Friday, 12^th September, 2025

 

The House met at 1000 hours

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

NATIONAL ANTHEM

 

PRAYER

 

_______

 

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

 

The following hon. Member took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance:

 

Malama Mufunelo

 

_______

 

TIME OF THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

 

The Vice-President (Dr Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I wish to inform this august House that the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, will arrive at 1030 hours to address the House.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Business was suspended from 1005 hours until 1042 hours.

 

The President entered the Assembly Chamber escorted by Madam Speaker.

 

(Assembly resumed)

 

The Clerk read the Proclamation.

 

Madam Speaker: The House would like to welcome to the Assembly the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema.

 

We are honoured, Mr President, to have you in our midst.

 

I now invite you, Mr President, to deliver your Address.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

 

The President (Mr Hakainde Hichilema): Madam Speaker, we are truly honoured to join you today to address the House on this auspicious occasion marking the commencement of the Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, before we commence, we would like to honour our late Sixth President, His Excellency Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who died in Pretoria, South Africa, on 5^th June, 2025. In this moment of mourning, we stand in solidarity with his family and the country, offering them our deepest prayers and heartfelt condolences. His service to our country will forever remain a part of Zambia’s history. May his memory inspire us to uphold the unity and dignity of our great nation, Zambia.

 

May we be upstanding for a moment of silence, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. Members of Parliament stood in silence for one minute.

 

The President: Thank you very much. May his soul rest in eternal peace, Madam Speaker.

 

Madam Speaker, today we reflect on the progress we have made, the challenges that remain and our shared national future. We thank the people of Zambia for supporting the United Party for National Development (UPND), New Dawn, Government during this journey of economic and social transformation of our country. We are moving forward together. 

 

Madam Speaker, since my last Address to this august House in March this year, two new hon. Members of Parliament have joined the House. We extend our congratulations to Hon. Lufeyo Ngoma, Member of Parliament for Lumezi Constituency, and Hon. Malama Mufunelo, Member of Parliament for Mfuwe Constituency.  

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we urge the two hon. Members to represent their respective constituencies with commitment and diligence.

 

Madam Speaker, as we welcome the two hon. Members, we also mourn the loss of the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Roy Ngulube, who died on 7^th April, 2025. We honour his service to the Assembly and the country at large.

 

Madam Speaker, during the last Session, the House considered 398 questions, adopted thirty-eight reports, passed twenty-six Bills, considered fourteen Ministerial Statements and debated fourteen Private Members’ Motions. We commend you and the two Deputy Speakers for effectively presiding over the business of this august House. We equally extend our appreciation to the hon. Members of Parliament for their active participation in the Business of the House. Further, we convey our gratitude to the Leader of Government Business in the House, Her Honour the Republican Vice-President, for ably representing the Executive in this House.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we also recognise the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the services rendered to hon. Members and for ensuring that the Business of the House was conducted efficiently.

 

Madam Speaker, I now come to the theme of the Address. Over the last four years, we have made positive strides in our economic and social transformation agenda. We have restored economic growth, Madam Speaker. We have regained market confidence, Madam Speaker. We have restored the rule of law, Madam Speaker. Our efforts are certainly yielding the desired results. There is no question about it. Certainly, more remains to be done, and we are very much aware of that. The theme for this year’s Address is, therefore, “Consolidating Economic and Social Gains Towards a Prosperous, Resilient and Equitable Zambia”. We remain firmly committed to our national mission of building a prosperous Zambia; a Zambia where business and job opportunities are available, not for a few, but for all; a Zambia where quality education and accessible healthcare are assured for all; indeed, a Zambia where every citizen lives a dignified life and can achieve their full potential, Madam Speaker.

 

Macroeconomic Developments

 

Madam Speaker, on macroeconomic developments, to go into specifics, in August, 2021, we made a pledge to the people of Zambia to revive and stabilise our economy, as the headline message of our Government. True to our commitment, economic growth has averaged 5.2 per cent between 2021 and 2024. Numbers do not lie. That is more than three times higher than the average growth rate of 1.5 per cent recorded during the period 2017 to 2020. We have been able to grow the economy despite the uncertain global environment, Madam Speaker, the huge national debt, Madam Speaker, and the effects of the worst drought in living memory, which we experienced during the 2023/2024 Rainy Season.

 

Madam Speaker, the UPND, New Dawn, Administration has made positive strides in enhancing fiscal prudence and addressing the debt crisis; the elephant in the room at the time. Today, we are happy to report that over 92 per cent of our external debt has been successfully restructured. Further, inflation has been on a downward trajectory from an average of 23.1 per cent between January and July, 2021 to an average of 15.5 per cent over the same period in 2025. Further, in the recent past, we have all witnessed the Kwacha rebound against major convertible currencies.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, that has consequently resulted in a stabilisation in the cost of goods and services. That is how it works.

 

Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning will soon present the 2026 National Budget to this august House. The Budget will outline specific measures to consolidate the economic and social development gains that we have made towards a prosperous, resilient and equitable Zambia. The specifics will sit in there. We, therefore, urge this august House, not part of it, but the whole House, to support the Budget once it is presented.

 

Economic Transformation and Job Creation

 

Madam Speaker, economic transformation and job creation, a bit more highlights, are critical in fostering sustainable economic and social development. Since 2021, our Government has focused on economic reforms, diversification and value chain development in key sectors of our economy, such as agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing. You can see the effects of this focus in the gross domestic product (GDP) for the last couple of years.

 

Agriculture

 

Madam Speaker, we have seen a rebound in the production levels across major crops in agriculture. For instance, in the 2024/2025 Farming Season, maize production increased to a historical 3.7 million metric tonnes, compared to 1.5 million metric tonnes in the 2023/2024 Farming Season. Based on new information from the post-crop survey, strong indications are that our maize harvest could exceed 4 million metric tonnes for this season. Additionally, soya beans production increased to 760,000 metric tonnes from 400,000 metric tonnes. We are on our way to our target of 1 million metric tonnes of soya beans per year.

 

Madam Speaker, maize seed production, very important, increased to 94,300 metric tonnes in 2024 from 52,000 metric tonnes in 2023. We are also pleased to report that our country is now self-sufficient in maize seed production. We are exporting our locally-produced maize seed to a number of countries, Madam Speaker, in Africa and, surprise, surprise, into Europe as well.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, additional investment in maize seed production has continued. Further, with the completion of the Bayer Itaba Seed Plant production facility in Kabwe, Zambia is now the largest maize seed producer in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, key drivers of growth in agricultural production include, Madam Speaker, increased private sector participation and Government reforms, such as the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and the electronic Voucher (e-Voucher) system. We successfully delivered a major reform under FISP by migrating 730,000 farmers onto the e-Voucher system; to be precise, a digital platform. By migrating the farmers, we were able to remove, very important, 210,000 fraudulent beneficiaries who, in the previous years, were receiving seed and fertiliser, but were never farmers. Hence, the low levels of production, partially. That, subsequently, created space for genuine farmers to benefit from critical support. That bold reform has restored the integrity of FISP with regard to input supply and guaranteed that assistance reaches the rightful beneficiaries, not those who collect inputs and sell the following day. Of the farmers who migrated to the e-Voucher system, 99 per cent received their inputs ahead of the onset of the rainy season. That is another important development arising from reforms, which is different from past periods of late delivery of inputs. In addition, a broader choice of inputs is being made available to farmers. They draw inputs to grow what they want, which is very important, very important, Madam Speaker. The success of the e-Voucher system last farming season is the reason we are committed to a 100 per cent roll-out to all our 116 districts and 156 constituencies this year. We are clear that the change will deliver more benefits in the agricultural sector. We also believe that the savings from there can be applied to other needy areas, which is very important. We also wish to recognise the major role played by the private sector in delivering tangible benefits in the agricultural sector, Madam Speaker. This includes the creation of more than 5,000 jobs across the agro-sector supply chain, resulting in the transformation of lives and stimulation of rural economies across the country. This Government wants to ensure that all the provinces deliver economic contribution to the GDP. Not some, but all of them. Ten of them. These are the steps leading us there.

 

Madam Speaker, many of our people live along and around water courses, such as rivers, streams and wetlands, and yet they are often severely affected by the effects of drought. That must not be allowed to continue. Therefore, to ameliorate the effects of climate change and improve resilience, our Government is supporting the development of irrigation agriculture. Currently, 200,000 ha of irrigated land is being utilised to grow maize and other crops. We are aggressively working on increasing the land under irrigation to somewhere in the region of 500,000 ha by 2027. To support our irrigation agenda, we are carrying out a number of interventions, which include water harvesting and the rehabilitation and construction of dams as well as canals across the country.

 

Madam Speaker, our farmers remain very determined and have achieved high production, despite using modest and simple tools; many times, handheld tools. We believe that with increased support for mechanisation, technology and management, we can significantly increase their production and yields per hectare. That is a game-changer. Thus, in 2023, we launched the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF) to provide affordable financing for mechanisation, technology and irrigation to our small and emerging farmers. Nine thousand farmers received loans from the SAFF facility in the 2024/2025 Farming Season, compared to 4,300 in the previous season. Financial disbursements have more than doubled, increasing from K272.3 million in the previous season to K667.3 million in the 2024/2025 Farming Season. Through SAFF, our farmers have been able to acquire agricultural equipment and other inputs to improve their production and productivity.

 

Madam Speaker, to modernise agriculture, our Government, for the first time, established forty mechanisation service centres in 2024. The centres provide agricultural machinery and equipment for hire by small-scale farmers. So far, more than 2,500 farmers have accessed mechanisation services ranging from ploughing, planting, spraying and harvesting. To complement this effort, ten mechanisation centres of excellence have been established to provide capacity building for agricultural staff, mechanisation service providers and farmers. Last year, more than 210 farmers received training from the mechanisation centres of excellence across the country. The Government will continue to establish more mechanisation service centres all across the country to take the services closer to our people, irrespective of where they reside.

 

Madam Speaker, the country is close to achieving self-sufficiency in fertiliser production. We are already a net exporter of compound D fertiliser, exporting to well over eight countries in the region so far. Zambia has moved from being a net importer to an exporter;  a very deliberate move. The ammonia and urea plant at the United Capital Fertiliser Zambia Company Limited is now operational. Zambia is, therefore, also poised to become a net exporter of ammonia and urea, creating rewarding jobs for our people, especially the youths. The plant will produce 180,000 metric tonnes of ammonia and 300,000 metric tonnes of urea annually. More important, in addition, from an investment of close to US$7 million, the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) will have the capacity to produce 144,000 metric tonnes of granulated compound D fertiliser and 288,000 metric tonnes of blended fertilisers.

 

Madam Speaker, we wish to thank our gallant farmers and ordinary citizens for heeding our call to produce. I want to specifically thank our farmers in all ten provinces, including the provinces that were traditionally not farming, but now have responded and produced a lot of food, thanks to all our farmers across the country. I would like to say to our farmers across Zambia that you showed resilience in the face of a devastating drought in the last farming season. We have to appreciate you. If you did not produce to sell, you produced to feed your family. That too is important.

 

Madam Speaker, we equally thank our traditional leaders for answering the call to actively engage in agriculture. That is true leadership. We also salute our defence and security wings for playing their part in enhancing food security and fighting hunger in times of peace.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, indeed, food security is national security, and the opposite is true. Food insecurity is national insecurity. We prefer to have national security through food, partially. Working together, we have delivered the greatest harvest in our nation’s history. That is a testament to the drive and talent of our people, even though it was unexploited for many years.

 

Madam Speaker, more than enough maize was produced for local consumption; human and animal, taking into account national food security, as I have already mentioned. Admittedly, that success has brought some challenges in the crop marketing process. To address the challenges, the surplus crop has been allocated for export. Taking into account the national food reserves, excess crop should be exported, most of it as mealie meal to retain milling jobs, which is very important. The value-added export will help generate the much-needed resources to continue purchasing maize from our farmers.

 

Madam Speaker, yesterday, a bit of showers fell in certain parts of the country. All of us involved in the process must double our efforts to buy all the maize that was produced. The issue of funding is not on the table. The issue on the table is to buy all the maize.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, that is the issue on the table. That is the issue on the table. We should be ingenious, as a people, to raise resources to buy that which we encourage to be grown. I believe we are together on this one. So, Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, we want to emphasise that buying the crop will motivate farmers to grow more in the next farming season. Other challenges are being addressed to improve efficiency over time. We are in an excellent position; from deficit to surplus. It is a good problem we are sitting with and, I think, we should rise to the challenge together, all of us, as a country.

 

Madam Speaker, we wish to keep pushing towards our target of 10 million metric tonnes of maize per year by 2030. It is now in sight. However, we have to sharpen our structured marketing arrangements. We want to have food security for ourselves and the region as well, and it is possible. We, therefore, call upon our farmers, ordinary citizens and national leaders, including the hon. Members of this august House, to join in the agricultural revolution. That is very important. All good leaders, the world over, time and again in history, should lead by example, including hon. Members of this House. Let us be a country of producers, not just traders and consumers. That is very important.

 

Livestock

 

Madam Speaker, our country is uniquely positioned to derive significant economic benefits from livestock. The sector can be one of our key export earners. That is why we have set a target of US$1 billion in beef exports by 2030. That is very important. To support that push, our Government has intensified disease surveillance for, of course, prevention and control measures across the country without exception. Many diseases do not choose that this is province ‘A’ or province ‘B’, or that this is country ‘A’ or country ‘B’. They are found anywhere. So, we need to be alert across the country and collaborate with our neighbours. Our vaccination coverage against major livestock diseases, such as the contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and foot and mouth disease (FMD), is now close to 90 per cent. Madam Speaker, as we address this House, vaccination exercises are going on across the country.

 

Madam Speaker, to boost the vaccination drive, we have continued with the local production of critical vaccines, indeed, vaccines and medicines, which include vaccines against anthrax, black quarter, newcastle and the east coast fever (ECF). We are pleased to report that we have exceeded our vaccination target for anthrax. We have also commenced construction of the animal viral vaccine plant in Chilanga District. Our Government has intensified efforts to establish disease-free zones and increase exports of beef and other animal products. In the initial phase, we are establishing four beef compartments, four beef compartments, in the Eastern Province, the Central Province and the Southern Province.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, over time, that programme will be expanded to all the regions of our country. Please, it is just about working in an orderly way and the whole country will be covered soon.

 

Madam Speaker, the fisheries sub-sector equally continues to register positive growth. From both farmed and natural sources, fish production increased from 178,000 metric tonnes in 2023 to 197,000 metric tonnes in 2024. Our Government will continue to invest in livestock and fisheries to increase production and exports, as well as enhance job creation and food security.

 

Mining

 

Madam Speaker, mining. Mining. Since assuming office in 2021, we have made significant progress in creating a conducive policy and operating environment for the mining sector. That has directly led to significantly more investment going into our mines across the country. We have largely resolved the impasse at the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and the Mopani Copper Mines Plc, which negatively impacted our copper production. We have unlocked, Madam Speaker –

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we have unlocked new mining prospects and projects and also revived mines that were dormant for decades. In line with our production target of 3 million metric tonnes of copper per annum by 2031, production has been restored to an upward trajectory. Our annual production increased from a low of 733,000 metric tonnes in 2021 to 821,000 metric tonnes in 2024. The taste of the pudding is in the eating.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we are aggressively moving towards our target of a record-breaking 1 million tonnes this year. We are knocking on the door of 1 million tonnes of copper production by the end of this year, Madam Speaker, which has not been achieved before. Never. That will happen for the first time in our mining history.

 

Madam Speaker, our first major intervention in the mining sector in 2021 was a resolution of disputes between the Government of the Republic of Zambia, ourselves, and First Quantum Minerals (FQM) Limited. The dispute had been going on for ten to eleven years in courts, Madam Speaker, and not in courts in Lusaka or Ndola, but in London. That was very unfortunate. The resolution of the disputes between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and FQM has unlocked a lot of value in the mining sector. The resolution led to the restoration of FQM’s confidence in Zambia and its subsequent decision in February, 2022 to invest US$1.25 billion to expand the Kansanshi Mine’s Sentinel Project, which, in short, is called S3.

 

Mr Samakayi: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, without the expansion of the Kansanshi Mine, it was going to spell disaster. The mine was set to close down by 2024. The additional investment has not just extended the life of the mine by twenty-five years, but has also created more jobs and business opportunities. Madam Speaker, we officiated at the new expansion programme project completion launch not long ago; just two weeks ago. It is a marvel to see what has been done there in three years. As a consequence of that, FQM’s total production is now moving towards 450,000 metric tonnes to 500,000 metric tonnes per year. By any means, those are significant numbers. It is a significant mine by world standards. Anywhere in the world. So, those efforts are achieving results.

 

Madam Speaker, before I leave the subject matter on the Kansanshi Mine, I would like to indicate that more than 400 indigenous companies were involved as contractors in the expansion programme. All the electrical cables were procured from the Metal Fabricators of Zambia (ZAMEFA) Plc deliberately. That is very important.

 

Madam Speaker, Mopani Copper Mine Plc is a crucial economic pillar of the Copperbelt Province. Its production had fallen, and it was on the verge of – what we may call comatose –closure in 2023. Our Government decided to on-board a strategic equity partner who would provide, our view then, capital and supplemental expertise. International Resource Holdings (IRH) emerged as the best choice, and we, as the country, through the ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) Plc, entered into a joint venture that unlocked US$1.1 billion of capital into Mopani Copper Mine Plc. The investment revamped mining operations at Mopani, and production has increased, Madam Speaker, by a whopping 40 per cent, with a target of 230,000 metric tonnes of copper per annum at peak, before further expansion is undertaken. Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, more than 2,000 jobs have been created for Zambians. Mainly, it is the youths who have been employed, and no one was declared redundant at any point. So, those are additional jobs. The jobs that were there before have been retained and there are 2,000 additional jobs. Local suppliers, not just jobs, have also been engaged and continue to benefit from the mine’s growth. My only advice to our local suppliers, Madam Speaker, would be on the fact that a number of them are not delivering in accordance with the quality required. It is a problem. The Government makes opportunities available to our people. Our people get those opportunities, but they squander them. Then, they complain every day.

 

Please, mine suppliers, live up to the expectations. When you supply sub-standard stuff or delay supply, you increase downtime at the mines. We will not achieve our targets. Let us be a country of serious people and businesses. The Government will work with you, but do your part.

 

Madam Speaker, KCM was recklessly placed under liquidation, occasioning great liability to the Treasury. It was necessary to correct that expropriation from an investor who, at the time, seemed to have lost public trust. However, there was a better way of handling that problem. What we did created a lot of damage to the mine and the investment climate. There is no question about it. Our Government took the right decision by re-engaging Vedanta Resources to ensure that KCM returns to production, as that would not have been possible if we did not re-engage Vedanta Resources or undertook a transaction with anybody else, because litigation would have continued even up to now. Again, we said that we do not do business in court. So, we came to the table and we had a resolution there. The matter now, firmly, is about improvements, not about going downwards, but going upwards. We have always emphasised, Madam Speaker, that we should not rush to court when we have a challenge, even at a family level, business level or Government level. The court is the last resort. When dialogue is challenged, the court is the last resort. I have to emphasise that so that we do not get mixed feelings in this House.  KCM has paid off a large number of creditors through a scheme of arrangement and is steadily developing its production in addition to corporate social responsibility (CSR), like any other business, and we encourage KCM to do more, to do better. We are pushing, and we need to push together.

 

Hon. Members of Parliament from the Copperbelt, we all need to work together, as one unit. It does not matter whether you are on a different political party ticket, the people of Zambia elected you and we must work together. Simple. Very simple. Very simple.

 

Madam Speaker, in October last year, we commissioned works on the US$2 billion Barrick Lumwana Expansion Mine, dubbed the super pit. The project is scheduled to be operational in 2028 – I mean, put into production – and will add 240,000 metric tonnes of copper per annum. When you add the numbers, you will see that we are moving towards 3 million metric tonnes, a figure that others thought we were dreaming about when we put it on the table. There was no dream. There were calculations there.

 

Madam Speaker, our commitment to increasing copper production is further attested by our drive to revive some dormant mines. In November last year, we commissioned the re-opening of Kalengwa Mine in Mufumbwe, North-Western Province. The mine had been closed down for nearly forty-seven years. It will be producing its first metric tonnes soon. That is not a joke. It is a very serious issue, Madam Speaker.

 

Madam Speaker, the Luanshya Copper Mine’s 28 Shaft –

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: 28 Shaft!

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, 28 Shaft had been dormant for nearly twenty-four years, until 2024 when this Government commissioned the dewatering of the shaft. The process is expected to be concluded by the end of 2025. I am talking about dewatering. Please, do not misunderstand me. The dewatering is two months ahead of schedule. That is very important. Different habits are developing in our economy, which are better habits. So, once completed, that will enable the Luanshya Copper Mine to reach its production target of 100,000 metric tonnes.

 

The revival of 28 Shaft will also create an additional, ba Chibuye (The President pointed at Mr J. Chibuye), 3,000 new jobs for our citizens.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Luanshya was becoming a ghost town, but it is now vibrant. Left, right, front and back, something is going on in Luanshya every day. Every day.

 

Mr Mabeta: And roads!

 

The President: Yes, including roads.

 

Madam Speaker, let us soldier on. Let us soldier on. The Non-Ferrous China-Africa (NFCA) Mine is expected to expand with a half a billion United States (US) Dollar investment. Additionally, there is also entry of new investors at Lubambe Copper Mine, another one which was in a comatose state, again, which was basically just hanging around. There is development going on at that mine. I was there. I was there. That copper mine is adding to our production levels with an additional US$240 million investment and saving 1,500 jobs, which were to be declared redundant. Those jobs were on their way out, but now they are assured. If we lost those jobs, it would have been a serious problem in that part of our country. We should not allow jobs to be lost. We should collectively work together to do everything possible to protect the jobs we have, as we create new ones. That is very important.

 

Madam Speaker, besides rejuvenating and expanding old mines, we have planted a seed for new mines, which include the highly anticipated Mingomba Mine in Chililabombwe, abena Kabuswe, (The President pointed at Mr Kabuswe) and the Kitumba Mine in Mumbwa. Madam Speaker, I am proud to say that your Government is making Mumbwa different, not a derogatory-named town, as it used to be called Mumbwa Mumbwa.

 

Laughter

 

The President: Mumbwa is receiving huge investments now.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Huge investments now.

 

Mr Nkandu: Working President!

 

The President: Yes, we know. We know.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Kitumba Mine is in Mumbwa, Madam Speaker. I have been there. The two mines are at the development stage; Mingomba and Kitumba in Mumbwa, but jobs have already been created. Works are already ongoing. Suppliers are supplying to those mines. Training is going on. It is a fantastic story, Madam Speaker, to turn a sector around that was dying, and within a short time, delivering tangible results is not a joke. Very serious work is going on there. I will not take too much time on that. There are many more projects that are going on, those were samples only. We are sampling here, in this House.

 

Madam Speaker, the high-resolution aerial geo-physical survey, which is going on at the moment, which commenced in July last year, is on course. That is a very important development for this country. I know others are not paying attention. We have not fully explored our mineral potential since Independence. It is the first time we are doing it. One cannot exploit what one does not know. We have to know what we are sitting on. So far, around 30 per cent of the country has been surveyed. It looks good, but we have to manage those resources properly. I will come to that. The survey is important in identifying what we are sitting on. Even under this building, there could be something laying there, but how do we know unless we survey? So, your country is investing money in that and, I think, it is an investment that is well-intentioned. In addition to identifying resources, the survey is going to address the attendant issue of improvements to attract investment and supporting exploration that may ensue as a result of the geo-physical survey of mapping and improving mineral resources management. We need to pay attention to that; improving the mineral resource management. Going forward, we want minerals to add value, not to create civil strife. Not to create rivers of blood. It has happened in other countries. This Government will not allow that. We hope that we have everyone’s support in ensuring that we manage the resources properly.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, – here we are – to curb illegal mining, our Government is formalising artisanal and small-scale mining operations. To that end, we issued over 1,400 artisanal and small-scale mining licences to citizens of Zambia, because that sector is intended for citizens only. We are cleaning it up. Any non-citizens who got licences will lose them. It is only for the citizens of Zambia. The highest number of licences issued is for the gold mining sub-sector, accounting for 71 per cent. Of all the 1,000 licences issued, 71 per cent are in the gold mining area. That is why we need to pay attention to what is going on in Kikonge, Mufumbwe in Kasempa, Shiwang’andu, Mpika, Lusangazi and Chamuka in Rufunsa. Madam Speaker, we all need to work together on that issue, in this House and outside this House, to keep our country secure. We need to work together.

 

Madam Speaker, I would like to indicate to you that the reforms are delivering value. We have laid a solid foundation for a more prosperous country in different sectors. So, I want to emphasise four points on the mining sector. Whether it is artisanal, small, medium or large scale mining, four things will apply. That is very important. Number one, legal regulatory compliance. Number two, safe mining. We cannot allow our children to go into those holes and die every day in the name of whatever you want to call it. No. No. Within safety or safe mining there should be no pollution. Number three, formal trade. All the minerals must be traded formally and they should come into the economy, not outside. Number four, security. That is very simple. So, legal regulatory, one; Two, safe mining; three, formal trade and four, security. The security cluster, Madam Speaker, will tell you that when it went to Kikonge, it found military guns. What are those guns for? To kill someone? The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) started like that. Forty years down the road, thirteen-year-old boys have killed already. We do not want our country to be in that place. This is not a joke. This is not a joke. So, we need to work together. This House must work together so that we can moderate and exploit our resources properly.

 

Tourism

 

Madam Speaker, over the past four years, we have made strategic investment in tourism infrastructure, marketing, product diversification, policy reforms and community engagement. We have laid a solid foundation for more resilient, diverse and economically impactful activities in the sector. Our interventions are yielding positive results.

 

Hon. Minister Sikumba, we have continued to record an increase in international tourist arrivals and, therefore, revenue.

 

Tourist arrivals are connected to revenue. Tourist arrivals, Madam Speaker, – numbers do not lie – increased from 554,000 in 2021 to a record 2.2 million in 2024;the largest in the country’s history.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: The continued increase in international arrivals, Madam Speaker, is largely, again, not by chance, not by lack, attributed to a number of measures, including the visa waiver policy for 167 countries as well as intensified marketing and the hosting of international meetings and conferences, which your Cabinet made a deliberate decision on. The results are now showing and the benefits are clear. More investment is required, and it is happening. Hotels, lodges and other hospitality infrastructure are in progress in collaboration with the private sector. We would like to thank the private sector. The majority of tourism infrastructure here, in this country, is, basically, delivered by the private sector. So, I say thanks to the tourism players in the sector.

 

We thank you. Let us continue working together.

 

There are challenges we need to deal with, and we have provided platforms to filter those challenges, such as the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) and the Public-Private Dialogue Forum. Please, let us utilise the forums. I am speaking to the nation and the business people now. Let us utilise the forums.

 

Madam Speaker, the launch of the “Destination Zambia” campaign has contributed to raising the country’s international profile – a breath of fresh air – while the “Take a Holiday Yamu Loko” campaign has stimulated local tourism. The first half of this year saw an increase in the number of domestic tourists. The number I gave you of 2.2 million is for international arrivals. Now, because of the efforts, including the “Take a Holiday Yamu Loko” campaign, we saw an increase in domestic tourists to more than 240,000 from 129,000 in the first half of this year.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: That is a 92 per cent increase, Madam Speaker. Ninety-two per cent increase.

 

Madam Speaker, we have embarked on the rehabilitation of access roads leading to major tourist destinations, including roads to the South Luangwa, Kafue and Lower Zambezi national parks. There is an aggressive campaign to promote more international flights into Zambia overall, as well as Lusaka and our tourism capital city, Livingstone, in particular. So, Zambia overall, but Lusaka, Livingstone and, of course, Ndola in particular. We have also continued to support and promote traditional ceremonies as well as cultural festivals to preserve our cultural heritage and attract more tourists. Tourists love our traditional ceremonies. We encourage the royal highnesses to attend one another’s traditional ceremonies to promote cultural cohesion, understanding of one another and promote national unity, and national unity. I can attest that that aspect is happening. Many chiefs did not know one another for fifty years or so. It is only now that they are beginning to know one another, and they are beginning to make friendships among themselves, which will bond them and our people together. Very important!

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Going forward, Madam Speaker, in 2026, we will be commissioning many work streams under the US$100 million Green, Resilient and Transformational Development Project, the (Great-TDP), as it is called. That will accelerate tourism growth and benefit the economy overall. Additionally, we take note of the human-wildlife conflict. That is a serious issue. Human-wildlife conflict is a serious problem right now. Those in South Luangwa and Livingstone know what I am talking about. There is too much conflict, and we need to work hard, and we will continue to do so, to maintain co-existence, including providing education to our people, and tourists as well, as to, for example, knowing how close one can get to an elephant. No matter how friendly it looks, it is a wild animal, because some of the accidents could have been avoided.

 

Madam Speaker, we will continue working on those measures.

 

Energy

 

Madam Speaker, energy. Energy. Madam Speaker, energy.

 

Our fellow citizens, energy is critical to industrialisation and national development.

 

Madam Speaker, the current hardships in the power sector have severely affected the livelihoods of our citizens. Households, first, and small businesses are suffering, and incomes are being eroded. We are very sympathetic to the situation. We feel the pain, …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … we feel the pain, we feel the pain and frustration faced by our citizens, which includes our families, friends and loved communities, due to the power outages. No one has been spared by the shortage of electricity. In the fifty-seven years prior to 2021, growth in demand for power consumption significantly outstripped investment in the sector, specifically generation, transmission and distribution. In generation, in transmission, in distribution. For too long, the issue did not receive the needed attention, and it was compounded by the drought. Maybe, we were exposed by the drought. When I say we, I mean the country, the economy. So, we must accept the circumstances we are faced with and work to remedy the situation. Our Government is sleepless on this matter. It is not a joke. It is not the time to shout at one another. We have not made investments. The numbers are there. We have been at 3,000 MW of generation for forty years. The population has been growing, and the economy is supposed to grow, but we were not investing in the lifeblood of the economy. We accept the situation, but we must work together to come out of it faster. We seriously recognise the growth of our economy, Madam Speaker. In addition to low investment in the sector and the drought impact on the energy sector, because we are highly, if you like, mono-oriented in terms of hydro, now we are compounded by the growth. The very growth I am announcing here, in this House, in the mining sector, means that more energy is needed. So, we need to work harder, this House included. Sometimes, we need to make legislative changes quickly to make investments move faster in that area, and we need the support of this House.

 

Madam Speaker, our commitment is to deliver new generation capacity through sweeping policy reforms, and implementing cost-reflective tariffs to drive more investment is critical. Without the reforms we implemented in the energy sector, we would have had an economic collapse.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, there are reforms such as the open access regime, independent power producers and independent traders. I hear people making negative comments about those changes. Those changes are necessary. I repeat: the open access regime, independent power producers, independent traders, net metering, power blending and tariff blending allow us to generate from expensive sources, blend those with lower sources and deliver a fairer price of power to the needy areas. ery important! So, I speak on this matter with all humility when I say that we need to work together. I also invite people in this House to invest in solar for their houses so that the power they would release will go to someone in the compound. They should set up net-metering systems so that if one’s consumption is 20 kW or 50 kW, one invests in 500 kW, then, sell the difference to the grid. It is the reforms that have made that possible. Please, take advantage. 

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to make this appeal. Please, take advantage because you, in this House, can afford it. The people in Bauleni; the people in – if you like – our compounds cannot afford it. So, we who can afford it should invest in solar. The excess from your consumption; what you consume, you do not pay for it after, of course, it can be part of capital recovery. What you generate as extra will be sold for revenue for more family income. Rather than selling bond paper in Government ministries, we can sell power and generate money.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, to demonstrate that your Government is not just talking, but that it is doing things here, the reforms have led to investments in the sector, a lot of investment, but still, it is not enough. We are intensifying the energy mix, Madam Speaker, for the subsector to be resilient in light of climate change and increase our generation capacity. Notable interventions include the 94 MW Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) Itimpi Solar Project, which we commissioned. There is a 100 MW solar power project in Chisamba, and we are working on Phase II of that. Phase I is done; a 100 MW. Phase II is another 100 MW in the same location, and we believe we will work on it quicker. The first one was done in ten months. We directed our colleagues to undertake the second phase in seven months. We have learnt our lessons. The hon. Member for Chisamba is now the host of a constituency that is a big investor and is contributing to economic growth.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Chisamba. Chisamba. More projects are coming through, Madam Speaker.

 

Make projects come to your area by facilitating land availability. That is what Chief Chamuka did. He made land available, and now he is a host to a 100 MW plus a 100 MW; 200 MW solar plant. Even his needs will be met from that. Many more projects – I do not want to waste your time – are coming through across the country; the Eastern Province, Luapula Province, the Northern Province, Central Province, the Southern Province and the Western Province. Many more.

 

Madam Speaker, many in this House did not believe that we could put the 300 MW Maamba Energy Phase II project in place. Huge progress has been made. Next year, Maamba Energy will be supplying 300 MW of electricity to the grid. This is a project that we started not long ago in recognition of the shortage of energy. So, let no one say that we are seated doing nothing. We are doing many things, but more can be done, especially by the private sector. That is our message, Madam Speaker. We believe that we will meet our 1 million MW of solar energy target even if we miss the deadline. Incrementally, we are making progress. I think, that is important. We do not want to make promises. Why? because we need to do more work. However, we will do our best.

 

Madam Speaker, we are also paying attention to people in the compounds. We are undertaking a switch to allow our people in the compounds to have more power for their lighting, salons, barber shops and welding needs because their incomes depend on that. So, we would like this House to support those measures so that we, who can afford to, use alternatives, and those who cannot afford them are given more power supply. I think that is only fair. So, two critical areas, those colleagues of ours; the less privileged, and those in the mining  industry, including those in farming, must continue to receive power supply so that we do not shut the economy down. That is the issue we are faced with.

 

Madam Speaker, I think, I have said enough on the matter.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we have issues that we are collaborating on in the energy sector with the rest of Africa, as a continent. For example, we a project we call the Mission 300. That is a project that the African Union (AU), together with its partners, has contrived to deliver power to 300 million Africans. However, our agenda is to deliver universal power access to all citizens. Which citizens are you going to say must not receive power? So, we are working on Mission 300, but we have to do more. I think, it is important that this House, I repeat, takes this as a business opportunity. I remind people to choose their businesses properly. This business is clean. You do not have to know anybody. Bring the project. Any hon. Member of Parliament here, in this House, can bring a project for 50 MW, and this President will run with it.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Yes. Bring it. We will run with it to support you because there is demand, but supply is short. What other business are you looking for?

 

Madam Speaker, in this business, you get paid because the ultimate customer is the mine, an irrigator or a factory. You do not have to bribe anyone. So, I would like to encourage you in this House and your friends, your business partners who are in the country or outside. Bring them here. Namikupa shangwe. I will explain, Madam Speaker. I am saying, “I am pleading with you”. Namikupa shangwe. Let us deliver power for our country.

 

Madam Speaker, I will leave it at that on power. I want to repeat: This is an area for which your Government is having sleepless nights. I am a bit aggressive than usual on this issue with my colleagues to get the job done. We are meeting, we are following projects, and I am sending people to Maamba Energy. I gave ZESCO Kariba North Bank division, which actually partnered with Stanbic Bank to develop that project in Chisamba, a deadline and told them to put lights up there, at the site, to work at night, and they were able to deliver in ten months. Now, I have told them to deliver Phase II in seven months. We must all pay attention to that. Let us support that hon. Member of Parliament, Chief Chamuka and everyone else who has power stations located in their constituencies. Muleishiba utuntu.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, these hon. Members of Parliament baleishiba utuntu. They must know the projects that are happening in their constituencies. In English, I am saying that they need to know things so that they can support the projects and encourage whoever has invested in their constituencies.

 

You must be there. You should not be told. You must be the ones telling us what is going on there, in the constituencies, then, we can move quicker.

 

On that call, thank you, Madam Speaker. Once more, we appreciate our people's patience regarding the electricity situation, and we do not take it for granted.

 

Petroleum Sub-Sector

 

Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, in the petroleum sector, the Government has continued to implement reforms aimed at ensuring the security of supply of petroleum products through enhanced private sector participation. Again, again, the private sector. We recognise our country’s unique geographical land-linked position that places our dependency fully on neighbouring countries for our fuel supply chains. We recognise that. As such, we are addressing historical inefficiencies in the utilisation of our strategic fuel reserve infrastructure, many of which were riddled, again, with litigation, were half-completed, and contracts were not processed properly. We are cleaning up that area. When we clean up those areas, we do not want the people who were involved to complain. All we want is to make the fuel reserve infrastructure available for our country. We have to do that.

 

Hon. Member: For everyone!

 

The President: Yes, for everyone, even those who messed up things.

 

Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, we recognise the importance of strategic fuel reserve infrastructure, I want to repeat that, and safeguard our fuel supply security. Like food, fuel insecurity is national insecurity. We recognise that. Over the past two quarters, we have made sweeping reforms to the low-sulphur diesel supply chain by introducing the fuel open access regime. As we have done for electricity, we are doing it for fuel supply through the open access regime on the Tanzania-Zambia Mafuta (TAZAMA) Limited pipeline. The reforms have allowed us to lower the pump price.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I am sure your hon. Members have seen that the pump price, on average, has been reducing. It is because of the reforms we have put in place.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: It is not by chance. So, these reforms, Madam Speaker, have allowed us to lower the pump price of diesel by close to 30 per cent since implementing the opening access regime in the usage of TAZAMA, and that has been the case since April. Please, you can re-jig your memory. Since April 2025. We intend to strengthen the open access framework and further deliver stable and competitive pricing for diesel, and we are working, Madam Speaker, – this is important –to extend that to petrol, because the framework has only been applied to diesel, as that is the only facility that can be moved at the moment. Further, the Government has continued to work on a process aimed at constructing a new multi-product pipeline between Zambia and Tanzania. That is a huge investment. We are inviting the private sector. The Government does not have the balance sheet to do it. Even if we had, we do not want public money to be used in that way. We are inviting partners in that area. It is a colossal investment, but it is rewarding for those who invest in the sector. That will significantly complement the capacity of the existing pipeline, thereby, guaranteeing supply security and stable commodity pricing in the fuel sub-sector of energy.

 

Madam Speaker, this is another area for which we have long nights and days because the sector was messed up for many years, and the clean-up faces resistance. We know that. The clean-up faces resistance, but we are doing it for good reasons; to benefit everyone, not a few. 

 

Science and Technology

 

Madam Speaker, technology, science and innovation are  engines of economic transformation. To that end, we are investing in information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure whilst enhancing digital literacy, promoting innovation-driven entrepreneurship and investing in research and skills development. We are doing all those things at the same time. Over the past four years, our ICT sector has experienced remarkable growth.

 

Hon. Minister of Technology and Science, thank you very much.

 

Where is the hon. Minister?

 

Mr Mutati raised his hand.

 

The President: Thank you very much.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, numbers do not lie. The sector grew by 17.4 per cent, increasing the sector’s contribution to overall GDP growth. Mobile phone penetration now stands at 71.8 per cent, compared to 63.3 per cent in 2021. Internet subscriptions reached 13.5 million people, compared to 10.4 million people in 2021. In 2024, mobile money transactions – Madam Speaker, even you will be surprised –reached an unprecedented K486 billion.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Absolutely. This is a revolution. With 12.9 million active accounts. In a population of 20 million people, 12.9 million people are active on the mobile money platform in the country. People do not have to jump on a bus to go to the post office to receive money. They receive money next to their Houses. Madam Speaker, for now, many will not see the value of that to the economy. In a few years, you will see the tremendous value that the economy will benefit from that. We would like to continue on that trajectory and thank the citizens for up-taking technology because it is more efficient, quicker –

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Working on fraud, yes. Working on fraud.

 

Madam Speaker, this is a clear demonstration that digital trust and financial inclusion are taking root in our country.

 

Trade and Investment

 

Madam Speaker, your Government is working tirelessly to stimulate trade, attract more investment and empower local entrepreneurs. This is positioning our country as a competitive participant in both regional and global markets.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, your country is no longer at the edge of national, international and regional engagements. We are no longer at the edge. We are right inside there. That is very important. We have attracted more investments in mining, agriculture, renewable energy and digital technology, among others, more than we have ever done before. The figures are there. These investments are translating into economic growth, business opportunities, Treasury income and more jobs for our people, especially the youth of Zambia.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, especially for imisepela.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: It means the youths.

 

In 2021, our non-traditional exports, Madam Speaker, were US$2.6 billion. Currently, they stand at US$3.6 billion. That is an increase of US$1  billion. It is not a joke. More of our honey, which is a small thing, maize seed, as I mentioned earlier, beef, even before we put the efforts we are putting in, cotton, tobacco, sugar, cement and other products are being exported within Africa and beyond.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: A clear demonstration of our ground-breaking strides and phenomenal economic turnaround, from where we were in August 2021. It is a phenomenal turnaround, no question about it, but more can be done. More should, and will be done. That is very important. Let me comment on that a little bit. This is a clear demonstration of our ground-breaking strides, which include the phenomenal economic turnaround in the performance of the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE), the capital market; the all-share index.

 

Madam Speaker, recently, LuSE posted a remarkable 55.8 per cent growth on a year-to-date basis. This is a mark of investor confidence, backed by real fundamentals. Please, take note of the selection of words. Our methodical approach is working …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … and the numbers are speaking louder than ever before. More importantly, we are working on reforms – I must emphasise this point_ more importantly, we are working on reforms that will allow for more innovation and participation of ordinary Zambians in the capital market.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, the rollout will be clear very soon. There are new products there, but we have to legislate because there are limitations in the existing legislation. We ask this House to allow us to legislate quickly since it is now in session  so that new products can come through. Citizens can contribute K100, K1,000, K5,000 and collectively, we can invest this money even in the generation of energy.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: There are restrictions in the law. We will come to you quickly and please, answer the call for expeditious decision making. I believe that the fundamentals are in place now. We are working on more reforms. We are asking for the support of this House to expedite or accelerate the work that needs to be done to open the capital market.

 

Madam Speaker, we have made significant progress in accelerating the development of special economic zones across the country. By the end of 2024, the zones had attracted eighty-seven fully operational companies, with an investment outlay of US$2.9 billion in  these zones alone. Over 48,000 jobs have been created. In addition, forty-seven companies were at the construction stage in various special economic zones.

 

Madam Speaker, I can say one thing only here. At the launch of the US$1.25 billion Kansanshi Mine S3 Expansion project, which has been completed, ball mills are now being manufactured in the Kalumbila Multi-Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ). I am sure miners here, and hon. Members from the Copperbelt know what ball mills are. We used to import them from Australia.

 

Mr Samakayi: Hear, hear!

 

The President: They are now being manufactured here. This is very important to this House. We want this House to encourage more work like this. More jobs there.

 

Madam Speaker, additional special economic zones  will include the beef special economic One  along the Kafue Flats, covering the north and south banks, and the agricultural special economic zone  covering Mpongwe, Masaiti, Kafulafuta and Ngabwe; the Fintech MFEZ in Chongwe, Member of Parliament for Chongwe, Hon. Masebo, please, take note; the Golden Baobab MFEZ in Kafue; to the hon. Member for Kafue, I say it is already happening and jobs are already being created there, and the Wonderful Group Industrial Park in Chilanga District.

 

Madam Speaker, I want to encourage the House through you to organise sections of these hon. Members of Parliament to visit that area. When you go there, you will have a different mindset when you return. What was a rocky farm is now a huge industrial centre producing fertiliser. This month, I will commission 85 MW of electricity from there, associated with the manufacture of urea and ammonia. These are new technologies. They were never there before. I want to encourage you, Madam Speaker, to create batches of your hon. Members and take them there. It is very near here, just around your backyard, and see what is going on in your country. Then you will have a different perception of what is happening in your country.

 

Madam Speaker, most importantly, we intend to increase economic activities across all the ten provinces of our country. This Government is determined to ensure that each of the ten  provinces grows its economy.

 

Madam Speaker, let me stray a bit. Kawambwa is of special interest to this President. Kawambwa of Luapula can inject economic activity into Luapula Province. So, we, together with colleagues from Kawambwa need to work very hard, because every ingredient is there. That farm, which we own, was operating on diesel generators, which were very expensive. I went there, and I instructed ZESCO Limited to connect that farm to the grid. The farm is now on the national grid, and we are lowering the cost of operating it.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We must start manufacturing things in Kawambwa. So, every province must have a centre that will drive economic activity. When our people  see that, they will understand the transformation taking place. Sometimes, you have to see in order to believe. This is one I am suggesting.

 

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

 

Madam Speaker, these are very important.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, jobs are anchored on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) anywhere in the world. This is not an exception. To walk the talk in this area, just to give you a comparison, your Government was earlier – I do not want to say ‘this Government’, but “your Government” in 2021, before August, was spending K40 million per year in this sector. Now, your Government has increased the allocation to K1.5 billion per year to reflect the importance of this sector.

 

Madam Speaker, we have also reduced the interest rates for MSMEs loans.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I am unhappy to tell you that our people do not pay back loans. The loan repayment culture in this country is very bad. Your Government is working on measures to address this situation. To lend efficiently, at a lower rate, yes, but with higher recoveries. We will be partnering with banks because they know how to lend and they know how to collect. When we lend and collect, the fund grows. When we lend and our people do not pay back, the fund shrinks. We cannot be going to the Treasury every year to ask for more money. This fund must grow. So, I believe different measures are being taken to strengthen that aspect in this area. However, we will never leave the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) alone. This is the engine of growth.

 

Labour and Industrial Relations

 

Madam Speaker, I want to start by commending the labour movement and our hardworking public and private sector workers for the spirit of harmony and collaboration which they continue to show in their relations with employers.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, through our open-door policy, hon. Minister of Labour and Social Security, thank you, Madam, and the practice of constant dialogue, we have not witnessed industrial unrest in this country. Very important! Conducting business in the streets and shouting at each other does not solve problems, but dialogue does. So, we want to thank the unions, the workers in the public and private sectors, and employers for their engagement. Industrial harmony is very important for economic growth. Building bridges of trust and partnership is very important.

 

Madam Speaker, I stray, but it is in my speech. I also want to commend our students in schools, colleges and universities for embracing dialogue as the most civilised way of resolving challenges.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, change is happening in small doses in the economy. When there is less conflict and less sticks flying all over the shore, you can focus your time and attention on growing the economy. That is what we are doing. Unions, workers, and students also see the reward and value that arises from a growing economy.

 

Madam Speaker, industrial peace is not only a sign of unity between the Government and workers, but also the bedrock upon which our economy must grow. Let us, therefore, continue to nurture this spirit of co-operation so that together, as one people, we can build a stronger and more prosperous Zambia.

 

Transport and Infrastructure

 

Madam Speaker, your Government has continued to develop transport infrastructure throughout the country. We are utilising both public and private financing, especially through public-private partnerships (PPPs). A model that was frowned upon, but a model that has delivered. Thank you, hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development. It is a model that is delivering. No question about it. To this end, the Chingola/Kasumbalesa Road has been completed satisfactorily. Better quality, lower cost and delivered on time. Simple! Pricing is right, quality is right and delivery is timely. Three rules only. Filecitika. Things are happening. The Luanshya/Fisenge/Masangano Road –

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Abena Chibuye, the Luanshya/Fisenge/Masangano Road has been completed.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, let me speak for all to hear. The first-ever, all-concrete Kitwe/Chibuluma Road has also been completed.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Never has this country seen a concrete road. I remember having a chat with the hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, and we agreed to undertake  a pilot project, and we chose the Chibuluma Road. Hon. Mpundu is not here, in the House. Hon. Binwell Mpundu, he and I spoke and I promised him that we would construct the Chibuluma Road using  concrete. He knows, and we have done it. Please, inform him that we respected his views.

 

Hon. UPND Members: He is listening!

 

The President: It is done. The Chibuluma Road is done.

 

Madam Speaker, in addition, works on the Ndola/Sakanya Road, Ndola/Mufulira/Mokambo Road and the Lusaka/Ndola Dual Carriageway have advanced and are progressing well.

 

Madam Speaker, the 127 km Lusaka/Ndola Dual Carriageway was to be constructed at US$1.3 billion plus the interest of US$1.8 billion. This road is being constructed at a cost of US$645 million.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, words cannot be manipulated to an extent where we say different things. In here, this road is being constructed at a cost of US$645 million. Same length, better quality, off-balance sheet and on time

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Thank you, hon. Minister. I also want to thank the hon. Minister for Copperbelt Province, the hon. Minister for Central Province and the hon. Minister for Lusaka Province for their co-operation. We can do more.

 

Madam Speaker, works on the Great North Road, from Chinsali to Nakonde, are also progressing well. I want to thank the hon. Minister for Muchinga Province, the hon. Minister for Northern Province and the hon. Members of Parliament in those areas.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Thank you for your support and co-operation.

 

Madam Speaker, with some sections of the road having reached 99 per cent completion, I am pushing with you, let us push together to accelerate works on that road. We can increase the speed.

 

Madam Speaker, the upgrading of the Monze/Niko Road to bituminous standard will be completed by November this year. This road was never touched for fifty years.

 

Hon. UPND Member: Bakalikuli? Where were you?

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Madam Speake, I beg to move on. In the case of upgrading my beloved Chipata/Chadiza Road to bituminous standard, significant progress has been made. This month, I will be visiting that road. Yes, Hon. Daka.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Madam Speaker, on these roads, we can do more. We are doing things, but we can do more. I am asking my colleagues in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, and engineers to be more innovative and adopt new technologies to do the work that we need to do. I think, we can do it.

 

Madam Speaker, we are also improving rural road connectivity across the country. Since 2021, we have rehabilitated 2,450 km of rural roads. In addition, local authorities have worked on 860 km of feeder roads through the enhanced Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Please, Madam Speaker, this House must pay attention to this: there is a creation of local capacity at district levels, in working on our roads, in delivering and upgrading old and new roads, and more importantly, sustaining maintenance of existing ones. In this country, we allow roads to degenerate and we watch until they become too expensive to mend. We need to improve the capacity to maintain roads on an ongoing basis. It is cheaper and it is the right thing to do. So, we expect the districts through the CDF, the machinery they have bought and the councils to continue working on skills development, divide roads between districts, and allot responsibility between districts. I think that is important for the hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development and the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to do that so that we can accelerate accountability by districts. People must not ask questions about why a particular pothole is growing and not being fixed. Hon. Members must ask those questions. Walk into those districts and demand that potholes be mended because the capacity is there now.

 

Madam Speaker, I am sure you are following that your Government is upgrading airports across the country. Kasama Airport has been constructed and rehabilitated, including the runway and landing lights. Landing lights are very important to enable us to land even at 0100 hours. Work must go on even in the night. We have upgraded many others like Chipata, Mongu and Solwezi airports.

 

Madam Speaker, let us not rush to create new airports when we can rehabilitate the existing ones. It will be quicker to do that.  It will also be less costly and the airports will be easily accessible for business and travel. I want to argue that we should not be wasteful.  Let us be prudent in the manner we utilise limited resources. Resources are always minimal. So, the idea is that each province should have an airport of an international standard. Yes, we have the provincial capitals, but I must be quick to say that areas such as the Northern and Luapula regions will have a lion's share because of the distance. For example, we are working on the Chinsali Airport in Muchinga, Nakonde Airport, Mansa Airport and Kasaba Bay Airport.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: So, I therefore, ask the nation to understand why we are doing that. It is because the distances to those areas from here in Lusaka are long. We need to access our areas across the country. So, there is a reason for us to work on the Zambezi Airport as well because of the sheer distance. While Solwezi Airport is there, Zambezi Airport must also be worked on. 

 

Mr Kambita: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Hon. Lumayi, to access Chavuma, Kashinakaji and Yambezi, Zambezi Airport  must be worked on. It is very important. Madam Speaker, I thought I must emphasise that point because I hear many people make uninformed comments on social media about why certain things are being done. It is for that reason and it is the right thing to do. We need to bring the country together. We know that certain decisions may not be seen to be equal.  It may or may not be about that.   So, it is a necessity and  I thought I should make that point clear.

 

Madam Speaker, on the railway side, we are enhancing our competitiveness in regional transport gateways such as the Lobito, Nacala and Beira, North-South corridors. That is very important.

 

Madam Speaker, I am extremely pleased to use this opportunity to announce that after lengthy negotiations, we have now reached an agreement on the revitalisation of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway line.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: So, we will be moving quickly to the implementation and signing off. This is a project we pushed and mooted in 2022, during our Zambia/China bilateral meetings in Beijing with Tanzania. I am sorry, Madam Speaker, it took a bit long. It was a complicated negotiation but we will have is a truly new revitalised higher integrity asset financing, rolling stock and many other things. The hon. Minister of Transport and Logistics is not here. However, we are aware that the Zambia Railways is in bad shape, but we have to do one thing at a time, because as we build the economy, we must also look at certain things that we can do best, and those that can be done thereafter. If we can do them together, we will be happy.  However, there are many business opportunities for our colleagues in Kapiri Mposhi.  The hon. Member for Kapiri Mposhi is in the House. Big things are happening in Kapiri Mposhi which are associated with that decision we have now reached, including a dry port. Big things, I think he knows. Thank you, hon. Member, for finding land for the dry port in Kapiri Mposhi. There are businesses in Kapiri Mposhi, Mkushi, Serenje, Mpika, all the way to the exit point.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mushanga: What about Kabwe?

 

The President: Hon. Mushanga.

 

Laughter

 

The President: Madam Speaker, allow me to say that I touched on Zambia Railways. I said that we are working on Zambia Railways. However, the hon. Member will also be happy to note that I will be going to open Mulungushi Textiles shortly.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: He will be happy about that. Thank you very much.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we can do a lot more. We are doing these things under difficulties, but we can do a lot more by working together. Hon. Member for Bwacha, I am talking about working together and not working against each other.

 

Mr Mushanga indicated assent.

 

The President: Thank you very much.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Land Administration

 

Madam Speaker, land is the foundation of any economy. It is a critical asset for achieving national development, food security, social equity, peace and economic growth. As a nation, we must ensure that every Zambian, regardless of gender, age, ability, or social status, has the opportunity to own land and use it productively, and not to sit on it. We are introducing land access windows, tailored for small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, co-operatives, and investors to ensure equitable distribution and use of land across various sectors in the country. The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources is here. The ministry responsible for land has been one of the most difficult ministries to run for many years, tied with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. Many times, we think that land issues solely belong to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, but in reality, they also fall under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. Many land issues are under council jurisdiction. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources cedes some of its responsibilities to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. The hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development is working very hard. Thank you very much, Sir, but co-operation between the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development must improve. You need to work together.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

 The President: Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, in order to eliminate inefficiencies, human interference, and corruption in our land administration, we are rolling-out a comprehensive digital programme that will include mapping all land parcels in the country to avoid one piece of land having two or more titles. It is unacceptable going forward. It negatively affects development.

 

Madam Speaker, to address the persistent delays and financial burden associated with land disputes, we will significantly strengthen the Lands Tribunal by increasing budgetary support and other operational support, including tools to operate. Every resettled family, farmer, investor and everybody else deserves the security of tenure. Land title is important, but security of tenure is even more important because sometimes, titles are disrespected. It could be that maybe, they were not issued properly or  no one respects the law around that. I want to urge fellow citizens that lawlessness does not pay. Whether it is in mining or just in land, it does not pay at all. It damages. One may have temporary happiness which in the long term, may be damaging.  So, to that extent, we aim to systematically issue land titles in all resettlement areas. Your Honour the Vice-President, I thank you very much for your effort.

 

Madam Speaker, regarding undesignated farm blocks, earlier, I talked about our beautiful Kawambwa Farm Block which is already being encroached.  Farm management has to deal with issues that are unnecessary including the security of crops when they are produced.  I urge our citizens that lawlessness does not pay, at any level. Our traditional leaders are the custodians of over 70 per cent of Zambia’s land. We will be working closely with them. The Hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, must note that I have asked for a meeting here in Lusaka of all chiefs so that we can manage these assets properly, whether in mining or for settlement for agriculture. There is only one unitary State here. There are not two, three or four Governments.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: There is only one Treasury here.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Where is the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning? There is only one Treasury here. What we are seeing is that there are multiple small treasuries emanating across the country. That is outside the law. That cannot work. That breeds a lot of problems along the way. So, I will be calling the chiefs here so that together, with the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, we can manage the issues of access to mining for small-scale miners. Many charges are coming through at local level which are making mining difficult, as it is in agriculture. So, that meeting will take place, Madam Speaker, and we will feed you with the results of that meeting because we need to know what is going on. So, I want to suggest and guide that we have to work with traditional leaders as one Government and as one country. Sometimes, the conduct there frightens investments, even that  from their own subjects, because when they invest, make a bit of money and progress,  someone will say, “Where is my fee?”, when  that fee is not even registered anywhere. . I think we have an issue. I am a traditionalist myself, and I love my traditional leaders. That is why we are building houses for them but we have to work together.

 

Madam Speaker, we will work with our traditional leaders as they are the custodians of over 70 per cent of our land. We will work closely with them to do a couple of things, including formalising customary land transactions. There is so much informality out there. We will find a middle ground to formalise transactions there. We will train local land administrators and align customary allocations with national land use plans. At the moment, we are misaligned and are creating conflict.

 

Madam Speaker, we have witnessed the cost when companies neglect environmental safeguards. For instance, the toxic waste disaster in the Kafue River poisoned the water and affected farmland. Mining companies must never be allowed to make profit while destroying the land that sustains us.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We are putting in place measures for tough enforcement and accountability because land without protection is land at risk.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Human and Social Development

 

The President: Madam Speaker, there can be no human and social development without economic growth. It is key to attaining a prosperous, resilient and equitable Zambia. That is why, since 2021, your Government has been investing in education, health, water and sanitation. We have also been addressing vulnerability and inequality among our citizens.

 

Education

 

Madam Speaker, regarding the free education policy, you should be proud that since 2022, this policy has given an opportunity to all our children, regardless of their socio-economic status, to attend school. Since then, we are proud that over 2.3 million children have gone back to school.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Just imagine for a minute what the 2.3 million children were going to become without school.

 

Mr Amutike: PF cadres!

 

Laughter

 

The President: Madam Speaker, a number of these learners have returned to school and have now progressed towards tertiary education. Three years down the road, some of them have moved to the tertiary education level. This Government has followed them by providing skills training. We did not leave them at secondary school. We have followed them there. We are also following them into universities with meal allowances ...

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … more bursaries and more student loans.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, this will continue. No decent Government must ever tamper with free education going forward.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: No one should be allowed to tamper with free education. Education is the best investment, equaliser and inheritance.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We decree that no Government should be allowed to remove free education going forward. We should just grow the economy and raise money to fund it. Simple.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We should all be agreeable here. Otherwise, some of you would have never been Members of Parliament if you did not receive free education from Kenneth Kaunda (KK). So, why would you want others to get less than what you got? I hope this point will be recorded in the Hansard that no Government will remove free education.

 

Madam Speaker, to enhance access to quality education, we are accelerating school infrastructure development. I have heard comments on school infrastructure development. There is nothing wrong with more children looking for classroom space because of free education. Our response is to build more schools, buy more desks, and employ more teachers.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Hon. Minister of Education, I thank you very much for the effort. I think those are the correct responses. Since 2022, over 2,800 additional classroom blocks have been constructed using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I heard some people ask, “Are we going to eat CDF?” Yes, this is food.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: For our people, this is food. When we educate our people, they will find their own food because they are educated. So, that is the correct position. We eat CDF. CDF is a game changer.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President:  Madam Speaker, in addition, thirty-eight early childhood education hub centres are under construction and will be completed by 2026. Further, 110 early childhood education hub centres and 112 satellite centres have already been constructed. At the tertiary level, our Government resumed the construction of hostels that had stalled in eight public universities. For over eight to nine years, these construction sites became habitats for thieves. However, your Government has revived the construction of hostels in eight public universities. Once completed, over 8,400 additional bed spaces will be created for our students.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Thank you.

 

Madam Speaker, I think these are subjects that we must not quarrel over because one comes from this party and the other from another party. These things are for our children.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: There is no segregation there. Is there a label on one’s forehead that one is a PF or UPND child? Akuna. There is nothing.

 

Madam Speaker, I am deeply humbled to discuss this subject because many of us are here because of education. I am here because of education. I think it is important that when we are given an opportunity to run the country, in different areas, as hon. Members of Parliament, Councillors, or President, we must do justice to the welfare of the children, the future of our country. I expect that there will be less toxic talk around these issues of education, CDF and health. There should be less toxicity on social media.

 

Madam Speaker, it is a matter of responsibility and humbleness when we address this subject. Remember what we were and what we could have been way back. Your answer lies in there. Let us support this sector.

 

Madam Speaker, the construction of more lecture theatres, staff houses and student hostels is ongoing at the University of Zambia (UNZA), Copperbelt University (CBU), Mulungushi University, Chalimbana University, Palabana University, Mukuba University, Robert Makasa University and Kwame Nkrumah University. Let us work together in those areas.

 

Madam Speaker, our Government has continued to ensure that no child sits on the floor in our schools. I have already talked about desks. It is not a reason to make arguments. If one more child sits on the floor, we just need to buy one or two more desks. That is all. These hon. Members here are the ones who should tell us which schools have no desks and we will respond. Firstly, the hon. Members should respond because they have their CDF. They should say what is on the ground.

 

Madam Speaker, the teacher deficit will be there because of these policies. We have employed many teachers. Since we came into power in 2022, we have recruited 42,000 teachers.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: This year, we will recruit 2,000 more teachers …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … because they are needed to teach our children.

 

Madam Speaker, I can say more, but it is important that we keep more learners healthy and improve their learning outcomes. The Government has continued to expand the home-grown school feeding programme. The programme has been extended to 106 districts this year, up from seventy districts in 2021. The number of beneficiaries has, therefore, increased to 4.6 million learners this year, from 1.9 million leaners in 2021. Here are the numbers. We will expand the programme to all the 116 districts to cover over 5 million learners. When we are challenged with resources, we work harder to generate more resources to fund these areas.

 

Madam Speaker, the UPND New Dawn Administration has prioritised skills development, as I said earlier, as a driver for economic transformation. In 2024, student enrolment in Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) institutions increased to 96,000 from 38,000 in 2021.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We have also seen a marked increase in the number of female students participating in TEVET programmes, to 45,000 in 2024 from 16,000 in 2021. We are very proud of these young women for what they are doing out there and what they do  when they graduate. This has been made possible by the bursary scheme under the enhanced CDF. It is a new innovation. It has never been there before.

 

Madam Speaker, to increase access to skills training opportunities in rural areas, new trade training institutes have been constructed in Sesheke, Mporokoso and Lundazi districts.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: In Lufwanyama, the construction of Chapula Vocational Training Centre is underway, while the rehabilitation of Kaoma Trades Training Institute will commence before the end of this year. Gen. Sitwala, there you are. We have also introduced the Zambia National Service (ZNS) voluntary skills training programme.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: When we talked about it, Madam Speaker, it was like a pep talk. It is real. We have now taken in the first intake of the voluntary national service training. I am very pleased to say it is over-subscribed. We did not go back to the Treasury for money; we were ingenious and funded it within the envelope, including volunteer sponsors such as myself.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr President: Madam Speaker, I am sponsoring 200 students to undergo voluntary national service training from all 156 constituencies.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr President: I encourage people in this House to do the same. National service is good training. Take it from me. National service is good training. The Hon. Madam Speaker knows this; she went through it. Those of us who went through that programme appreciate its  value.  We can also trace the behaviours of those who went and those who did not.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Laughter

 

The President: So, we urge more of our youths to take advantage of vocational and skills training programmes and become productive citizens. As we have always stated, education outwits any other investment.

 

Health

 

Madam Speaker, the health and well-being of our people remain at the core of our development agenda. In view of the declining global health financing landscape, our Government has enhanced domestic investment in health programmes. These include programmes related to human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS), Tuberculosis, malaria, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), primary healthcare, community health, as well as medical supply chains and digital health systems.

 

Madam Speaker, since 2021, we have constructed 282 new health facilities across the country.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: I follow debates. I heard someone say that this Government is not building new health facilities. We have built 282 new facilities across the country.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: These include seven level 1  hospitals, because the argument was that we are only building pikinini clinics. Sorry, Madam Speaker, pikinini means small, but here we are. We have seven  level 1  hospitals.

 

Mr Nkandu: Ehe!

 

Mr President: Yes, seven. Most of them, on the Copperbelt, Eastern, and Mushili. Very good. Tubombele capamo.

 

Laughter

 

The President: I am saying that we need to work together. I am sorry, Madam Speaker.

 

So, we have seven level 1 hospitals, 111 mini-hospitals, thirty-three health centres, and 131 health posts. Of these facilities, 164 were constructed using the CDF. Further, 206 maternity annexes, were constructed and rehabilitated countrywide. Madam Speaker, I want to thank all these hon. Members of Parliament for heeding the call to attach maternity wings to every health centre.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: I want to thank you, Madam Speaker and your House for heeding that. Now, mothers can deliver in safe environments with running water and electricity, solar as it may be. That is very important. We should be proud hon. Members of this House that we are able to ease the situation our mothers face. Most of us had no opportunity like that. We were never born like that, but it is our reason to do better so that those coming after us will find better facilities.

 

Madam Speaker, we are employing health workers. We cannot just build level 1 hospitals without workers. Since we came into Government, we have recruited 18,000 health workers, and this year, we are recruiting 2,000 more.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Our investments in the health sector are bearing fruits. We have, indeed, continued to take health services closer to our people.

 

Madam Speaker, the Government will continue to modernise and expand our health infrastructure. Our Government will expedite the completion of the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz specialised hospital for women and children in the Chawama area. We will also expedite the completion of the rehabilitation of the Cancer Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Lusaka and in Ndola. It is all moving very well.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: These facilities are expected to substantially reduce the financial and emotional burden of seeking specialised treatment outside the country. Sometimes, our citizens do not make it, they die on the way. It is our duty to develop local capacity. Hence, these investments. This House must support these investments. We cannot have them in every location, but at least, we have two big centres in Lusaka and Ndola, where our citizens can go instead of going to India or South Africa all the time. I think this House must pay particular attention to this issue. It is a very important issue.

 

Madam Speaker, to improve our ability to detect and respond to public health threats and emergencies, we have enhanced disease surveillance at all major ports of entry and in other strategic locations. Further, we have increased immunisation coverage for children under one year, from 75 per cent to 81 per cent in 2024.

 

Madam Speaker, I have good news here.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: The local manufacture of vaccines such as cholera and other medicines, as well as medical accessories, is moving forward rapidly. They will continue to receive high priority.  We will see this when the Budget is presented.  We will continue to invest in health.

 

 Madam Speaker, the availability of essential medicines and medical supplies is critical to the provision of quality health services. We are taking appropriate measures to improve the availability of essential medicines and supplies in all our health facilities. To this end, we are strengthening the management of the supply chain for medicines and medical supplies. We are reorganising the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … to enhance its efficiency, reliability and responsiveness. We are strengthening the enforcement of laws to address systemic pilferage of drugs. If you look at the public sector, colleagues who are in jail, a number of them are in the health sector. For many years. This thing has to come to an end. Our efforts have more than doubled. The availability of medicines and medical supplies in our health facilities has improved from 44 per cent in 2021 to 85 per cent currently. We are talking about numbers again.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we warn all those involved in the theft of medicines and medical supplies meant for our ordinary citizens. The long arm of the law will catch up with all those involved.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I want to announce emphatically, that we are currently using the results of the ZAMMSA independent forensic audit, which we instigated, not anyone else. Do not listen to anyone telling you that they did that; we did it. Arrests have been effected and more arrests will be effected. We will prosecute and ultimately jail all those found wanting.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we are also going to conduct asset recoveries.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: If you stole medicines and built a house, we are coming for that house.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We need to send a signal, Madam Speaker.  What is the point of having someone who stole a million Dollars  worth of drugs being prosecuted, jailed for three years and after remission, one and a half years, he or she  comes out and finds US$900,000 intact. They will steal again.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: If they do not steal, they will encourage the relative whom they employed in the system to steal because one is not frightened. We need to make it frightening to do.

 

So, Madam Speaker, I want to emphasise here that the audit report brought out many glaring issues. Those are systemic problems. It is unbelievable to see the sheer courage that people have to take what is not theirs. That is what instigated the audit, and we are working on it. There is no issue.

 

Madam Speaker, I want to say, we must distinguish between being arrested for theft and being prosecuted from being jailed because of loss of democratic space. We must distinguish the two. I hear people say, “No, we are being targeted.” There is no one being targeted. If you did not steal, the audit will find you innocent.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: So, nobody is being targeted here. It is different. This is not the same as loss of democratic space and human rights. What about the rights of patients? When you steal drugs, what about the rights of patients? I think this House must come to a consensus on this matter.

 

Ms Mulenga: We have culprits here!

 

The President: Yes, we must have consensus on this matter.

 

Ms Mulenga: Containers were lost!

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I am hanging on to this subject deliberately because I am an active individual; I scan what is being said and allegations being made. The fact that maybe, your nephew was involved does not mean that your nephew was targeted. The correct thing to do is to tell your nephew not to steal from the public, rather than to say that he is being targeted. By who? That is not correct. As leaders, we must not behave like ostriches, burying our heads in the sand. Only the head is in the sand, and the rest of the body is outside.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, there are no sacred cows in fighting theft and corruption in this area and in other sectors. I think we have now been proven correct. In the beginning, I came to this House and made this statement, but people said, “Ah, there is nothing. Alebepa ubufi.” No. Now, they are saying, “We are being victimised.” Earlier, they were saying, “No, there is no fight against corruption.” Convictions are coming, forfeitures are coming. The argument has changed to “No, we are being targeted.” There is no one being targeted, here.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: No one. If you did not steal, how can you be arrested? Go to court and prove yourself innocent. Why do you fear going to court? Go to court. The courts are there to prove you innocent. So, you are creating politics and arguments of absence of democratic space and human rights; you are trying to be an ostrich. You hide the truth; the rest of your body is outside. We will extricate the body and lock it up.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, let me ask for the co-operation of this House. We are leaders. Here, we must tell the truth. We must act correctly. If you do not act correctly, when you are found wanting and you cry foul, you start alleging things that do not exist.

 

Mr Mabeta: Correct!

 

The President: That should come to an end, Madam Speaker.

 

Madam Speaker, people are stealing cannulas. When a nurse wants to put a cannula on a patient, the system shows that cannulas are there in stores, but when the nurse goes to stores, cannulas are not there.

 

Interjections

 

The President: Yes, everything. They are stealing anything.  I want to encourage –

 

Madam Speaker, I do not want the House to get too excited. I beg to move. Here is my advice to the people in this House and in this country.  If you know there is a particular person who stole something, go to the police.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Thank you.

 

I think we have talked candidly today, Madam Speaker, and I was gunning for this. I wanted to talk about this openly, strongly and emphatically. We must stand as one. On the fight against corruption and theft, we must stand as one. There should be no isms there. There should be nothing like I do not belong to this church or religion. There should be no ethnicity or political party allegiance. No. The people we have arrested, some were employed by the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and others were employed by the Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND). They all go in. Let us agree on that.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Madam Speaker, our people need good nutrition. That  is why we need to improve our agriculture.

 

Madam Speaker, I am very proud to say that our mothers are now delivering from health facilities. The United Nations (UN) system is looking at what we are doing here. We must be proud of ourselves. Together, this House and councils must work to make more health facilities available to our people. There should be a maternity facility at every health facility. Thank you to all the hon. Members of Parliament. Please, use the money which you have through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) properly. One area the money must go to is maternity wings with running water and lighting.

 

Madam Speaker, regarding water, it is enough to say that we have sunk over 2,000 boreholes, installed 491 piped water schemes as well as rehabilitated 671 boreholes countrywide. Let us not abandon old boreholes. Let  us clean them up. A lower cost is incurred to clean them up and reticulate them. Let us utilise the assets we have before we build new ones. It is very important. This is happening across the country. These facilities are benefiting over 687,000 people across the country.

 

Madam Speaker, we have expanded various aspects of water provision. I want to encourage this House to complete projects on time. I also have observed that  we are overspending. Hon. Members of Parliament, supervise the cost of CDF projects. They have constituency offices. They  have CDF motor vehicles which we agreed to buy, and then we allocated them to each constituency.

 

Hon. Members: We never use them!

 

The President: Yes, yes!

 

Madam Speaker, I do not need your protection but, hon. Colleagues, hear me out. The Speaker and I have discussed the issue of councils not availing parliamentary vehicles for the use of the constituencies.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker and I have discussed this issue and we will be looking at solutions to that. Those vehicles were meant to do the business of constituencies, not other things.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: So, let us pack that for now; we will be working on it. It is well understood. So is the case for police vehicles. Crime in constituencies must be fought. Hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, those vehicles are primarily for fighting crime in each constituency. Every constituency has one vehicle. So, the movements of the vehicle must be largely localised, right, and it should be used efficiently. Thank you, hon. Minister, for managing those vehicles. It is essential that you do not work in isolation; police vehicles are connected to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, and the CDF vehicles are connected the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. Constituencies are part of the local government, is it not so? It is a question of agreeing on how to work. Now, the ambulances will be connected to health.

 

Mr Mung’andu: We have not received them!

 

The President: Ah, pembela, first.

 

Laughter

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I am saying, “Wait a bit, we will be okay.” I hear the chatter around that. There is no problem, we will be okay. It is part of the legacy of the procurement chain associated with the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), but we are okay. We will be okay. I think the majority are already in. You are free to monitor those things and I am happy you are monitoring. So, let us work as a team.

 

Madam Speaker, going forward, this Government will continue with efforts aimed at improving the availability of clean and safe water and sanitation facilities for all citizens, not for some. The coming of solar has changed our lives for the better. It means we can provide water everywhere and anywhere in the country. We can have a flush toilet anywhere in the country. When the Vice-President and I chatted, we said we would break new ground. We are breaking new ground.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Let us work together in this area. Solar enables us to draw water from underground and take it to our people in an acceptable manner.

 

Social Protection

 

 Madam Speaker, the Government has been implementing a number of social protection programmes to reduce poverty and inequality in the country. The programmes include the Social Cash Transfer (SCT). During the drought, we had the enhanced SCT programme, the Food Security Pack (FSP), the Cash for Work programme and the women and youth empowerment programme. Since 2021, the UPND New Dawn Administration has increased the number of beneficiary households on the regular SCT programme from 895,000 in 2021 to 1.3 million households to date.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: During the drought we experienced in the 2023/2024 Farming Season, the Government introduced the emergency SCT programme and the Cash for Work programmes. In addition, we increased the number of vulnerable but viable household beneficiaries under the FSP programme. Further, we implemented the community sale of maize at Food Reserve Agency (FRA) depots and the sale of affordable mealie meal to our communities countrywide.

 

Madam Speaker, I would like this House to take note that when there is a disaster like we had a drought, we must not connect the commercial issues that obtain in an ordinary year. I have been reading; many people are making stories and creating mountains out of nothing. Any Government faced with a disaster has to find money to save its own people.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: This Government is not different. Why should we not have responded and allowed our people to die? We declared that no one would die of hunger and nobody died. We had to put interventions. That is not ordinary financial management. It is a disaster. I follow countries. When there are floods, the Government moves in. When there are droughts, the Government moves in. When there are diseases like COVID-19, the Government moves in.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: The COVID-19 vaccine was not paid for commercially. So, why should we be talking about Tanzanian maize? Why? We needed the maize to feed our people. (Inaudible) for my sins of the past. Business commercial issues are different from saving people in a disaster. I would like this debate to come to some sensible end. That is why the Food Reserve Agency ( FRA) is buying more maize this year; we do not know what the weather will be like in the next farming season. Some maize may be destroyed. It rained in the Northern Province yesterday and in Katete in the Eastern Province. These are disasters. When did we ever have rainfall in September? It is not normal. Yes, rainfall comes early in the Northern Province. So, hon. Colleagues, we need to distinguish between disasters and ordinary course of business. I see people grabbing these issues and making confused statements, and even enjoying lead statements from people who do not understand what is happening. Let them argue because they are ignorant. We, together, are sharing information here.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I have a message here. The Cash for Work programme will continue.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: I have said that the Cash for Work programme will continue because we have children who are not in secondary school. There is free education in primary schools. We have children who are not in skills training schools. We have children who are not in university. We have children who are not receiving bursaries. They need to be given an opportunity to do gainful work rather than begging. We think it is better to teach people the culture of work in exchange for money, rather than begging. I think, in the long run, that is good for us as a country. The Cash for Work programme is here to stay.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Management or improvement of the programme will continue. The programme is here to stay for now. No tantameni. Go and work, first.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Environmental Sustainability

 

The President: Madam Speaker, the environment is a very important issue. We want to make sure that as we are growing our economy, we are not damaging our environment. Very, very important! We should not damage our environment as we grow.

 

Madam Speaker, the Government has continued to implement afforestation programmes to enhance essential conservation. We are also looking for alternative energy for cooking. What is damaging our environment largely is, amongst other factors, the need to generate cooking facilities for our people. So, we need to continue looking for alternative energy sources for cooking for our people who need them.

 

Good Governance Environment

 

Madam Speaker, I have already talked about good governance issues. Good governance is fundamental in consolidating our socio-economic gains. We have made progress in implementing various governance reforms aimed at promoting human rights and freedoms. We have entrenched transparency and accountability, enhanced local participation in decision-making as well as continued strengthening our democracy. Separate democratic space from thieving. Separate the two. We should not join them together. They are not twins; they are different. We have continued to enhance access to justice and observance of the rule of law.

 

Madam Speaker, since assuming office, we have accelerated the implementation of the decentralisation programme. Very important! We have taken resources away from the centre, Lusaka. Lusaka was managing all our resources to the exclusion of other regions.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Resources were abused from Lusaka, here, as you can see from certain court cases. There was clear abuse of colossal amounts of money. We would rather have money go to local areas, and we will continue doing that.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we are happy that over K16 billion CDF has been disbursed since 2022. That is intentional. It is not a mistake; it is by design, so that local people can access those resources and decide their priorities. I have also heard one of us in this House complain that the centre is dictating certain decisions. Yes, education. Water supply, yes. Health centres, yes. Why not? This is because you may decide to use money for certain things that do not help people. So, certain guidelines are essential. Maternity, yes, right. I am hoping that we do not develop small thieves in local areas. We have big thieves in Lusaka. So, now, small thieves, we must deal with them early on. This is not a joke. The idea was to take away money from Lusaka to local areas because of misuse in Lusaka. The idea was to take money to your areas, hon. Members of Parliament. That is why we are pushing for you to go back to the chambers so that you can lead the decisions on the use of those resources.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: So, I do not see what is wrong with that because you are here representing your constituencies to allocate money, but when it is sent to your areas to be utilised, you are not there. Is that not a distortion? It is a distortion. So, we expect your support. This is not a partisan issue; it is a national development issue, hon. Colleagues. It is not a partisan issue. So, reflect. Those who do not want to support the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 of 2025, reflect.

 

Madam Speaker, we have established an online citizen support services portal. I want to encourage citizens to raise issues not in the streets and on Facebook, but through the channels that are established, so that we can take up those issues and deal with them. Hon. Members of Parliament, Councillors, Mayors and Council Chairpersons must help in the process to sift through citizens' concerns, which must come to this House and to the Government. By the way, this House, the Judiciary and the Executive, are part of one family. Sometimes, I see behaviour that is like we are different. No, we are one. Separate functions, but we are one.

 

 Madam Speaker, I want to confirm that we are honouring our commitment to upholding the rule of law and constitutionalism. I want to repeat, maybe for the last time today, that arresting and prosecuting lawbreakers is not equivalent to loss of democratic space and human rights.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: The two are not the same. If you stay away from crime, nobody will touch you.

 

Madam Speaker, I was accused of many things when I was in the Opposition and I challenged people to go to court. When they did not take me to court, I went to court myself.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: I went to court and said that someone was alleging that I stole a particular thing, and I won court cases. No one should be afraid. I was accused of having stolen a Lima Bank house. Every year, there was noise about the house. So, I said, “Go to the police and report.” The person did not report so I went to report the issue and I won the case. The house never belonged to Lima Bank. I bought it on an open tender. No one should be afraid of protecting themselves within the law. Let us stop spoiling young people. We are spoiling young people. Let us not continue in that direction.

 

Madam Speaker, I can tell you that we have restored professionalism in our law enforcement to some extent, and we will continue to work on those areas that are still lacking. I want to thank Zambian citizens for embracing this change and upholding tenets of good citizenship. This is the peaceful atmosphere we expect from all of us, including we in this House.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: As we enter the election season next year, we will not tolerate any lawlessness …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … of whatever form before, during and after elections.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We have enhanced the capacities of the Judiciary, the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) and the Public Protector. Currently, the High Court is present in all ten provinces. Let us use the court systems instead of settling scores outside court. If you negotiate, that is even better, so that we do not congest the courts. In addition, the Government is now conducting mobile court sessions in correctional facilities to accelerate dispensation of justice and reduce case backlogs. However, we acknowledge that more work needs to be done. I am the first one to acknowledge that more work needs to be done in every sphere because for so many years, we were not addressing things in this country. We want to thank the leaders before us for their efforts. We continue on a building block basis to further improve our country.

 

Madam Speaker, our stance on zero tolerance to corruption and economic crimes has remained firm. Now, people have seen what we were doing quietly. We hope it will be a deterrent to others, including those of us in office today. We hope it will be a deterrent to us. We should do what is correct with public resources.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Very important!

 

Madam Speaker, we have expedited the disposal of cases on corruption and economic crimes through the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Court. We have increased funding and enhanced the capacities of our law enforcement agencies and oversight bodies. Our successes are affirmed by our country’s improved corruption perception index. The score that we achieved in 2021 was thirty-three. In 2024, it was thirty-nine. That is a six-point movement for the better. We did not assess this; it is an international assessment. Further, our global ranking has improved to ninety-two from 117. Out of 180 countries during the same period, we upgraded. So, again, facts are there. We should not say things based on other things; facts are there. This has reversed the years of decline and stagnation experienced during the period preceding August 2021.

 

Madam Speaker, your Government will continue to build a culture of integrity. It is a tough road, but we will continue building this country. We need a society that rewards ethical conduct, not other things.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: No. Society must reward good conduct, not bad conduct. We need a society that values hard work and frowns upon corruption, not dancing for it. No, that is absolutely wrong. Therefore, our commitment to fighting past, present and future corruption remains unshaken. What is not yours is not yours. What is for the public is for the public. What belongs to citizens is for citizens of Zambia.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: We will never allow a few individuals to benefit from and to abuse public assets at the expense of the majority, and then call themselves businessmen. Aikona, no, no. The two are different. If you want to be called a businessman or businesswoman, do genuine business. Go and irrigate 200 ha. We will support you. You will make money. If you have two centre pivots, 50 ha or 100 ha and irrigate them, you will make real money. With two crops a year, you will make real money. You do not have to steal from the poor in order to make money. We need to distinguish genuine business from corruption. I think that is the work we need to do. Currently, we pull these two together. No, no, no. We should not do that. We will never allow individuals to benefit by abusing the majority, no.

 

Madam Speaker, in our effort to respect and protect human rights, the Government has continued to decentralise Legal Aid Board offices to districts. Since 2021, we have opened additional offices in fifteen districts. These include Mporokoso, Kawambwa, Lundazi, Kaoma, Zambezi and Lusaka, which were established this year. Further, we are providing mobile legal aid services in Luangwa, Chongwe, Siavonga, Chirundu, Sesheke, Kalabo and Kabompo. This is in addition to legal service units and paralegal desks at police stations, correctional facilities and courts. These improvements in the provision of legal aid services are yielding positive results. As of June, this year, over 55,000 people countrywide received legal assistance from the Legal Aid Board. This is in keeping with the principle of access to justice and human rights for all across all the ten provinces of our country.

 

Madam Speaker, the House may recall that the Access to Information Act was signed into law on 15^th December, 2023. We are, therefore, pleased to announce to the nation that the Access to Information Regulations have since been issued to facilitate full implementation of the Access to Information law. The procedures are in place now; let us use them. Let us utilise this facility. This legislation marks a significant step towards enhancing transparency and accountability in Government operations. This legislation will enhance public participation, promote good governance and combat corruption.

 

Madam Speaker, credible elections constitute a critical hallmark of a functioning democracy. As a country, we pride ourselves on having peaceful and credible elections with peaceful transitions from one administration to another. In preparation for the general election in August next year, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) will conduct countrywide voter education and mass registration of voters. We urge eligible citizens to register as voters and to exercise their democratic right to vote.

 

Madam Speaker, since 2021, our foreign policy has been anchored on two pillars: economic diplomacy on the one hand, and peace, security and stability on the other. We are consolidating our position as a competitive economic regional hub. We are deepening strategic partnerships and co-operation; I am sure you are seeing that. We are expanding trade, attracting investment, boosting tourism and food security for the nation and the region. Food security for ourselves and for the region is important. If the region is hungry, people will walk into our country. Is it not so? Smuggling will increase. So, your Government’s approach is to trade with neighbouring countries formally. We produce more here and then trade with them formally, rather than through cross-border activities that are illegal. I think that is important. So, on this score, we are working with countries around us which now want to buy food from us in a proper manner. As we speak, I think, there are delegations from two countries working on agreeing on transactions with us. Then we can produce more and grow our economy. I want to see more hon. Members of Parliament irrigating in their constituencies so that voters can learn from them. I repeat; it is very important that leaders lead by example.

 

Madam Speaker, our country will continue to play an active role in promoting peace and security in the region and beyond. We will continue to be an active player in regional, continental and international bodies. On the continent, your President has now been asked to sit on a small committee in the African Union (AU) to be part of the AU reforms.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Our input there will be to focus Africa from just politicking to economic development. There is too much politicking. Let us do too much business, too much investment. We will ask for the collective wisdom of the people in this House so that we can take views that represent them and the country, not our views but their views. You can count on us. We will be very strong there. We are already strong so that Africa can exonerate itself from abuse. There is too much abuse, but most of it is of our own making because we are not acting correctly.

 

Madam Speaker, you, in particular, I will ask for your help.

 

Madam Speaker indicated assent.

 

The President: Thank you. I know your help will come from the hon. Members of Parliament as you work with them.

 

Madam Speaker, we must keep our country secure. Instability should have no place in this country. Whatever issue a citizen or political party has should come to a dialogue table. Do not instigate conflict and destabilise the country because that will take away our agenda of economic and social development. Let us not do that. There should not be no-go areas, whether through illegal mining or through political conduct. No more thuggery at bus stops. No more thuggery in markets. No more thuggery in the streets, so that we can move our economy to a twenty-four-hour economy. Without crime levels being down, we cannot have a twenty-four-hour economy. Hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, we have chatted a lot on this matter. We need people to move freely in our country.

 

Conclusion

 

Madam Speaker, I wish to conclude. In our inaugural address to this august House, on 10^th September, 2021, we laid out an ambitious agenda centred on macroeconomic stabilisation and reforms for growth, robust human and social development, environmental sustainability and a strong commitment to good governance. We committed to restoring fiscal discipline and addressing our country’s debt burden, which was critical for broader economic recovery and growth. This Administration, the people’s Administration, the UPND New Dawn Administration, has scored big in many areas on many fronts for the 20 million Zambians.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Today, we have highlighted substantial progress recorded in our four years in the Government. Substantial progress.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: This is what Governments should do when they are elected into office, nothing else. Not taking from the people but giving through development.

 

Madam Speaker, I beg to make this point clear: Leaders are elected to work for the people, not for themselves. If we work for the people, our own interests will be taken care of. Not the other way around. This culture must change.

 

 Madam Speaker, the economy has been resuscitated and is back on a positive growth trajectory. I gave the figures earlier. Significant strides in debt restructuring have been registered. International financial credibility has been restored; I can confidently say that. An unprecedented bumper harvest has been recorded. Increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been realised in various sectors of our economy. This is the evidence. We talked of the S3 mine expansion project, Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) and so many other projects. This is the evidence; there is no other evidence. Through projects, jobs come. The increased FDI would have never been possible without the reforms that the Government has put in place. It would never have been possible. So, we need to accept that reforms work. Painful as they may be, they work. They deliver results. If you run the Government without reforms, it means you run it the way it has always been done. If it has been run by delivering a minus 2.8 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, you will find yourself in that situation as well. You have to implement reforms to change things for the better. This is it.

 

Madam Speaker, I do not want to repeat what has been said already. However, agriculture must move faster. We have to work together on that. Our drive towards decentralisation has enhanced the governance system and empowered our people to participate in local economic development.

 

Hon. UPND Member interjected.

 

Laughter

 

The President: The enhanced CDF has been a game changer.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, I want to see one amongst us who has not recorded benefits out of the CDF in their constituency, just one. I am looking for only one who can say, “In my constituency, there have been no benefits. No classroom has been built. There is no clinic. There is no new borehole.” I want to see one. There is just one hand here.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Kafwaya!

 

The President: Hon. Kafwaya, you have seen.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

 The President: Madam Speaker, this is a light moment, but it is a serious issue. This instrument, if we use it properly, the country will change in a couple of years and change forever. There is no constituency that should lag behind.

 

 Hon. Colleagues, we are saying that certain decisions will remain central to make sure that the minimum facilities are available across the country, such as schools, health centres, water infrastructure, maternity wings, and roads. If you do not buy road construction equipment, we will force you to do it because we do not want our citizens in your constituencies to be left behind. No, it is not about the UPND, the PF or Tonse Alliance; it is about the people. This thing is about the people, not about a political party.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Abena Kafwaya, landeni tumfwe.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Laughter

 

The President: Filecitika in your constituency.

 

Mr Kafwaya rose and bowed towards the Chair.

 

The President: Madam Speaker, can you allow me to misbehave? We should shout, “Hear, hear!” for Hon. Kafwaya.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Thank you very much.

 

Madam Speaker, on a more serious note, we are not enemies of each other. We are competitors, not enemies of each other. It is important to remember that we are not enemies. We are citizens of the same country serving the same people in our democracy. That is the way it should be.

 

So, Madam Speaker, let us utilise these facilities across the country. Let us not build substandard things. Let us check the quality of the work. Let us check the cost of the work. Let us deliver. Those local contractors we are empowering, if they are not delivering, remove them.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Yes, because contracts are meant for them to earn income while they deliver services. Subcontracts are given to local contractors, the hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development knows, 25 per cent of the work in contracts is given to them, but they do not deliver. Then they cry that we are not giving them business. Who suffers? It is the people, is it not? So, let us monitor the works.

 

Madam Speaker, this Government means well. We have no ill intentions against any hon. Member of Parliament, Councillor, Chairman, Mayor or constituency. If we quarrel, we are quarrelling because work must be done. That is a healthy quarrel. Very simple.

 

Madam Speaker, I want to say that free education has been delivered for all our children. Social protection programmes are available for all our people in all the provinces. In the recruitment of teachers, there has been no selectivity here. There is no kapatulula here. Absolutely.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, numbers do not lie. The hon. Minister of Education is there; he can release how many teachers were recruited from each province. All the provinces are there. The hon. Minister of Health is there. We have recruited health workers, and the data shows how many of them have been recruited in each district or province. That is what a Government must do, honestly speaking. We must all learn from each other and do things better in future. So, everybody is benefiting. In the military, the Zambia Army, the Zambia National Service (ZNS), the Zambia Police Service, the Zambia Correctional Service, every child of Zambia from every part of the country has been recruited.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Those who have been recruited represent Zambia. We are doing this deliberately in order to walk away from the habits of the past and to show that this Government means well; it does not discriminate. If you have data to the contrary, forward it to us and we will look at it. Simple.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Hon. Mwambazi, Bwana Mkubwa has provided teachers and policemen. Bwana Mkubwa has provided soldiers. Some of the children from Bwana Mkubwa recruited by the ZNS trained with my son. He even made friends with them. That is what this country is becoming now; a country for all.

 

Madam Speaker, we have remained resolute in our commitment to transparency and accountability. The anti-corruption fight is yielding results. The rule of law continues to be strengthened. We have a lot of work to do, admittedly. As the UPND, in the Opposition we made promises, in Government we are delivering. There is no question about it. I hear people say that this Government has not delivered anything. Get a piece of paper, check on your left what we said we would do, and tick on the right.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: You can pass or fail that examination on your own.

 

Laughter

 

The President: Absolutely. On your own. On free education, is there no tick there? On the CDF, the amount is now over a million Kwacha. Is it K1.3 million or K1.4 million now? You can tick. On the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) partial withdrawal of pensions, you can tick. Retirement benefits, you can tick. There are too many things to tick.

 

Madam Speaker, you can now wear any colour of dress you want. No one will attack you. If you wore red four years and three months ago, you were dead meat. That is no longer the case. That is a fact.

 

Madam Speaker, this Government promised, this Government is delivering. This Government knows that it still has to work hard on energy. Any ideas are welcome. Your investments are welcome. I want to say that any hon. Member of Parliament who has an energy project, let them contact the Ministry of Energy and that project will be taken seriously. Anyone, even you as a Member of Parliament, Hon. Mabumba, if you can do 2 MW, if you can do half a megawatt, we will support you in your constituency or anywhere else. Abena Chilufya. We can support you to do 2 MW.

 

Interruptions

 

The President: Hon. China, you can do 100 MW. We will support you.

 

Laughter

 

The President: Madam Speaker, this is not a joke. It is a light moment, but that man (pointed at Dr Mwanza) spent many years in China. He must now use his network and bring more investors from China, …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … and we will support him. We will support him very strongly. That is what we need for the country.

 

Madam Speaker, our pursuit of a better, prosperous, resilient and equitable Zambia demands of us patriotism, peace and national unity. Let every Zambian, young and old, regardless of gender or creed, reaffirm unwavering commitment to the sacred principles of patriotism, peace and national unity. All of us, as we conduct ourselves, let us remember that we have a responsibility to the unity of our country and development. With integrity, determination and hard work, a better Zambia is guaranteed. A Zambia that is prosperous and equitable for all. A Zambia abounding in opportunity, fairness, inclusivity and resilience in our shared future and destiny.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we have what it takes to transform and continue growing the economy. Sometimes we are unaware of our capabilities. We have capabilities collectively, including the business community out there. We have the integrity. We have the capacity which we need to continuously transform into actions. We have the talent and the competence collectively. I can assure you that Zambian citizens working in international organisations are doing very well and are respected out there. More have been employed since we formed Government, and we are supporting them. We know the capabilities of Zambians through those who represent us.

 

 All of you seated here are talented. You just need to find your talent. You are talented. Utilise it. To utilise it, you have to work hard. We have the capacity. We have the trust of the people. We, seated here, can graciously say to the people of Zambia, “Thank you for trusting us,” because you were all trusted by the people. That is why you are all seated here. Let us not abuse that trust. Let us utilise it in order to generate value. That trust is rare. Zambians gave us patience during the drought. No one went into the streets. They allowed us to work out mechanisms. You, Parliament, legislated. That is the trust that the people gave us.

 

Madam Speaker, the Zambian people expect a lot more from us; there is no question about that. Let us work hard together for the good of all our fellow citizens without leaving anyone behind. The country and our people are safe in our collective hands. The problems we face, we shall overcome over time. Rome was not built in a day. We shall overcome.

 

Madam Speaker, it is now our honour and privilege to declare …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … the Fifth Session …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … of the Thirteenth …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: … National Assembly officially opened.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, God bless our efforts.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: God bless our people.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: God bless our country, Zambia, Africa, and our collective humanity.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The President: Madam Speaker, we thank you all in this House and across our country for your kind attention.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

His Excellency the President left the Assembly Chamber.

 

Madam Speaker took the Chair.

 

______

 

MOTIONS

 

ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE

 

The Vice-President (Dr Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I beg to move that at its rising today, the House adjourns until Tuesday, 16^th September, 2025.

 

Madam Speaker, may I start by expressing, on behalf of the House and indeed on my own behalf, how greatly honoured the House was to have had yet another opportunity to be addressed by the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, through an inspiring and well-thought-out speech.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I have no doubt in my mind that all hon. Members will join me in congratulating the President for delivering an inspiring address.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The Vice-President: In his address, the President has raised important issues that need careful analysis and serious introspection. In this regard, I am of the view that the House rises now so that hon. Members are allowed adequate time to read the speech and reflect on the important issues that the President has raised. In this way, hon. Members will be able to make intelligent and constructive contributions during the debate on the Motion of Thanks, starting on Tuesday, 16^th September, 2025.

 

Madam Speaker, this is a procedural Motion. Therefore, I request all hon. Members of this august House to support it.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Kasanda (Chisamba): Madam Speaker, thank you for granting me the rare honour and privilege to support the Motion that has been ably moved by Her Honour the Vice-President, on the occasion of the ceremonial Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, I am in total agreement with Her Honour the Vice-President and Leader of Government Business in the House that hon. Members need sufficient time to carefully study and analyse the speech delivered by Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the President of the Republic of Zambia. The issues that are contained in the President’s Speech pertain to the welfare and livelihoods of the people whom we are privileged to serve. It is, therefore, important that hon. Members are given ample time to interrogate the speech in order to be able to debate from an informed point of view.

 

Madam Speaker, adjourning now will enable us to come back fully prepared next week to contribute to the debate meaningfully. I, therefore, fully support the Motion and urge all my hon. Colleagues to do the same.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Since this is a procedural Motion, Her Honour the Vice-President, wind up the debate.

 

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I am very grateful to all the hon. Members for this unanimous support of the Motion on the Floor.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Question put and agreed.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

 

Question put and agreed to.

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The House adjourned at 1400 hours until 1430 hours on Tuesday, 16^th September, 2025.

 

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