By Adrian Gunduzani
Let’s ask ourselves honestly: is there really nothing to show? Has everything gone wrong? Have we truly made no progress as a country in the past few years? It’s easy to get caught in the whirlwind of hardship, criticism, and frustration—but when the noise settles, some truths are hard to ignore.
Take free education, for instance. What was once a campaign promise is now the daily reality for thousands of Zambian families. Children who would have dropped out are in school today—not because of luck, but because something shifted. Yes, the system still has areas that need polish—classroom management is under pressure, and the transition has not been without growing pains—but the foundation is firm. It’s no longer about if children will access education, but about improving how they experience it.
University students who had once accepted that meal allowances were a thing of the past are now receiving support again. And after much debate and doubt, the 20% partial NAPSA withdrawal was implemented—giving working Zambians access to a portion of what they had earned.
At the grassroots, change is also evident. Constituency Development Funds have been increased to more than one million US dollars per constituency per year—a level of decentralised funding that empowers local development like never before. The Access to Information Act, long delayed and doubted, was finally passed, giving citizens a tool they’ve demanded for decades.
It hasn’t stopped there. Debt restructuring, a monumental task in a global economy that has not been kind to Africa, was achieved quietly and firmly. Our mining sector, once uncertain and shrouded in mismanagement, is being resuscitated. Law and order, particularly in public spaces that were previously chaotic, has largely been restored. And let it be said—caderism, once deeply rooted in the fabric of everyday public life, has been substantially rolled back. That’s no small shift. It means ordinary citizens can now walk into government offices and markets without fear of party-aligned interference.
In a time where unemployment dominates conversations, over 100,000 new jobs have been created—across health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure. Even pensioners, too often the forgotten backbone of this nation, have been paid. And for the first time in a long time, Zambia’s Cabinet looks like Zambia—all provinces represented at the highest level of decision-making. Internationally, Zambia has regained a level of respect that allows her to speak and be heard on global platforms—not out of charity, but credibility.
Yet none of this is to say that all is well. It isn’t. The cost of living is high. The cost of doing business is challenging. The frustrations people carry are real and deserve attention. But we must also resist the temptation to throw out every stone in the foundation simply because the roof is leaking. Some things have worked. Some things are working. To say otherwise is dishonest.
What comes next must be bold and people-focused. Tackling the high cost of living and translating policy achievements into household-level relief must become the government’s immediate priority. But that task must be approached with the same resolve that saw these earlier promises kept.
Because building a nation is slow. Breaking it is fast. If we cannot recognise what has been fixed, we risk making it fashionable to tear down what we should be improving.
This is not a defence of power. It is a defence of facts.
