Key takeaways
- Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has been named Finance Minister of the Year 2026 at the African Banker Awards.
- The award was conferred in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, in May 2026 during the African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings.
- Because Cabinet had been dissolved around the award date, Ministry management and staff only marked the win formally on his first day back at work.
- Musokotwane told staff the award is collective recognition of Zambia and its people for repairing the economy, restoring debt sustainability and rebuilding investor confidence.
- He was retained at Ministry of Finance and National Planning in President Hichilema’s second-term Cabinet announced this month.
Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has been named Finance Minister of the Year 2026 at the African Banker Awards, a continental distinction conferred in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, during the 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group at the end of May. Management and staff at the Ministry marked the award on his first day back at work, an event they described as a national honour and a shared achievement.
The celebration came late by design rather than neglect. The award fell in May, at a point when Cabinet had been dissolved ahead of Zambia’s August general election, so the Ministry had no opportunity to congratulate its chief formally. Staff used his return to the office to do exactly that, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
An award the Minister redirected to the country
In acknowledging the congratulations, Dr Musokotwane, MP, characteristically shifted attention away from himself. He told staff the award should not be regarded as an individual achievement, but as collective recognition of Zambia and its people for the strides the country has made in repairing the economy, restoring debt sustainability, rebuilding investor confidence and rallying citizens around the common purpose of transforming Zambia.
For the Ministry’s management and staff, that message gave the award deeper significance. In their words, it is recognition that economic transformation is never the work of one individual or institution, but of national leadership, disciplined policy implementation, committed public service, productive enterprise, institutional cooperation and the resilience of citizens. The award, they said, represents both an honour and a responsibility.
Why it matters for the economy
The continental citation lands at a consequential moment. Dr Musokotwane steered the debt restructuring exercise that Zambia has spent the past four years negotiating, and he returns to the portfolio in a second-term Cabinet tasked with safeguarding those gains while pushing investment, production, exports, job creation and higher incomes. The African Banker Awards, presented on the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings, are among the most closely watched recognitions in African finance, and the Finance Minister of the Year category draws nominees from across the continent’s treasuries.
The Ministry has reaffirmed its commitment to the work ahead, pledging to safeguard Zambia’s economic gains while accelerating investment, production, exports, job creation, higher incomes and opportunities for citizens. As the Ministry put it in closing: the honour may carry one name, the achievement belongs to a country, and the responsibility for the next chapter belongs to all.
Context from our coverage
President Hichilema retained Dr Musokotwane at Finance when he swore in his second-term Cabinet this month, a decision we covered in Hichilema Swears In Four Ministers: Haimbe Returns at Foreign Affairs, Musokotwane Retained at Finance. The economic programme the award recognises is set out in our analysis Zambia’s Turnaround Won the Election. Now It Has to Deliver, and the budget direction for the next phase is examined in Cabinet Sets 2027 Budget Priorities: Growth, Jobs and Tax Compliance.
Image (c) Ministry of Finance and National Planning, #mofnp, Lusaka, Zambia. This article is based on a statement released by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
Related: EAZ Seeks Formal Partnership With Finance Ministry as Musokotwane Calls for Practical Policy Ideas.
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