HH Wraps Up Eastern Province and Heads to Lusaka Today
President Hakainde Hichilema has concluded his campaign tour of Eastern Province, with residents across the region expressing support for Government's development agenda in education, agriculture, infrastructure and improved service delivery, as the President prepares to turn to Lusaka Province today.
The Eastern leg opened in the north of the province, where residents of Chama, Chasefu and Lundazi welcomed the government's development agenda in education, agriculture, infrastructure and service delivery. Across the three districts, communities backed the continued rollout of free education, which has returned more than 2.6 million children to school since the New Dawn administration took office in 2021.
In Lundazi, the President said free education had grown beyond a social intervention into an important economic investment for current and future generations, adding that the government would keep recruiting teachers to improve the teacher-pupil ratio and raise the quality of learning. He set out plans for the Chama-Lundazi-Chipata Road, the completion of the Lundazi bus station and modern market, the construction of chiefs' palaces, and the development of the Lundazi Airstrip to boost economic activity.
In Chama, the President announced increased support under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) to help more farmers raise productivity and strengthen food security, along with plans for more schools. He noted the district's improved peace and public order since 2021, with the violence that once disrupted public gatherings now behind it, and pointed to the rise in Chama's constituencies from two to three as a step towards better representation and development. In Chasefu, residents welcomed the government's focus on ensuring development reaches every community in the province.
As the tour moved south, the President carried the same message to Nyimba, Petauke, Sinda, Lusangazi and beyond. In Petauke, thousands turned out to welcome him, with the President noting the value residents placed on free education, the increased Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and other development initiatives. In Lusangazi, he pledged that roads, jobs and business opportunities would follow the increased CDF. In Sinda, where crowds gathered in large numbers, he drew a sharp contrast with the previous administration, saying those who plundered public resources and left behind debts they could not resolve were in no position to deliver for Zambians. The government, he said, was delivering in agriculture, education, health and infrastructure, and that record was the test on which voters should judge the UPND.
Having closed his engagements in Eastern Province, the President now turns to Lusaka Province for a weekend of campaigning. The tour begins today with stops in Luangwa, Rufunsa and Chongwe, before moving on tomorrow to Shantumbu, Chilanga and Kafue, as the President continues to rally support ahead of the August 13 General Election.