Zambians Urged to Hold Government Accountable to Its Promises

Lusaka, Zambia – With public frustration mounting over stalled projects and poor service delivery, prominent development expert Dr. Charity Musamba has issued a clarion call for Zambians to take a more active role in monitoring and evaluating the government’s development promises.

Speaking in Lusaka on Monday, Dr. Musamba emphasized that Zambia’s progress depends not only on policies and funding, but on the vigilance of citizens in demanding accountability. “If we leave the government unchecked, we become co-authors of our own underdevelopment,” she said. “The people must insist that every promise made is a promise kept.”

Her remarks come amid continued concern over poor implementation of key government programs, from youth empowerment initiatives to rural electrification and infrastructure rollouts. According to Dr. Musamba, inefficiencies in program execution have eroded public trust and slowed socio-economic progress.

“The administration may have vision, but implementation is where the state is faltering,” she said. “It is unacceptable to see competent professionals sidelined while critical positions are handed to political loyalists who lack the skills to deliver.”

Dr. Musamba further warned that without serious introspection and action within the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), the credibility of its development agenda could collapse. She encouraged the government to conduct internal audits on implementation agencies and to remove incompetent officers from sensitive delivery roles.

Her advocacy aligns with increasing public discourse on transparency, fueled by civil society, youth activists, and independent media. Several watchdog groups have launched scorecards to track policy rollouts and budget allocations, especially in sectors like health, education, and local governance.

Political commentator Dr. Yona Mwale says this signals a maturing democracy. “We are witnessing a shift. Citizens no longer see elections as the only form of participation. They are demanding continuous performance,” he said.

Zambia’s recent history offers mixed lessons in this regard. While successive governments have made ambitious pledges, many projects have either stalled or underperformed due to bureaucracy, weak procurement systems, and corruption.

Dr. Musamba believes the solution lies in institutional reform and civic empowerment. “Zambians must stop romanticizing politics. We need technocrats at the forefront of development, not just campaign loyalists,” she stressed.

She also called on the media to go beyond reporting events to investigating timelines, deliverables, and budget adherence in public projects. “Let journalism drive oversight,” she said.

The UPND government, elected in 2021 on a platform of economic recovery and good governance, has made notable strides in debt restructuring, free education, and CDF disbursements. However, critics argue that operational inefficiencies threaten to dilute these gains.