Thank you Zambians – HH

…as he outlines his vision of how best to govern the country in the next five years should his mandate to govern the country be renewed in the August general election

PRESIDENT Hichilema has paid glowing tribute to Zambians for according him, a villager from Bweengwa in Southern Province the courtesy of becoming the head of State to superintend over affairs of the country.

President Hichilema has also thanked Zambians for the patience in the last five year through which he said he worked hard to turn round the economic fortunes of the country under difficult circumstances.

Launching his campaign trail for the August general election, President Hichilema held a mega rally at Heroes Stadium yesterday where he outlined his vision for the next five years should Zambians renew his mandate to continue governing the country.

“Thank you for your resilience. We have gone through a lot of problems but you did not give up. It is you Zambians from across the nation who put me in power. We are truly grateful for your decision to vote for me as your President,” President Hichilema said.

The President said although his administration had made significant progress, more work remained to be done.

“We have worked hard but there is still more to be done. Life is still challenging for a lot of people. We hear you when you complain in your homes. We feel the challenges that you feel and we will not rest until we fulfil our promises,” he said.

President Hichilema said his administration had laid a solid foundation for the country’s development through programmes such as free education and large-scale recruitment of teachers.

“Free education is now law and beyond that we have employed 40,000 teachers, something no government has ever achieved,” he said.

The President also said Zambia was on course to reap major benefits from increased mining investment and production.

“We shall soon begin earning more than US$40 billion from the mines,” he said.

President Hichilema cited the successful restructuring of Zambia’s debt and the rebuilding of foreign reserves as evidence that the country’s economy was recovering.

The head of State warned against politics of division and urged citizens to preserve national unity by supporting the UPND in the forthcoming August 13, general election.

“We are one people and one nation. There are some people plotting to divide the country but we shall not allow that to happen,” he said.

President Hichilema also took aim at opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, accusing them of mismanaging public resources during the previous administration when the duo served as Northern and Eastern Province Ministers respectively.

“Those two were provincial ministers. One in Eastern Provinnce and the other in Northern Province and plundered government money, including the reserves at the Bank of Zambia. My message to those two boys is simple: go back to school,” he said.

The President accused the opposition of seeking power for selfish reasons and warned that they would reverse the gains his administration had made.

He thanked the people of Lusaka for turning up in large numbers stating that they had removed “shame” on him as the crowds were real and not Artificially Intelligence (AI) generated.

“We know the high cost of living of high. We are listening and working to make it affordable,” the head of State said while chanting ‘salt sana.’

And Vice-President Mutale Nalumango urged voters not to support political leaders who had regrouped under opposition alliances, warning that such a move would take Zambia backwards.

ENDS.