth is, the economy may be growing on paper, but it is shrinking in the lives of ordinary people. Those running small businesses are being crushed by high costs and low sales. Farmers are struggling to buy fertilizer or to find markets for their produce. Parents are having to choose between paying rent and sending their children to school. Even civil servants, who were once hopeful, are now losing confidence as their salaries fall far behind rising prices.
The K33.6 billion supplementary budget the government brought barely halfway through the year shows us that they did not plan properly. If things were truly going well, why do they need more money now? Why are they rushing to pay fuel arrears and borrowing again, when they told us debt restructuring had created space? Where did the savings go? If we were on the right track, government wouldn’t be scrambling mid-year to keep basic services running.
Meanwhile, social protection programs like cash transfers are being treated as permanent solutions instead of emergency support. A K400 allowance may help someone buy a bag of mealie meal for a month, but it does not build a life. It doesn’t replace a job or give dignity to a family. What Zambians need are opportunities, not handouts timed to score political points ahead of elections.
At the same time, the government’s decisions continue to benefit a few at the top, while the majority are left behind. Local communities still struggle to access CDF funds because of political interference. Teachers and health workers are still calling for better tools, infrastructure, and fair treatment. Farmers are waiting for inputs. And the youth are waiting for jobs that never come.
This is not what was promised. Zambians voted for leadership that would restore order, deliver results, and put people first. What we have instead is leadership that focuses on appearance—strong numbers, glowing speeches, foreign praise—but forgets that the people who matter most are not in the boardrooms, they are in the compounds, on the farms, in the markets.
Until the exchange rate brings cheaper goods, until economic growth brings decent jobs, and until government policy brings real relief to homes across the country, all these achievements mean very little. Numbers do not cook nshima. Graphs do not pay school fees. And reserves do not comfort a mother who cannot afford to take her child to the clinic.
We must be careful not to confuse statistics with progress. Real progress is when a family can eat three meals a day. It is when a young graduate finds meaningful work. It is when a farmer grows with confidence, not fear of drought or delayed inputs. That is the Zambia we need—not the one painted by numbers, but the one built on real change.