HH a good steward of Zambia – Bwalya

 By BARNABAS ZULU
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has managed the country’s economy prudently by balancing the growth its financial reserves with programmes aimed at cushioning vulnerable citizens, Frank Bwalya has said

Mr Bwalya, the United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential support team director general has dismissed claims that government had prioritised building foreign reserves at the expense of ordinary Zambians, saying the administration had simultaneously rolled out several social protection programmes.

“It is not true that government concentrated on growing reserves while ignoring the needs of the people. While the reserves were growing, a lot was done to cushion families that were hard hit by the unprecedented drought,” Mr Bwalya said in an interview yesterday.

He cited the expansion of the Social Cash Transfer programme, the Cash for Work initiative and the School Feeding Programme as some of the interventions that have helped vulnerable households.

Mr Bwalya said the School Feeding Programme complements the free education policy by encouraging children to attend school and improving their concentration in class.

He also said the UPND government had cleared long-standing retirement benefits for many former public workers and had created thousands of jobs through the recruitment of teachers, nurses, defence and security personnel.

Mr Bwalya also noted that resolving the challenges at Mopani Copper Mines enabled local authorities such as Kitwe City Council to receive statutory payments, which were later used to settle outstanding retirement benefits.

He added that government had consistently increased salaries for civil servants despite the country’s debt obligations.

“If it had not been for the huge debt inherited from the previous government, we would have seen even bigger salary increments for civil servants,” he said.

Mr Bwalya said President Hichilema had demonstrated prudent economic leadership and remained focused on improving the livelihoods of Zambians.

“He has been a good steward and has managed the Zambian economy prudently while keeping his eyes fixed on addressing the challenges facing the people,” he said.