Why the Rush for Constitutional Amendments, President Hakainde Hichilema? Zambia’s Crisis is Economic, Not Constitutional
By Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma
President Hakainde Hichilema, the question many Zambians are now asking is simple: Why the rush to amend the Constitution when the country is not facing a constitutional crisis, but is clearly sinking in an economic one?
Constitutional refinement can be a legitimate exercise in governance. However, when the timing is wrong, when national priorities are painfully obvious, and when citizens are overwhelmed by daily survival, such moves begin to appear politically tone-deaf and dangerously disconnected from the lived realities of ordinary people. Today, Zambia’s urgent crisis is economic, and it is deep.
1. The Cost of Living Has Become Unsustainable
Zambians are not asking for a new constitution; they are asking for affordable food, transport, and electricity. Mealie meal prices have climbed beyond the reach of low-income households, driven by a depreciating kwacha, rising production costs, and unstable supply chains. Fuel prices continue to rise, pushing transport fares upward and increasing commodity prices across every sector.
Electricity tariffs have increased, creating pressure on families and making it harder for SMEs to survive. Meanwhile, salaries remain stagnant while inflation erodes the little purchasing power workers still have. For the ordinary citizen, constitutional amendments do not fill the stomach, do not pay rent, and do not reduce school fees in boarding schools.
2. The Kwacha’s Weakness Is Crushing the Economy
The kwacha’s persistent depreciation has become a national headache. It reduces purchasing power, raises import costs, and suffocates businesses dependent on foreign inputs. Its effects are visible everywhere: higher fuel and fertilizer prices, increased costs of medicines and medical supplies, more expensive industrial inputs, and greater pressure on national debt servicing. This is not a constitutional problem; it is an economic problem urgently in need of policy solutions.
3. Unemployment, Especially Among Youth, Is Exploding
Zambia’s young population is educated, energetic, and ready to contribute, yet deeply unemployed. Thousands of graduates remain jobless. Skilled artisans struggle to find stable income. Small businesses are collapsing under high costs, low demand, and harsh economic conditions. A nation with an idle youth population is planting the seeds of future instability. Prioritizing constitutional architecture over job creation is simply economically reckless.
4. The Agriculture Sector Is Struggling Severely
Small-scale farmers, the backbone of Zambia’s food system, are under immense strain. They face unpredictable input distribution, rising fertilizer prices, climate-related shocks, poor market access, and inadequate storage and processing infrastructure. The results are deeply worrying: reduced yields, higher food prices, and increased reliance on imports. This is an economic emergency, not a constitutional one.
5. Load Shedding and Power Challenges Are Frustrating Industry
Energy shortages continue to cripple factories, mines, SMEs, and commercial businesses. Productivity is down, operational costs are up, and investment confidence is weakened. Why focus on constitutional changes when Zambia still cannot guarantee stable power?
6. Public Services Are Under Strain
Zambians continue to struggle with hospitals lacking essential medicines, schools lacking teachers and materials, and communities lacking clean water, roads, and clinics. These are the issues that keep families awake at night, not constitutional provisions.
Why the Rush, Mr. President? The Public Sees Only One Possibility
When constitutional amendments are pushed aggressively, against widespread public caution, the nation is left with one unavoidable conclusion: you want to give yourself an upper hand ahead of the 2026 general elections.
The same Constitution you are trying to amend is the very Constitution that enabled your victory in 2021. It did not stop the will of the people then, so why is it suddenly urgent now?
If Bill 7 truly does not advantage you in the upcoming elections, then withdraw it, because the majority of Zambians have consistently expressed their opposition. And if the amendments are genuinely for national interest and not political advantage, then they can wait until after the 2026 elections, when emotions have cooled and citizens can participate in a calm, inclusive, and credible reform process.
In Conclusion: Fix the Economy First
Zambia is not experiencing a constitutional crisis. Zambia is experiencing an economic crisis, one that affects every household, every business, and every community.
President Hakainde Hichilema, the message from citizens is clear:
Pause the constitutional amendments.
Address the real crisis.
Zambia needs economic oxygen, not political restructuring.
We want the Youths, PLDs and more Women to be in Parliament next year, 2026 and not 2031, you continue wasting your time wherever you, after all you are not even in Zambia.