President Hakainde Hichilema opened the fifth session of the thirteenth National Assembly with a firm commitment to deliver more power by investing heavily in the energy sector to foster national development.
Mr Hichilema reiterated that government is spending sleepless nights and actively addressing the energy challenges by liberalising the sector with an open access regime to allow private developers to come on board.
And President Hichilema said government has revived and stabilised the economy to the average growth of 5.2 percent between 2021 and 2024.
He said this when he officially opened the fifth session of the thirteenth National Assembly in Lusaka.
He noted that energy is crucial to industrialisation and national development, adding that the current hardships in the power sector have severely affected the livelihoods of citizens.
The President added that small businesses are suffering and incomes are being eroded, a situation which needs concerted efforts especially with private players in the energy sector.
“We feel the pain and frustration of power outages faced by our citizens, which include our families, friends and loved ones, no one has been spared, our government is actively addressing this power challenge,” he said.
He further explained that government strongly recognises that the growth of the economy implies increased demand for electricity and that the situation presents an opportunity to increase generation capacity.
“Our commitment is to deliver new generation capacity through sweeping policy reforms and implement cost reflective tariffs to drive more investment in the country,” he added.
The President stated that the over dependence on hydro electricity, which currently stands at 85 percent of the country’s energy mix, has exposed the nation to vulnerability to climate change.
The Head of State noted that the new solar projects that will be commissioned over the next 12 months will generate a combined 740 megawatts, adding that these projects are located across seven provinces namely Luapula, Central, Southern, Western, Northern, Eastern and Muchinga.
He explained that this year, government signed the country compact under the Mission 300 in Tanzania, along with 29 African Heads of State.
Mr Hichilema said the compact underscores government’s commitment to deliver 10 gigawatts by 2030.
And President Hichilema has said government has revived and stabilised the economy to the average growth of 5.2 percent between 2021 and 2024.
He said the government remains firmly committed to building a prosperous Zambia, saying that the economy has grown despite the uncertain global environment.
The President said his administration has made positive strides in enhancing fiscal prudence and addressing the debt crisis.
He noted that since 2021, the government has focused on economic reforms, diversification and value chain development in key sectors of the economy such as agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing.
In the mining sector, the President stated that since assuming office in 2021, government has made significant progress in creating a conducive policy and operating environment for the mining sector.
He explained that this has directly led to significantly enhanced investment going into the mines.
“We have largely resolved the impasse at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and Mopani, which had negatively impacted our copper production. We have unlocked new mining projects and also revived mines which were dormant for decades,” he said.
The President said in line with the production target of 3 million metric tonnes of copper per annum by 2031, production has been restored to an upward trajectory.
Mr Hichilema said the annual production increased from a low of 733,000 metric tonnes in 2021, to 821,000 metric tonnes in 2024.
“We are aggressively moving towards our target of a record breaking 1 million metric tonnes of copper production by the end of 2025. This will happen for the first time in Zambia’s mining history,” Mr Hichilema said.
ZANIS
The UPND should demonstrate that its primary aim is national development, not rhetoric. Tell the people exactly how much is spent, on what, and who benefits, so we can assess value for money and sustainable growth.
A responsible party should publish a transparent budget performance report promptly and outline concrete steps to improve provincial service delivery and economic resilience.
Only then can we claim real progress toward stabilising the economy and improving lives.