President Hakainde Hichilema has officially opened the fifth session of the Thirteenth National Assembly with a pledge to revive and stabilize the economy. The President has highlighted energy diversification, food security and job creation as key priority areas in fostering sustainable economic development.

In his address to Parliament themed: “Consolidating economic and social gains towards a prosperous, resilient and equitable Zambia”, President Hichilema said that the Government has made positive strides in its social and economic transformation agenda.

“We have restored economic growth. Our efforts are certainly yielding the desired results. Certainly, more remains to be done,” The President said.

President Hichilema said government recognizes that energy is critical to industrialization and national development. He said that he feels the pain and frustration of power cuts and promised that his government was actively addressing the challenge by delivering new generation capacity.

President Hichilema said that Zambia is consolidating economic and social gains, citing major strides in debt restructuring, agriculture, education and exports.

The Head of State announced that 92% of Zambia’s external debt has been restructured, freeing resources for development and has increased the economic growth to 5.2 percent growth three times higher than growth recorded between 2017 and 2020.

On food security, he said Zambia is self-sufficient in maize seed production and now exporting to Africa and Europe. Irrigation farming is being scaled up from 200,000 hectares to 500,000 by 2027, backed by dams, canals, and water harvesting projects.

The President also revealed growth in non-traditional exports, rising from US$2.6 billion in 2021 to US$3.6 billion today, with products such as honey, beef, maize seed, and cement making inroads globally.

Education has remained a priority and has seen 2,800 new classrooms built through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), while the school feeding programme now covers 106 districts, up from 70 in 2021.

In the health sector, the President said 2,000 more health workers will be employed this year, adding to the 18,000 recruited since 2021. He noted that 282 new health facilities have been constructed, and the availability of medicines has improved from 44% in 2021 to 85% today.

In the mining sector the President said the copper production has been boosted by reforms such as the revival of large entities like Mopani, KCM and the resolution of issues at FQM.

He concluded by urging inclusive land ownership and environmental protection, warning that mining companies “must never be allowed to profit while destroying the land that sustains us.

Following the Presidential address, Members of Parliament will debate various policy pronouncements made by the President during the Ceremonial Opening. Thereafter, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, will present the National Budget to the House on 26^th September, 2025 to back the policy pronouncements by the President.

This meeting, which is the first on the parliamentary calendar is known as the “Budget Meeting” and it runs from September to December. The meeting is primarily focused on scrutinising and approving the national budget through sector budget analysis.