Broadcaster Paul Shingongo has posed a direct and searching question to the Zambian public, asking whether the burial of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu can only be considered dignified if the sitting Head of State, President Hakainde Hichilema, is in attendance.

The question has taken on renewed relevance following President Hichilema’s own public declaration that it is Zambia’s duty to bury its sixth Republican President with full military honours. Speaking during a widely circulated social media discussion on Wednesday, which attracted more than 5,000 views, Shingongo challenged what he described as a national assumption that may have contributed to the prolonged failure to lay the late former President to rest, more than a year after his death in South Africa on June 5, 2025.

“Does it mean that ECL can only have a dignified burial when the President of this country is present?” he asked. “If the President of this country is not present, then no matter what happens, it’s not a dignified burial?”

The question carries particular weight because it comes barely a day after President Hichilema publicly expressed support for a dignified burial for Mr Lungu. Speaking on Tuesday during funeral proceedings for Paramount Chief Mpezeni IV at Ephendukeni Palace in Chipata, the President told thousands of mourners, including traditional leaders, church leaders and government officials, that the country had a duty to accord the late former Commander-in-Chief full military honours.

“It is our duty to bury him with the military protocols. He was commander-in-chief of our country,” President Hichilema said. “We must all work together to bury our Sixth President with dignity in a military style. Let us work together to do that.”

The remarks were among the clearest public statements the President has made on a matter that has remained unresolved for more than a year. They followed an appeal by Chipata Catholic Diocese Bishop George Lungu, who urged Government and the Lungu family to find common ground and facilitate a Christian burial. The bishop described the prolonged delay as a wound extending beyond those directly involved, saying it had prolonged grief for many Zambians.

Despite the President’s public commitment to a dignified burial, Shingongo’s discussion highlighted the reality that the impasse remains unresolved. His co-host, John Mark, suggested that some citizens may attach special importance to the President’s attendance because of what the office represents.

According to John Mark, the issue may not necessarily be about the individual occupying State House, but about the presidency itself, which many regard as symbolising the father of the nation. To illustrate the point, he recalled attending a wedding that started several hours late because the bride’s parents, who were expected to preside over the ceremony and offer their blessing, had not yet arrived. He suggested that some people may view the role of a sitting President at a state funeral in a similar manner.

Shingongo acknowledged the symbolism associated with the office but maintained that the Lungu family had publicly and repeatedly communicated their opposition to President Hichilema’s attendance at the burial. He further noted that the late former President was reported to have expressed the same wish.

“The wish has been communicated by the family,” he said. “This father is not wanted by the family.”

He also acknowledged an issue that emerged during related legal proceedings in South Africa, where a lawyer representing the Lungu family was reportedly unable to produce documentary proof of the former President’s alleged instructions concerning who should be excluded from his burial.

“If there’s no proof, it’s also difficult to ride on that,” Shingongo said.

Even so, he maintained that the absence of documentary evidence does not remove the central question facing the country.

“That, maybe the Zambians have forgotten, is a major reason why ECL has not been buried to date,” he said. “The family did not want ECL’s wish to be ignored. They wanted the wish of their departed to be respected.”

Shingongo said that if he were given an opportunity to address President Hichilema before the burial takes place, there is one question he would ask above all others.

“What is so hard with you stepping aside?” he asked. “What’s the worst that can happen, Mr President, if you step aside? Does that reduce the dignity of ECL’s burial?”

He went further, outlining what he believes would be a straightforward route towards resolving the deadlock.

“He can simply announce: I will not be present. Let’s proceed. Attorney General, drop the cases,” Shingongo said.

Referring to the legal proceedings that form part of the wider dispute, he added: “Drop the cases. I will not be present. And let’s see what the family will say. I am sure they will be happy to bury ECL even tomorrow.”

According to Shingongo, such a move would quickly reveal whether presidential attendance is indeed the principal obstacle or whether other unresolved issues remain beneath the surface.

The broadcaster acknowledged that the question of whether the Republican President should attend or voluntarily stay away is one aspect of the dispute that many people have been reluctant to confront directly.

“The presence of the Republican President is a bone of contention,” he said. “That’s a component many people don’t want to speak about.”

For now, the tension between the two positions remains unresolved. On one side is a President who has publicly declared his commitment to ensuring a dignified burial with full military honours. On the other is a family whose stated objections have centred on the President’s attendance.

No burial date was announced during the Chipata proceedings, and calls from church leaders and public figures for all parties to find common ground have yet to produce a breakthrough.

Shingongo concluded by returning to the question that has anchored his position throughout the discussion. If President Hichilema were to absent himself from the burial, would that in any way diminish the honour and dignity accorded to the interment of Zambia’s sixth Republican President?

For the broadcaster, that remains the central question. Until it is answered, he suggested, the country may remain no closer to resolving a matter that has now remained unsettled for more than a year.

Five years of hard reforms have repositioned Zambia from a defaulted, stagnating economy into one of Africa’s fastest-growing. The work is unfinished . and only one man can finish it.

 By M. Simuuwe – UPND

When Hakainde Hichilema took the oath of office in August 2021, he did not walk into a normal transition of power. He walked into a genuine national emergency a sovereign default, collapsed mines, gutted schools, and a decade of institutional decay that had been quietly eating away at the foundations of the country. What he has built in five years is nothing short of a national turnaround. On August 13, 2026, Zambia faces a decisive question: do we protect what we have built, or risk everything on the unknown?

A Nation Pulled Back From the Edge

The numbers tell a story that no political spin can fabricate. When President Hichilema assumed office, Zambia was posting a GDP growth rate of -2.8%, inflation had reached 22%, and the country had become the first African nation to default on its debt during the COVID pandemic. The economy was not just struggling,it was in freefall.

Today, those same indicators have been reversed. GDP growth is projected at 6.4% for 2026, inflation has been brought down to single digits, and Zambia’s gross international reserves now stand above US$6.5 billion, a figure that would have been unimaginable at the start of this administration. The kwacha has stabilised. The IMF, rarely given to flattery, has confirmed a primary fiscal surplus of 3.1% of GDP in 2025.

This is not rhetoric. These are independently verified, internationally recognised results projected GDP growth of 6.4%, 94% of national debt restructured, US$6.5 billion in foreign reserves, 1.1 million jobs created, 2.5 million children back in school, and over US$11 billion in mining investment attracted.

The Debt Miracle: Cleaning Up a Decade of Ruin

In 2011, when the Patriotic Front first came to power, Zambia’s external debt stood at US$1.9 billion. By the time they left office in 2021, that figure had exploded to US$18.6 billion. A decade of borrowing, spending and corruption had burdened every Zambian child with a debt they had no say in creating.

President Hichilema did what was politically painful but economically essential: he engaged the IMF, entered a structured reform programme, and successfully restructured 94% of Zambia’s external debt. Annual debt service payments, the money that was being swallowed by interest before it could reach schools or clinics, have been reduced from US$2.3 billion per year to approximately US$900 million. That is over US$1.4 billion redirected toward Zambian lives every single year.

Critics complained the process was slow. But consider the alternative: more default, more junk ratings, more capital flight, more unemployment. Hichilema chose the hard road. Zambia is now on the right side of it.

As the President himself put it in February 2026: “On August 13th, 2026, there will be a decision by Zambians based on our track record a solid one. We are not worried about the elections.”

Free Education: A Generation Rescued

Of all the President’s accomplishments, none carries greater moral weight than the introduction of free education from primary through secondary level. This single policy decision has brought 2.5 million children back into classrooms — children who had been excluded from education not by lack of ability or desire, but simply by their families’ inability to pay fees.

In May 2026, the President went further: he signed free education into law. This was not a campaign promise or a budget allocation that the next government could quietly reverse. It is now a legal right. Whatever happens at the polls, Zambia’s children are protected. That is the mark of a leader who governs for the long term, not just the next election cycle.

The administration has backed this policy with substance. Over 45,000 teachers have been recruited, and the Constituency Development Fund  the vehicle that builds local schools, clinics and roads — has been expanded from K1.6 million per constituency in 2021 to K40 million in 2026, a twenty-five-fold increase.

The Mining Renaissance: Reviving Zambia’s Copper Heart

Copper is Zambia’s lifeblood — and under the previous government, that lifeblood was being drained. In 2021, only two mines remained operational. Mopani Copper Mine had been described as “comatose.” The Konkola Copper Mine was mired in litigation. Entire towns had been hollowed out as workers abandoned communities where no income was possible.

By 2024, eight mines were operational, with seven more in advanced stages of reopening. Mopani is now producing strongly again. Kalengwa Mine — idle for 47 years — has returned to production. Shaft 28, dormant for over two decades, is being brought back online. The copper town of Luanshya, which residents had largely abandoned, is being revitalised.

The President’s target is one million tonnes of copper produced this year, and three million tonnes annually within a decade. The investment to make this possible — over US$11 billion in committed mining capital — did not arrive by accident. It arrived because an investor-friendly, reform-committed, rule-of-law government was finally in place.

Energy, Agriculture, and the Infrastructure of the Future

When severe droughts threatened to crash Zambia’s hydroelectric power supply — and with it the entire economy — President Hichilema responded with structural reform, not panic. By opening the energy sector to independent power producers and liberalising generation, the administration prevented what could have been an economic catastrophe.

In agriculture, despite back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024 that would have broken weaker policies, Zambia recorded a historic bumper harvest of 3.6 million metric tonnes of maize. The administration’s investment in farmer support, input subsidies and irrigation infrastructure made the difference.

And beyond these sectors, Zambia is positioning itself as a manufacturing nation — now producing transformers, fertiliser for export, lithium batteries and other industrial goods. This is the beginning of the value-addition economy that Zambians have long been promised and rarely seen.

A Man Forged by Zambia — Not Born Into Power

Leadership is not only about policy — it is about character, and character is proven under pressure. Hakainde Hichilema is a son of the soil. Born in modest circumstances in Monze, he earned his way through the University of Zambia before completing an MBA in Finance and Business Strategy at the University of Birmingham. He built a successful business career, becoming CEO of both Coopers Lybrand Zambia and Grant Thornton Zambia, and served on the boards of institutions including Barclays Bank Zambia.

He did not inherit wealth or political position. He built both — through discipline, intellect and an unrelenting belief that Zambia could be more than it was. He ran for the presidency six times before winning in 2021. He was once imprisoned on politically motivated charges. He kept going. That is not ambition. That is conviction.

His international stature reflects this. In 2025, he was recognised by The Telegraph and other international observers as one of the best-performing African leaders, noted for restoring investor confidence, implementing fiscal discipline and stabilising an economy that had been deliberately driven off a cliff. Economic growth was projected at 5.8% in 2025 and 6.4% in 2026, with the mining industry tipped to record historic production and revenue levels.

The Stakes of August 13, 2026

Every election is a choice between two futures. In 2026, that choice could not be clearer.

The opposition offers nostalgia for an era that produced sovereign default, gutted mines, shuttered schools and institutional decay. They offer no credible alternative economic vision — only the promise that the current administration’s reforms are insufficient and that disruption would somehow produce better results.

President Hichilema offers something more valuable: a proven record, a clear plan for continued growth, and the international credibility to attract the investment Zambia needs for its next chapter. His government has acknowledged there is more to do — cost of living pressures, youth unemployment and infrastructure gaps remain real challenges. But these are the challenges of a growing, reforming country, not a collapsing one.

The copper boom that Zambia is entering — with the global energy transition driving unprecedented demand for the metal — will only benefit those in a position of economic stability, institutional credibility and investor confidence. Zambia is in that position today. Walking away from that would be a tragedy the next generation would bear.

The Verdict

The case for re-electing President Hakainde Hichilema is not built on hope — it is built on evidence. Debt restructured. Children educated. Mines reopened. Jobs created. Reserves rebuilt. Inflation tamed.

These did not happen by accident. They happened because Zambia finally had a president with the courage to make difficult decisions, the competence to see them through, and the integrity to stay the course when it was unpopular.

On August 13, 2026, Zambia has a simple choice: continue building, or start over. The answer is clear.