KAPATAMOYO: Reassurance in Zambia's Seventh President
Kyapalushi Kapatamoyo is a 2017 Alumna of the Mandela Washington Fellowship and a 2019 Alumna of the Presidential Precinct’s Global Pathfinder Summit.
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“Bally will fix it! Bally will fix it!”
Bally (a slang meaning father) echoed through as young Zambians watched President Hakainde Hichilema cast his vote in our recent general election on 12th of August 2021. To them they could already smell the air of change and only hope for the best. The UPND party manifesto was brief and clear if elected, they would fix everything that was broken. The short phrase “Bally will fix it” resonated and gave hope to the ordinary Zambian that things would get better.
The journey to ‘State House’ has been long and hard for this opposition party that emerged victorious in this month’s election. During his time as opposition leader, President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) was arrested and imprisoned several times as well as denied permits to freely hold campaigns in various areas across Zambia. The ability to speak freely was shrinking day by day and worse during Election Day when social media platforms were restricted. A few days later the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairman Justice Esau Chulu declared President HH as the president elect of the republic of Zambia with a total of 155 of the 156 constituencies showing his 2,810,757 votes against President Lungu’s tally of 1,814,201.
The task ahead for the new president is huge and the expectations of the citizens are high. President HH in his inaugural speech stated that the win was not for him but the people of Zambia. He further emphasized on the need for unity, the importance of servant leadership and the urgent need to rebuild the economy of Zambia. His win means he takes over the running of an economy that has huge debt both local and foreign. Fixing Zambia’s economy will mean reducing this debt extensively while at the same time ensuring that the local economy is revamped with lower costs for basic commodities, ultimately contributing to an improved livelihood for the local citizenry. President HH’s future is optimistic if he remains committed to his campaign promises that gave him the winning vote and build a team that will work with him to develop the country.
The historical August 2021 would be incomplete without also mentioning the transition process that was facilitated in a peaceful manner by the outgoing President Edgar Changwa Lungu (ECL) to the new President of Zambia President HH. That is the third peaceful transition Zambia is experiencing since independence in 1964, very rare for many African countries.
Zambia stands as a torch bearer and a witness to the power of the peoples vote and in the beauty of democracy. The Secretary General of the Commonwealth couldn’t have said it any better – that the August 2021 elections “would go down in history as an election with no losers, but two winners – President Hichilema who won the vote, and President Lungu who won the hearts of every person who loves democracy and peace by a graceful democratic transfer of leadership and extending his brotherly hand to President Hichilema … Zambia’s democracy is a feat to be admired and celebrated, and one which we hope to see emulated in the wider Commonwealth family.“
