Former Finance Minister Makes Economic Case for President HH Ahead of Polls

On the eve of the 2026 General Elections, former Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane has urged Zambians to re-elect President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND, arguing that the party has rebuilt an economy the Patriotic Front left in ruin.

Writing ahead of tomorrow's vote, Dr. Musokotwane said Zambia had achieved "tremendous" progress in five years and warned that a Tonse Alliance victory would return the country to "lawlessness, violence and economic ruin." He contrasted the current administration's record with the PF era, when the kwacha slid from around K4.80 to above K22 against the dollar, mines closed, and Copperbelt towns became "ghost towns."

He credited the UPND with restructuring the country's excessive debt, stabilising the currency and bringing inflation back to target. Since 2021, he noted, the economy has grown every year, supported by a record five-million-ton maize harvest in 2026, expanding tourism and telecommunications, and 1,476 MW of new power capacity — the largest five-year increase in six decades.

Dr. Musokotwane highlighted major Public-Private Partnership projects, including the Lusaka–Ndola dual carriageway, the Tazara Railway rehabilitation and the Lobito corridor, alongside a mining sector driving towards three million tons of copper annually.

Dismissing Tonse's promises as "tricks to gain votes," he said the opposition lacked the capacity to govern. "We must continue to move forward, together, in peace and unity," he wrote. "That is the only way to protect the progress we have made."