By The Zambian Economist Analyst | Lusaka | 26 October 2026

LUSAKA: The Mayor of Lusaka, Mr Chitambala Mwewa, has called for global partnerships in smart city solutions, waste-to-value innovation and digital destination marketing, positioning the Zambian capital as a city that intends to earn from tourism without wrecking the environment that tourists come to enjoy.

Mr Mwewa made the call when he delivered his Mayoral Statement at the Mayors’ Roundtable during the 2nd Global City Tourism Summit 2026 in Busan, South Korea. The summit, held under the theme “Local Tourism; Connecting Urban Economies and Tourism Innovation”, has drawn mayors and delegates from across the world to share working models for tourism-led growth that spreads benefits beyond hotel lobbies and into townships, markets and small businesses.

Lusaka as a destination, not a stopover

Central to the Mayor’s message is that Lusaka has spent decades being treated as a transit point on the way to Livingstone, South Luangwa or Victoria Falls. That is the framing he wants changed. He told delegates that Lusaka, Zambia’s capital with an estimated 3.1 million people, is positioning itself as a tourism destination in its own right, anchored on culture, heritage, local cuisine and community experiences.

The pitch is already backed by activity on the ground. Mr Mwewa cited the Kabwata Cultural Village, where traditional craft and architecture are on display; city food tours that turn Lusaka’s kitchens and markets into attractions; township arts; and the Make Lusaka Clean, Green and Healthy campaign that targets the state of the city’s streets, parks and public spaces.

The clean city campaign links directly to the argument this publication has made about the environment Lusaka’s residents actually live in. A city that has lost its tree cover and cooks in its own heat does not sell itself to visitors, and the Mayor’s stress on clean, green public spaces acknowledges that the city’s living infrastructure is part of the product, not decoration around it.

Sustainable tourism begins with a clean environment

Mr Mwewa told the roundtable that sustainable city tourism depends on reliable infrastructure, effective waste management, environmental protection and well-maintained public spaces, noting that sustainable tourism begins with a clean environment. It is a statement of the obvious that most city budgets still manage to avoid. A visitor who cannot find a clean public toilet, a litter-free market or a park with shade does not return, and does not recommend.

This is where the Mayor’s three partnership asks fit together. Smart city solutions cover the infrastructure side, from lighting and transport to data that helps a city understand visitor flows. Waste-to-value innovation turns the cost centre of refuse collection into a revenue line, composting and recycling what the city currently burns or buries. Digital destination marketing is how a city of 3.1 million people competes for attention against better-funded rivals without a matching advertising budget.

A common vision for 2040

Mr Mwewa urged cities to work towards a Common Vision for Sustainable City Tourism in 2040, one that promotes vibrant urban economies, innovation and liveable cities. The mayors and delegates at the summit also signed a declaration to reach a shared understanding among global tourism cities on that common vision.

For Lusaka, the value of such a declaration is practical rather than ceremonial. Membership of a global network of tourism cities opens access to the models that have worked elsewhere, from waste-to-energy plants feeding city budgets to cultural districts that lifted township incomes. It also gives the Lusaka City Council a reference point when arguing locally for spending on public spaces that can otherwise be dismissed as cosmetic.

What this means for business and policy

For business: a city that markets food tours, cultural villages and township arts is signalling demand for tour operators, lodges, restaurants, event planners, craft producers and digital marketers. Firms that build products around the initiatives the Mayor cited are moving with the official direction of travel rather than against it.

For policy: the summit commitment will be tested at home. Reliable infrastructure, effective waste management and maintained public spaces are council deliverables that show up in budgets, not in statements. The Make Lusaka Clean, Green and Healthy campaign, and the willingness to chase waste-to-value innovation, are the domestic indicators to watch between now and the summit’s next edition.

For investors: urban tourism infrastructure in a city of 3.1 million people is an under-served market. Convention facilities, hospitality training, waste recycling ventures and digital platforms for destination marketing all sit inside the agenda the Mayor has now taken global.

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BUSAN, 26 October 2026. Lusaka Mayor Chitambala Mwewa has called for global partnerships in smart city solutions, turning waste into valuable products and digital destination marketing to support sustainable tourism in Zambia’s capital.

Delivering his Mayoral Statement at the Mayors’ Roundtable during the second Global City Tourism Summit in Busan, South Korea, Mwewa said Lusaka wants to build its appeal around culture, heritage, local cuisine and community experiences.

He described the capital as a city of an estimated 3.1 million people and pointed to Kabwata Cultural Village, city food tours and township arts as examples of the experiences that could help distinguish Lusaka as a destination.

Cleaner streets are part of the tourism offer

Mwewa said tourism growth depends on reliable infrastructure, effective waste management, environmental protection and public spaces that are properly maintained.

He highlighted the Make Lusaka Clean, Green and Healthy Campaign as part of the city’s efforts to improve its environment, stressing that sustainable tourism begins with cleanliness.

The message connects Lusaka’s tourism ambitions with the everyday services residents use. Clean public spaces and dependable waste collection matter to the visitor experience, while cultural attractions can create opportunities for local guides, artists, food vendors and hospitality businesses.

A shared tourism vision for 2040

The summit is being held under the theme “Local Tourism: Connecting Urban Economies and Tourism Innovation”, bringing together mayors and delegates to exchange approaches to inclusive growth through tourism.

Mwewa urged cities to work towards a Common Vision for Sustainable City Tourism in 2040 that supports vibrant urban economies, innovation and liveable cities.

Mayors and delegates also signed a declaration setting out a shared understanding of that vision.

For Lusaka, the next step will be translating the call for partnerships into practical projects. The announcement did not set out funding commitments, named delivery partners or implementation dates for the proposed smart city and waste innovation initiatives.

LUSAKA, 26 October 2026. President Hakainde Hichilema has asked Parliament to approve a realignment of government ministries, with State House saying the changes are intended to improve how Government operates and delivers public services.

Vice President Mutale Nalumango is expected to move a motion seeking the House’s approval for the proposed establishment, merger and dissolution of ministries.

According to a statement issued by State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, the request has been made pursuant to Article 92 of the Constitution of Zambia.

The proposed restructuring is intended to align government operations with the Grow Zambia Agenda and improve service delivery for Zambians.

Hichilema has urged Members of Parliament to support the proposals, saying the changes are in the country’s best interests.

The announcement concerns a request for parliamentary approval. It does not mean that the proposed changes have already been approved or implemented.

The announcement does not name the ministries that would be created, merged or dissolved, or give an implementation timetable. Those details will be important in understanding how the proposed changes would affect ministerial responsibilities and access to public services.

For citizens and businesses, the practical issue will be how any approved restructuring translates into more efficient public administration and better service delivery.

File photo: Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka in 2023. Credit: TheophilusMaurice / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Unmodified.

By Lubinda Sinyani | The Zambian Economist Analyst | 26 October 2026

The kwacha’s closing rate is set by trading between Zambia’s commercial banks on the interbank foreign exchange market, where dealers buy and sell dollars for mining houses, importers, government agencies and their own books. The Bank of Zambia does not decide it. The figure you see at the end of the day is where the last deals were done, and most days it answers one plain question: were there more dollars for sale than people wanting to buy them?

On Friday 23 October the Bank of Zambia’s mid-rate stood at K20.1145 to the dollar. This year has shown how far that number can travel. The kwacha opened 2026 at about K22.19, strengthened to roughly K17.3 by mid-June, and has since given back a large part of the gain. Even so, it remained the best performer among 12 African currencies tracked by The Rio Times, up 14.8% between 31 December and 9 October.

Where the price is actually made

Every bank that deals in foreign currency quotes two prices: a bid, at which it will buy dollars, and an offer, at which it will sell. On a quiet Friday earlier this month, Absa Bank Zambia reported the kwacha trading at K19.85 and K19.90 for the whole session. Nothing moved because the dollars on offer roughly matched the dollars wanted.

The Bank of Zambia sets the rules of this market rather than the price. Under its Interbank Foreign Exchange Market Rules, revised in June 2024, banks must update the rates on their retail boards at 09:30, 12:30 and 15:30, and keep those retail rates wide enough that the interbank price sits inside them. Large deals, above US$5 million since March 2025 when the central bank raised the threshold from US$1 million, can be priced by negotiation between bank and client.

That 09:30 snapshot carries legal weight. Since 26 December 2025, the Bank of Zambia Currency Directives have required domestic transactions to be settled in kwacha. A contract may still be priced in dollars, but where the parties have not agreed which market rate applies, the central bank’s 09:30 mid-rate becomes the reference.

Who walks in with dollars, and who walks in needing them

Think of each trading day as a queue on both sides of the counter.

Timing matters more than volume. Mining houses do not sell dollars every morning. They convert when their own payment calendar requires it, and that calendar bunches up near month-end, when salaries and taxes fall due. Traders polled by Reuters last week expected the kwacha to stay range-bound for exactly that reason, as corporates sold dollars for month-end payments, even though banks were selling the dollar at K20.37, up from K20.18 a week earlier.

Mining tax is a special channel. Under the 2025 directives, mines may pay their taxes by selling foreign currency directly to the Bank of Zambia at its published mid-rate. Those dollars go into the reserves instead of the interbank pool, which gives the central bank more to work with when it decides to step in. Governor Denny Kalyalya told the September policy briefing that about US$1.2 billion in mining sector revenue had added to foreign exchange supply in the third quarter, when the kwacha appreciated 8.3%.

On the buying side, nobody is more regular than the fuel importers. Zambia imports all of its refined petroleum, and the Energy Regulation Board’s October review showed the reference price of petrol rising to US$121.58 a barrel. Every litre sold at a Lusaka pump eventually needs dollars from the interbank market.

What 6 October taught the market

The clearest recent illustration came on Tuesday 6 October. For part of the year, energy importers had operated under temporary foreign exchange waivers. When those ended, their demand arrived in the commercial market all at once. The kwacha fell as much as 6% in a single session, its biggest intraday drop in more than three years, and touched 21 per dollar before recovering to about 19.84, according to Bloomberg. It was the sixth straight day of losses, helped along by a stronger US dollar and high oil prices.

No fundamental changed overnight. Copper was still selling at around US$14,000 a tonne. What changed was the queue: a large group of buyers turned up in a market that was not deep enough to absorb them at the previous price. Once sellers saw the rush, some held back their dollars, expecting a better rate later. That is how a day’s closing price can overshoot, and why the same currency can recover much of the loss before lunch.

The Bank of Zambia’s hand

Zambia runs a floating exchange rate, with the central bank stepping in to smooth sharp swings rather than to defend a particular level. The 2024 rules allow it to tell banks in advance when it will be in the market, and it has more ammunition than in recent years: gross international reserves reached a record US$6.5 billion in February 2026.

Interest rates work more slowly. On 30 September the Monetary Policy Committee cut the policy rate by 250 basis points to 10.75%, from 13.25%, with inflation at 6.1% and inside the 6 to 8% target band. Bloomberg described it as the deepest cut since at least 2012. Lower yields on Treasury bills make kwacha assets less attractive to foreign portfolio investors over time, which can reduce one source of dollar inflow. In my reading, the October weakness owes far more to import demand than to the rate cut, but the cut removes some of the cushion that high yields used to provide.

The world outside Zambia

Copper accounts for roughly seven of every ten dollars Zambia earns from exports, so its price sets how many dollars the mines eventually bring home. Oil works on the other side of the ledger, deciding how much the fuel importers have to buy, and its effect is sharper when the US dollar is rallying against everything. On those days most emerging market currencies weaken together, and the kwacha rarely escapes.

None of these moves the kwacha by itself in a given afternoon. They change the size of the queues. A rise in copper prices today may only show up in the kwacha weeks later, when the extra export earnings are converted.

Why your bank’s rate is not the screen rate

If you buy dollars at a branch or a bureau de change, you will pay more than the interbank figure quoted in the news. Banks add a retail margin, and the rules cap it from both sides: a bank may not buy dollars from retail and corporate clients above its current interbank bid, nor sell to them above its posted board rate. Bureaux set their own prices within the market. The gap between what you pay and the headline number is the cost of being a small buyer in a wholesale market.

Quick answers

Who sets the kwacha exchange rate?

Commercial banks trading with one another on the interbank market. The Bank of Zambia publishes buying, selling and mid-rates and can buy or sell dollars, but it does not fix the price.

What time is the official reference rate set?

The Bank of Zambia’s 09:30 mid-rate is the default reference for contracts settled in kwacha. Banks also update their retail boards at 12:30 and 15:30.

Can anyone predict where the kwacha will close today?

Not with precision. Dealers watch for large known flows, such as month-end conversions, fuel import payments and central bank announcements, which tell them which way the day is likely to lean.

What to watch next

Month-end conversions should keep the kwacha in a narrow band this week. After that, three dates matter. The Energy Regulation Board’s November review will show whether the October fuel increases bit into import volumes. The Monetary Policy Committee meets on 25 and 26 November. And VAT on fuel returns on 1 December, which will push pump prices up and, through them, the cost of almost everything that moves by road.

If you run a business that pays suppliers in dollars, the practical point is about timing. The last days of the month, when mines and large companies convert dollars to meet kwacha bills, are usually when supply in the market is deepest. Watching that calendar, and the date of the next fuel review, will tell you more about your costs than checking the rate every afternoon. A week like 6 October is a reminder that the pattern can break.

Related coverage: The Kwacha’s October Slide: Why Copper Dollars Are Not Enough · Fuel Price Shock Hits Zambia’s Pump Stations, Carrying Multi-Layer Effects · Why the money finishes before the month ends

About the author

Lubinda Sinyani

Economist, Researcher and Governance Specialist | Lusaka, Zambia

Lubinda Sinyani is a Zambian economist and researcher with experience in public sector research, economic policy, auditing and strategic communication. He sits on the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia’s Board Technical Committee on Corruption Prevention and Communication, and was Vice Chairperson of the Economics Association of Zambia’s National Economic Summit from 2019 to 2021. He holds a Specialist Degree in Economics and Law from Moscow Region State Institute of Humanities and Social Studies, recognised by ZAQA as equivalent to a Master’s degree.

Read his contributor profile · More by Lubinda Sinyani

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By The Zambian Economist Analyst | Opinion by Dr Kelvin Kamayoyo, Technical Advisor for African Rivers | 25 October 2026

Grand Inga could help reduce Africa’s electricity deficit if generation at the Congo River site is developed alongside the networks and institutions needed to deliver power. Its promise lies in the scale of the resource; its success will be measured by electricity reaching homes and productive businesses.

Africa’s energy challenge, in my view, is a failure to turn abundant natural potential into dependable services. Saying the continent has an energy-harnessing problem draws attention to that gap. It does not remove the need to build generation, strengthen utilities or extend connections to people who remain beyond the grid.

For Zambia, the question is practical. A mine needs power when production is scheduled. A small food processor needs refrigeration that works. An entrepreneur deciding whether to buy equipment needs confidence that electricity will be available at a price the business can afford.

What is Grand Inga, and how much power could it provide?

Grand Inga describes the ambition to develop much more of the hydropower resource at Inga, on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It should not be confused with a completed 42,000 MW power station.

The World Bank’s Inga factsheet, updated in June 2025, puts the site’s potential at around 42,000 MW. It describes a possible sequence of up to eight projects. Existing Inga 1 and Inga 2 plants already operate at the site; Inga 3 would be the next development.

That distinction matters when assessing claims about Africa’s power supply. Potential generating capacity is different from dependable output. Design, river conditions and plant availability affect production, while transmission losses and network constraints affect what reaches customers. The headline capacity figure cannot establish a final tariff or a commissioning date.

What has moved beyond discussion?

In June 2025, the World Bank approved a US$250 million credit as the first phase of a US$1 billion Inga 3 Development Program. The support begins with local development, institutional capacity and preparation rather than the delivery of a finished hydropower plant.

The Bank’s April 2026 implementation report records that the programme became effective on 2 February 2026. It also rates overall risk as high, including governance, institutional capacity and environmental and social risks.

My argument is that Africa should advance credible projects with greater urgency. Urgency must produce better decisions: published studies, accountable procurement and financing arrangements that survive changes of government. It cannot substitute for them.

Why would Zambia need more than a dam?

A power station in the DRC would not automatically end Zambia’s power deficit. Electricity would need an available route through the regional network, and buyers would need contracts they can honour. Utilities and regulators would have to resolve how power is priced, dispatched and paid for across borders.

For Zambia, the investment case should therefore examine the delivered cost of electricity, including transmission and other charges. A low generation cost at the source may still produce an expensive import if the route requires extensive new infrastructure or financing carries a heavy premium.

Long-term imports could support industrial planning if supply is dependable. They should be assessed alongside domestic generation, storage where appropriate and measures to reduce network losses. Zambia cannot postpone investments that can improve supply sooner while waiting for a project of Inga’s scale.

Our coverage of the African Hydro Symposium preparations examines the connection between hydropower, water security and climate resilience. The wider discussion belongs within our Business & Economy coverage and Zambia Economy 2026 series.

How does Inga fit a continental electricity market?

The African Union’s African Single Electricity Market and Continental Power Systems Masterplan provide a framework for connecting national systems and expanding regional trade. The AU linked these initiatives to practical work on distribution-grid loss reduction in Lusaka in April 2026.

The lesson is that new generation and better networks need to advance together. Regional power pools can help countries share resources, but an interconnector is useful only if its operating arrangements work and power can move when buyers need it.

Industrialisation needs those details settled. Processing minerals or agricultural produce closer to their source requires businesses to commit money over many years. Predictable electricity supply helps them make that decision; an unfinanced promise does not.

Can hydropower protect the Congo River?

River health should be a condition of development. It would be misleading, however, to assume that building a dam automatically restores a river, reduces flooding or improves fisheries and navigation. Outcomes depend on the design and its effects across the basin, including downstream.

Studies must establish how altered flows would affect habitats and the livelihoods of river-dependent communities. People facing displacement or loss of access to land and fisheries need meaningful participation, credible compensation arrangements and enforceable remedies.

The IFC’s Performance Standard 6 sets out a mitigation hierarchy: avoid impacts, minimise them, restore where possible and consider offsets for residual harm. Its biodiversity requirements differ by habitat; critical habitat calls for net gains, not merely a blanket promise of “zero net loss”. Meeting safeguards also does not, by itself, guarantee finance.

The Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy, launched in February 2026, places water security, resilient ecosystems and transboundary cooperation within Africa’s development agenda. Inga should be tested against those aims through evidence and measurable commitments.

Who should benefit first?

Congolese communities must see a credible route from hosting the resource to receiving better services and economic opportunities. Regional exports should form part of a development programme that explains who receives electricity, who pays for the infrastructure and how local livelihoods are protected.

For investors, the questions are equally concrete: who will buy the power, on what terms, and who bears construction, currency and payment risk? Publishing those answers makes the debate more useful than repeating the project’s theoretical capacity.

Africa should pursue Inga’s potential with purpose. The standard of success is affordable electricity delivered to people and enterprises, with the Congo River’s ecological functions protected and affected communities able to hold project institutions to account.

This contributor opinion was edited for clarity and checked against the linked primary sources. Project potential is distinguished from committed capacity and electricity delivered. The policy recommendations are the author’s views.

Featured photograph: existing infrastructure at the Inga site and the Congo River, photographed in March 2019. It does not depict a completed Grand Inga project. Photo: Χρίστος Ιμμανοελ / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized; the adapted photograph is available under the same licence.

About the author

Dr Kelvin Kamayoyo

Economist, International Trade Law Scholar and Investment Consultant | Lusaka, Zambia

Dr Kelvin Kamayoyo has over 13 years of experience across academia, policy and the private sector. He is Programme Director of the Purposive Mega-Infrastructure Investment Programme, Lead Consultant at Acacia Trade and Development Consulting Group and Technical Advisor for African Rivers. He is an adjunct lecturer at ESAMI, NIPA and Zambia Open University, and a former board member of the Economics Association of Zambia.

Read his contributor profile · More by Dr Kamayoyo · kamayoyokm@gmail.com

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The council says the closure will facilitate upgrades to the culvert crossing at Mumana and road expansion works.

Alternative routes

Motorists are advised to use Hybrid Road and Lubwe Road in Kaunda Square to bypass the affected section.

The council has urged drivers to follow traffic signs and directions, exercise caution and allow additional travel time when using the alternative routes.

Plan journeys ahead

For commuters and businesses using the affected stretch, the practical step is to factor the diversion into journeys and delivery schedules during the closure period.

The notice concerns the Chongwe-bound carriageway on the specified section of Great East Road. It does not announce a closure of the entire road.

In the notice, signed by Town Clerk Oliver Muuka and bearing an Office of the Town Clerk stamp dated 23 October 2026, the council regrets the inconvenience and thanks the public for its cooperation.

Source: Lusaka City Council public notice supplied to The Zambian Economist.

Featured photograph: Great East Road, Lusaka, 12 September 2024 (archive image, not the current works). Photo: Chise95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.

By The Zambian Economist Analyst

Featured photograph: Dr Denny Kalyalya with the EAZ delegation at the Bank of Zambia, October 2026. Archive image, not the Bangkok meetings. Photo: EAZ.

Bank of Zambia Governor Dr Denny Kalyalya has called for a national focus on delivery, arguing that Zambia’s resources should produce employment and better living standards.

In remarks shared by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning on its official Facebook page, Kalyalya reflected on Thailand’s economic transformation during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok. The IMF’s official meeting information gives the dates as 12-18 October.

“We have to change our mindset. We have to be a goal-getting society,” he said. He called for Zambia’s natural resources and workforce to contribute more effectively to economic activity.

What can Zambia learn from Bangkok?

Kalyalya pointed to Bangkok’s functioning urban economy, where food services, transport and logistics help sustain livelihoods. The economic lesson is about connections: one enterprise’s demand can become another enterprise’s income.

A food business needs farmers, delivery services and customers who can reach it. A manufacturer needs dependable electricity and buyers. Training becomes more useful when employers need the skills being taught. These are examples of how productive activity spreads through an economy, rather than claims that a particular Zambian programme has already delivered those results.

Zambia’s circumstances differ from Thailand’s. The comparison offers a way to examine how cities and institutions support enterprise; it does not establish that Zambia can reproduce Thailand’s development path simply by changing attitudes.

Our related coverage examines Zambia’s practical skills and jobs lessons from Thailand. Kalyalya’s remarks extend that discussion to the delivery of economic outcomes.

How should CDF contribute to jobs in Zambia?

The Governor expressed optimism that ongoing development initiatives, supported by the expanded Constituency Development Fund, could improve living standards. The statement did not provide a new funding allocation, project completion figures or a forecast of jobs to be created.

That distinction matters. Spending creates an opportunity to improve services and support businesses, but the amount allocated cannot, on its own, tell citizens whether a project works.

A useful assessment would follow a project beyond disbursement. Is the facility operating? Can people use it? Where enterprise support is involved, does the business remain active after receiving assistance? Has temporary construction work led to any continuing employment?

These are proposed measures of delivery, not outcomes established by the Governor’s statement. Publishing project costs and completion information would help residents judge results in their own constituencies.

What does this mean for small businesses and workers?

For a small business in Lusaka or on the Copperbelt, a call for greater productivity becomes practical when it addresses the cost of operating and the ability to serve customers. Electricity interruptions, expensive finance or delays in payment can prevent a willing entrepreneur from expanding.

A results-driven approach therefore has to include the institutions that shape those conditions. Workers can improve their skills and firms can improve how they operate, while public agencies remain responsible for the services and decisions within their control.

For young people seeking employment opportunities in Zambia, the relevant outcome is work that pays and lasts. Course enrolment, a loan approval or the launch of a project is an intermediate step. Each needs to be assessed against what happens afterwards.

What should investors and policymakers watch?

Businesses considering investment need evidence that infrastructure functions and that suppliers can meet orders. Clear project schedules and reliable services make it easier to decide when to hire or expand.

Policymakers can make Kalyalya’s message concrete by assigning responsibility for delivery and publishing progress against defined targets. Where a programme is intended to support employment, reporting should distinguish short-term work from sustained jobs and explain how the figures were measured.

Readers can follow this discussion through our Business & Economy coverage and Macroeconomy & Policy section.

Kalyalya’s challenge is to make Zambia’s resources work for its people. Citizens should be able to trace that ambition to a functioning service, an enterprise earning income or a job that continues after a project launch.

Sources: Ministry of Finance and National Planning, official Facebook page, statement on Dr Kalyalya’s Bangkok reflections, viewed 25 October 2026; IMF Annual Meetings information. Analysis and proposed delivery measures are The Zambian Economist’s.

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By The Zambian Economist Analyst

President Hakainde Hichilema has called on Zambians to turn independence into opportunity, after honouring independence heroes at the Freedom Statue and recognising distinguished citizens at State House as Zambia marks 62 years of independence.

In his commemorative message, Hichilema said the investiture ceremony followed wreath-laying on Independence Avenue in Lusaka. He described the awards as recognition of outstanding contributions to nation-building.

What did Hichilema say on Zambia’s Independence Day?

The President connected remembrance of the independence struggle with the work of building the country today. He urged citizens to unite, work hard and smart, and pursue the Grow Zambia agenda together.

“Let us turn our freedom into opportunity and our collective efforts into lasting progress,” he said.

His appeal placed responsibility on the present generation to build a country worthy of the sacrifices of its forebears and the aspirations of its children.

From the Freedom Statue to State House

The two ceremonies served different purposes. Wreath-laying honoured the people whose sacrifices secured Zambia’s independence. The investiture recognised citizens whose service has contributed to the country’s development.

Zambia became independent on 24 October 1964. The 62nd anniversary falls on 24 October 2026. The occasion offers a moment to recognise public service and consider how the freedoms secured at independence can support opportunity for a new generation.

The message supplied for this report did not include an honours list, award categories or individual citations. Those details are therefore not attributed to any recipient here.

What does “freedom into opportunity” mean for the economy?

For a young person seeking work or an entrepreneur trying to grow a business, opportunity has a practical meaning: a chance to earn, gain skills and find customers. The economic question raised by the President’s message is how national ambition translates into those everyday possibilities.

That is an assessment of the message’s implications, rather than a claim that the ceremony introduced new measures. The statement contained no budget allocation, implementation timetable or quantified employment commitment.

For businesses and investors

A call to work harder and smarter sets an aspiration. Investment decisions still depend on the terms under which businesses operate. Entrepreneurs need to examine published rules, financing conditions and actual market demand before committing money.

The investiture statement should not be read as an announcement of a grant, tax concession or investment incentive. Any such measure would require separate official details.

For citizens and public institutions

Recognising service can broaden the discussion about who contributes to Zambia’s progress. The next useful reporting step is to examine the recipients’ citations and the work for which they were honoured, once the official list is available.

For economic policy, the corresponding task is to judge delivery through published evidence. An aspiration to create opportunity becomes easier to assess when programmes specify who can benefit, how they are funded and when results are expected.

A commemoration with a practical question

Hichilema’s message asks Zambians to connect remembrance with effort. The question for the year ahead is what progress citizens should be able to see in their own lives.

Which change would make economic opportunity more real in your community by Zambia’s next Independence Day?

Related coverage

Explore our Leadership & Governance coverage, read Hichilema’s wider Independence Day growth message and see our Zambia at 62 special edition.

Source: commemorative statement by President Hakainde Hichilema supplied to The Zambian Economist. Economic implications are the publication’s analysis.

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By Dr. Kelvin Kamayoyo, Technical Advisor, African Rivers

24th October, 2026

The world is not facing isolated conflicts. It is facing an unrelenting, mutating pandemic of war, and it is doing so exactly when nature is preparing its own assault, observed Dr. Kelvin Kamayoyo, Technical Advisor for African Rivers. Super El Niño of 2026-2027 is no longer a forecast, it is an incoming global shock. Yet the international system is bankrupt, distracted and defenceless.

A Pandemic of War

On Thursday, 22nd October 2026, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made a statement that should have shaken every capital. Speaking ahead of his trip to Egypt, he warned: “War travels: through energy markets, shipping lanes, supply chains and financial systems” (Guterres, 2026).

He continued: “We are now witnessing an El Niño of war.” Guterres was right to use the metaphor. He told reporters in New York: “Today, conflicts are not only intensifying. They are expanding.” From the Middle East to Ukraine to Sudan, we are seeing a contagion. This is not an accident. It is a direct failure of preventive diplomacy. The United Nations has not maximized the technique of shuttle diplomacy as a means to prevent and stop conflicts.

The Case for Shuttle Diplomacy

Shuttle diplomacy, where a mediator moves between parties who refuse to meet face-to-face, remains one of the most effective tools to break deadlocks. As Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Henry Kissinger (1973), who pioneered modern shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, argued, sustainable peace is achieved not by demanding public surrender but by creating private space for compromise through persistent, discreet mediation (Kissinger, 1982). The UN must return to that model: less press conference, more shuttle.

This failure has a price. The famous Indian author Arundhati Roy, in The God of Small Things (1997) and later in The Cost of Living (1999), described precisely this moment: how big wars, big dams and big powers crush small lives, and how the poor pay for the violence of the powerful. Roy argued that people must reclaim narrative power and confront empire through determined, non-violent civil resistance that links ecological justice to anti-war struggles (Roy, 1999). Her warning is now reality.

The Blowback on Our Streets

The blowback is already on our streets. Referring to protests in Europe and elsewhere over the rising cost of living, Guterres said, “The violence and destruction we have seen on the streets is unacceptable and those responsible for criminal activities must be held accountable. At the same time, we cannot let intolerable violence obscure the legitimate and very real grievances of the many peaceful protestors.”

This tension between legitimate grievance and illegitimate violence was described with moral clarity by Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984). Tutu maintained that when institutions ignore peaceful protest against injustice and poverty, they breed anger, but that violence can never be the answer and must be answered with justice, not repression (Tutu, 1999). The solution is not to criminalize the protester but to address the cost-of-living crisis that war itself is fuelling.

The spread is deliberate. “From the Middle East to Ukraine to Sudan, we are seeing civilians and civilian infrastructure deliberately thrust into the line of fire,” Guterres warned.

The great Nigerian author Chinua Achebe diagnosed this pathology decades ago. In Things Fall Apart (1958) and There Was a Country (2012), Achebe showed how when the centre cannot hold, when political failure turns people against their own communities, civilians become the battlefield (Achebe, 1958). His counsel remains relevant: societies minimize escalation not through revenge but through restoring community dialogue, truth-telling and inclusive governance.

Guterres was blunt: “Attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international law. They must stop.” This is not a political opinion; it is law. Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan (2001) consistently defended this principle, arguing that sovereignty can never be a shield for targeting civilians and that the protection of civilians is the core test of international legitimacy (Annan, 2005).

Yemen and Palestine: Where the Test Fails

Nowhere is this test failing more than in Yemen and Palestine. On Yemen, the Secretary-General pointed to “escalating hostilities around the city of Ta’iz and elsewhere” and described continued Houthi attacks against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia as “totally unacceptable. We need restraint and Yemen needs a political horizon.”

We need to move beyond talking in New York to taking action on the ground. We must better appreciate the concerns of all parties to reach an endgame that yields a win-win and secures global peace and stability. As Nobel Peace Laureate President Jimmy Carter (2002) demonstrated through the Camp David Accords and his post-presidency work, lasting peace requires direct engagement with all actors, however difficult, and a commitment to win-win outcomes over zero-sum victories (Carter, 2010).

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Guterres said, “In Gaza, essential aid is still being severely restricted by Israel ahead of the fast-approaching winter.” In the occupied West Bank, “Palestinians continue to suffer daily attacks by Israeli settlers. The clear goal is to drive communities off their land.”

There is an urgent need to innovate ways to promote coexistence in one area and share common prosperity. Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela (1993) described this challenge best. He argued that true coexistence is not about one group disappearing, but about building a shared future where both peoples enjoy equal dignity, freedom and prosperity in the same land (Mandela, 1994).

The Moral Obscenity of Our Priorities

Finally, the moral obscenity of our priorities. “The situation is out of control,” Guterres said. The World Food Programme “urgently needs 450 million US dollars to feed people in Gaza and the West Bank for the next six months,” an amount equivalent to around 90 minutes of global military spending.

It is sad to learn about this unfortunate comparison. But sadness is not a strategy. The United Nations should call for a 30-day global ceasefire of all wars so that global military savings can be channelled to El Niño response worldwide.

As the renowned Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai (2004) warned, we cannot separate peace from the environment. In Unbowed (2006), Maathai argued that resource scarcity, environmental degradation and conflict form a vicious cycle, and that protecting the environment and feeding people is the most effective peace work (Maathai, 2006).

Super El Niño 2026-2027: The Incoming Shock

This is why the Super El Niño 2026-2027 will be catastrophic. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that El Niño amplifies extreme weather which include droughts, floods and food system collapse (IPCC, 2023). The World Meteorological Organization warns that 2026-2027 is likely to be one of the strongest events on record (WMO, 2026).

Africa and the most vulnerable nations will be hit first and worst. With 60% of Africa’s population dependent on rain-fed agriculture, with energy grids already collapsing, with shipping lanes disrupted by war, the continent has no buffer (African Development Bank, 2024). When the rains fail in the Zambezi and the Horn, and floods wash away infrastructure in West Africa, there will be no global supply chain to rescue us because war has already broken it.

And recovery will undoubtedly take longer. A nation at war cannot rebuild a dam, cannot restore a crop, cannot move food aid. War travels, and so will famine. The world must choose to continue funding 90 minutes of war, or fund 6 months of life.

For comments contact the researcher and author on email: kamayoyokm@gmail.com

References

• Achebe, C. (1958) Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann.
• African Development Bank (2024) African Economic Outlook 2024: Climate and Food Security. Abidjan: AfDB.
• Annan, K. (2005) In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All. New York: United Nations.
• Carter, J. (2010) White House Diary. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Guterres, A. (2026) Statement by UN Secretary-General: War travels through energy markets, shipping lanes, supply chains and financial systems. New York: United Nations, 22 October.
• IPCC (2023) Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• Kissinger, H. (1982) Years of Upheaval. Boston: Little, Brown.
• Maathai, W. (2006) Unbowed: A Memoir. New York: Knopf.
• Mandela, N. (1994) Long Walk to Freedom. Boston: Little, Brown.
• Roy, A. (1997) The God of Small Things. New Delhi: IndiaInk.
• Roy, A. (1999) The Cost of Living. New York: Modern Library.
• Tutu, D. (1999) No Future Without Forgiveness. New York: Doubleday.
• WMO (2026) WMO El Niño/La Niña Update October 2026. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization.

WARNING! All rights reserved. This material and all other digital content on this website may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior express permission of The Zambian Economist. Where permission is granted, the content must be clearly credited to “The Zambian Economist,” with “www.zambianeconomist.com” prominently displayed.

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By The Zambian Economist Analyst

Introduction

On the eve of Zambia’s 62nd independence anniversary, President Hakainde Hichilema delivered a national address that looked in two directions at once: backwards to the generation that won sovereignty in 1964, and forwards to an economy he wants growing faster than it has in years.

The speech, delivered on 23 October, comes at a moment when the government believes it has earned the right to talk about growth. “The Grow Zambia Agenda moves us from economic stabilisation to accelerated growth,” the President said, in the line that anchors the whole address.

Honouring the Independence Generation

The President opened by naming the men and women who led Zambia to sovereignty on 24 October 1964: Kenneth David Kaunda, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Alexander Grey Zulu, Humphrey Mulemba, Nalumino Mundia, Mama Julia Chikamoneka and Mama Betty Chilombo Chilunga.

The list is notable for its breadth. It spans ruling-party and opposition tradition alike, from Kaunda to Nkumbula, the nationalist leader Kaunda’s UNIP sidelined for decades. It also gives equal standing to women, naming two of them among the heroes of the struggle.

Sixty-Two Years of What, Exactly?

The President’s summary of the national journey emphasised continuity: schools, hospitals, roads, airports and power stations built, and elections held with smooth transfers of power.

The claim about peaceful transitions carries weight. Since 1991 Zambia has changed governing parties three times, each time through the ballot and each time without the unrest that has accompanied comparable moments elsewhere on the continent. Few states founded in the 1960s can say the same.

He also credited the people rather than the state: farmers for their resilience, miners for their labour, youth for their creativity, the armed forces for their courage, women for their resourcefulness and entrepreneurs for their persistence.

The Grow Zambia Agenda: What It Means in Practice

The economic core of the speech is a short list of sectors where the government wants measurable gains: more maize, more wheat and more copper; more electricity generated; more tourists visiting; more exports leaving.

Each target speaks to a known pressure point in the economy. Maize output determines the cost of mealie meal, the single most politically sensitive price in Zambia. Copper still supplies the majority of export earnings. Electricity generation has been stretched in recent drought years, when low Kariba water levels forced load management that cut into mining and manufacturing output. Tourism and non-copper exports are the diversification story every administration since the copper price collapse of the 1970s has tried to write.

The President coupled the growth message with two safeguards: protecting the vulnerable and building strong institutions. He gave no new figures, timelines or budget allocations in the address, which was framed as a reflection rather than a policy speech.

A Message to the Youth

The President devoted a passage to young Zambians, calling them the backbone of the economy, its innovators and its leaders. He reminded the country that young people fought for independence and for democracy, and framed the anniversary as a moment for the young generation to take ownership of what comes next.

With a median age around 17, Zambia is one of the youngest countries in the world. Any growth agenda that works will be carried by that demographic, a fact the speech acknowledged even without naming the number.

What This Means

For business: A government that says it has moved from stabilisation to growth will be judged on whether doing business gets easier: cheaper and more reliable power, faster customs clearance for exporters and predictable policy in agriculture and mining. Firms in milling, agribusiness, tourism and mining supply chains are the direct beneficiaries if the sector targets are backed by execution.

For investors: The named sectors, maize, wheat, copper, electricity, tourism and exports, map closely to where policy attention and likely spending will concentrate. The absence of numbers in this speech means the real signals will come in the 2027 budget and in the performance of the harvest and copper output over the next two quarters.

For policy: The stabilisation-to-growth framing echoes the language of the International Monetary Fund-supported programme period, in which the priority was debt restructuring and fiscal control. The test of the Grow Zambia Agenda will be whether growth spending can accelerate without reopening the fiscal wounds that made stabilisation necessary.

Conclusion

Eve-of-independence speeches are usually exercises in unity. This one was that, but it also put a name to the government’s next economic chapter. The theme says it plainly: our journey, our growth, our future. From tomorrow, the Grow Zambia Agenda will be measured not in speeches but in maize yields, megawatts, tourist arrivals and the copper price realised on LME contracts.

Happy 62nd Independence Anniversary, Zambia.

WARNING! All rights reserved. This material and all other digital content on this website may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior express permission of The Zambian Economist. Where permission is granted, the content must be clearly credited to “The Zambian Economist,” with “www.zambianeconomist.com” prominently displayed.

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