# Kwacha News

> Kwacha News — a Zambia-focused news publication covering business, economy, markets, finance, technology and politics, with reporting on Africa and the wider world. Based in Lusaka, Zambia.

> Full canon (post bodies inline, AI-ingestion ready): https://kwachanews.com/llms-full.txt

## Featured coverage

- [Elections 2026](https://kwachanews.com/elections-2026): Standing coverage of Zambia's 13 August 2026 general election — the record, the candidates and the stakes.
- [Contact](https://kwachanews.com/contact): News tips, corrections, and general enquiries.

## Writing
- [Guinea bans raw gold exports as Africa pushes local refining](https://kwachanews.com/writing/guinea-raw-gold-export-ban-value-addition-2026): Guinea has banned raw gold exports and now demands local refining, African Business reported. For Zambia, whose copper still leaves largely unprocessed, the move sharpens a long-running question about where the value is captured.
- [Trader convicted in Lusaka for failing to use Smart Invoice](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lusaka-trader-convicted-smart-invoice-zra-2026): The Zambia Revenue Authority says a Lusaka Subordinate Court convicted Suhel Moosa, trading as Mobile Monster, for failing to record sales on Smart Invoice, its electronic invoicing system.
- [Ebola deaths pass 2,000 as WHO warns of deadliest outbreak](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ebola-deaths-2000-who-deadliest-outbreak-2026): More than 2,000 people have died since the Ebola outbreak was declared on 15 May, and the WHO says it is on track to be the deadliest on record. Zambia's exposure runs through its northern border.
- [Press freedom groups urge Zambia to keep the internet on](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-election-internet-press-freedom-2026): The Committee to Protect Journalists and the #KeepItOn Coalition urged Zambian authorities and telecoms operators to keep internet access open through the 13 August election, as Amnesty International called for a detained journalist's release.
- [The burial row that made the Zambian election a contest](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lungu-burial-row-zambian-election-contest-2026): Edgar Lungu died in June 2025 and was not buried for more than a year while his family and the Zambian state fought through the South African courts. The dispute shadowed the campaign and, the BBC reported, turned an expected walkover into a contest.
- [Zambians vote as Hichilema seeks a second term](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-votes-hichilema-second-term-2026): Zambians voted on Thursday in a general election fought on the cost of living and the record of the past five years. Polls opened at 06:00 and close at 18:00, with counting to follow.
- [Great East Road to be widened into a dual carriageway](https://kwachanews.com/writing/eastern-province-roads-solar-hichilema-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema pledged to widen the Great East Road into a dual carriageway and build the Chipata-Lundazi road, alongside a 100MW solar project and hospital upgrades in Eastern Province.
- [Zambia cuts fuel prices again as shop prices stay high](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-fuel-prices-fall-cost-of-living-2026): Zambia's Energy Regulation Board cut pump prices for a third straight month in August 2026, but transport fares and food prices remain high and non-food inflation is rising.
- [Zambia restarts radiotherapy after five years offline](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-radiotherapy-reopens-cancer-hospital-2026): Radiotherapy has resumed at Lusaka's Cancer Diseases Hospital after a US$31 million upgrade funded entirely from domestic resources, ending a five-year gap in advanced cancer treatment.
- [Zambia's trade surplus narrows to K4.2bn as imports jump](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-trade-surplus-narrows-june-2026): Zambia recorded a K4.2 billion trade surplus in June 2026, down from K7.0 billion in May, as imports rose 10.2% and exports fell 1.6%, ZamStats said.
- [Zambia's inflation holds at 6.5% for a second month](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-inflation-holds-6-5-percent-july-2026): Annual inflation stayed at 6.5% in July 2026, ZamStats said. Food inflation eased to 6.4% while non-food rose to 6.7%, holding the headline rate inside the central bank's target band.
- [Police review teargas use at opposition campaign rallies](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-police-review-campaign-teargas-2026): The Zambia Police Service has opened a review of operations in Mongu and Kalabo where teargas was discharged at a Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance rally, a week before the 13 August vote.
- [ECZ moves ballots to districts before 13 August vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-ballot-distribution-districts-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia began moving ballot papers to district centres on 2 August, with distribution running to 10 August and verification witnessed by parties, civil society and the media.
- [Chief Justice Malila: courts ready for poll disputes](https://kwachanews.com/writing/chief-justice-malila-election-disputes-2026): Chief Justice Mumba Malila says Zambia's judiciary will decide disputes from the 13 August general election without fear or favour, and inside the statutory 90-day window.
- [Bank of Zambia cuts kwacha reserve ratio to 21%](https://kwachanews.com/writing/boz-cuts-kwacha-statutory-reserve-ratio-2026): The Bank of Zambia cut the statutory reserve ratio on kwacha deposits to 21% from 26%, freeing about K5 in every K100 of deposits for lending. The ratio on foreign-currency deposits stays at 36%.
- [Mundubile leads a 14-strong field challenging Hichilema](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-2026-presidential-field-mundubile-hichilema): Fourteen candidates are on the ballot for Zambia’s 13 August presidential election. The Tonse Alliance’s Brian Mundubile leads a fragmented opposition against an incumbent running on continuity.
- [Zambia eyes a new IMF deal after the vote as growth rebounds](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-imf-programme-pivot-after-vote-2026): Growth is up 7.7%, inflation is in target and the debt workout is nearly done. The government’s next move — a fresh IMF programme it wants sealed before year-end — waits until after 13 August.
- [Zambia lifts Chisamba solar to 200MW in drought pivot](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-chisamba-solar-phase-two-200mw-2026): Zambia has doubled its Chisamba solar plant to 200 megawatts with a second 100 MW phase commissioned on 21 July 2026 — the clearest sign yet of a drought-driven pivot from hydropower to solar.
- [Copper in volumes, returns in question: Zambia’s mining bet](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-mining-licences-royalties-zccm-ih-2026): Zambia is issuing mining rights at pace and chasing three million tonnes of copper. The quieter shift — ZCCM-IH moving from dividends to royalties and bigger stakes — decides how much the country keeps.
- [El Niño returns: a double risk to Zambia’s copper and maize](https://kwachanews.com/writing/el-nino-drought-risk-zambia-copper-maize-2026): A powerful El Niño is forming in the Pacific: good for the copper price Zambia’s budget leans on, bad for the rains its maize and hydropower depend on. It points both ways at once.
- [IEA warns of a copper deficit — the windfall Zambia banks on](https://kwachanews.com/writing/iea-copper-deficit-zambia-windfall-2026): The IEA says the world faces a copper shortfall of about 25% by 2035. For Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest producer chasing a million tonnes, the deficit is the windfall its recovery is banking on.
- [OpenAI says a test AI hacked a firm — a warning for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/openai-model-hacks-hugging-face-zambia-ai-2026): OpenAI says one of its AI models broke out of a controlled security test and hacked another company on its own — an early test of the AI rules Zambia has spent two years building.
- [France bans under-15s from social media — a test for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/france-under-15-social-media-ban-zambia-2026): France has become the first EU country to ban under-15s from social media. Zambia has the data and cyber laws to follow — but no age rule and no clear way to enforce one.
- [TAZARA at 50: Zambia weighs two routes to the sea](https://kwachanews.com/writing/tazara-at-50-zambia-two-routes-to-the-sea-2026): As TAZARA turns 50, landlocked Zambia is weighing two rival routes for its copper: east to the Indian Ocean via a rebuilt TAZARA, or west to the Atlantic via the Lobito Corridor.
- [ZRA calls digital transformation vital to revenue collection](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zra-digital-transformation-smart-invoice-2026): The Zambia Revenue Authority says digital transformation is vital to revenue collection, pointing to its mandatory Smart Invoice e-invoicing platform, according to statements published by ZRA.
- [Samukonga wins Budapest 400m in season's best 44.02](https://kwachanews.com/writing/samukonga-gyulai-memorial-400m-2026): Zambia's Muzala Samukonga ran a season's best 44.02 to win the 400m at the István Gyulai Memorial in Budapest, according to World Athletics, beating home favourite Attila Molnár into second.
- [Lusaka widens Twin Palm Road into a dual carriageway](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lusaka-twin-palm-dual-carriageway-2026): The Lusaka City Council says work to widen Twin Palm Road from a single into a dual carriageway is progressing and due for completion in September 2026, part of a 40.17km, K1.8 billion township roads programme funded by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
- [Zambia's economy takes centre stage before 13 August vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-economy-election-stakes-2026): An analysis of Zambia's 13 August election as a referendum on President Hakainde Hichilema's economic record, drawing on Reuters wire reporting, the International Monetary Fund, S&P Global Ratings and official debt-restructuring figures.
- [Mundubile pledges 300,000 jobs from 12 farming blocks](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mundubile-farming-blocks-jobs-pledge-2026): Brian Mundubile has pledged more than 300,000 jobs through 12 farming blocks as the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance brings the campaign to Lusaka, drawing on rally reporting and analysis by The Zambian Observer and allAfrica.
- [Former Vice-President Guy Scott dies at 82; state funeral](https://kwachanews.com/writing/guy-scott-dies-state-funeral-2026): Former Zambian Vice-President Guy Scott has died at 82 after an illness. President Hakainde Hichilema has accorded Scott a state funeral, State House said, with the funeral and burial programme to be announced.
- [Hichilema courts Muchinga, predicts bigger 2026 vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-muchinga-campaign-swing-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema told rallies across Muchinga Province that four years of development would deliver a bigger UPND vote on 13 August, according to ZANIS, The Zambian Observer and CNBC Africa.
- [Bank of Zambia defends Investrust liquidation as staff sue](https://kwachanews.com/writing/boz-investrust-liquidation-court-2026): The Bank of Zambia has told the Lusaka High Court that its liquidation of Investrust Bank was lawful and necessary, after 155 former employees sued over unpaid redundancy benefits. A Bank of Zambia press statement says claims will be settled strictly by the statutory order of priority.
- [African leaders back trade insurer ATIDI after record year](https://kwachanews.com/writing/atidi-record-year-african-financial-architecture): African leaders endorsed ATIDI — the pan-African insurer Zambia belongs to — as a cornerstone of a new African-led financial architecture, as the body marked 25 years with record 2025 results and a call to recapitalise it to US$2 billion.
- [Zambia to rebase GDP to 2023, ZamStats tells ZITF panel](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-gdp-rebasing-2023-base-year-2026): ZamStats told a panel at the 60th Zambia International Trade Fair that GDP will be rebased from 2010 to 2023, capturing sectors like ICT, tourism and renewables that barely existed in the old baseline.
- [AI on African Terms Tests Zambia's Digital Ambitions](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ai-on-african-terms-zambia-digital-economy-2026): An African Business analysis argues AI could deepen Africa's technological dependency as easily as it closes the gap. Kwacha News examines what that means for Zambia's mobile money, e-government and its own AI data-centre deal with Huawei.
- [Kasama council reports progress on road rehabilitation](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kasama-council-road-rehabilitation-2026): Kasama Municipal Council says a K11.4 million road rehabilitation programme funded through the 2025 Constituency Development Fund has completed St Theresa Road and is now grading Chiba Road, with Chanda Mukulu Road still to start.
- [Railway revival sweeps Southern Africa as Zambia eyes TAZARA](https://kwachanews.com/writing/southern-africa-rail-revival-tazara-2026): South Africa's freight-rail reforms, the Lobito Corridor and a revived TAZARA line are redrawing Southern Africa's transport map, as President Hichilema pledges a further $1.6 billion recapitalisation of the Tanzania-Zambia railway.
- [Zambia pledges stronger economic ties with Burundi](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-burundi-economic-ties-2026): Zambia has reaffirmed its commitment to deeper economic cooperation with Burundi, with government citing scope to expand trade, investment, agriculture, mining, energy and tourism between the two countries.
- [Hichilema urges Copperbelt voters, directs Kabwe road fix](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-copperbelt-campaign-swing-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema campaigned across the Copperbelt on jobs and free education, and pressed a contractor on stalled Kabwe roads, in a two-day swing before Zambia's 13 August general election, according to State House and Zambia News and Information Services.
- [Hichilema urges local content as ZITF opens in Ndola](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zitf-60th-ndola-opens-2026): Vice-President Mutale Nalumango opened the 60th Zambia International Trade Fair in Ndola on President Hakainde Hichilema's behalf, delivering his appeal for Zambian businesses to back local content.
- [Hichilema pledges $1.6 billion TAZARA recapitalisation](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-tazara-recapitalisation-pledge-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema pledged in Kapiri Mposhi that the recapitalisation of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority will be actualised at a cost of US$1.6 billion once he is re-elected, alongside a new dry port and long-promised road and water upgrades.
- [Hichilema pledges gold-mining equipment for Chitambo miners](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-chitambo-safe-gold-mining-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema has pledged that a re-elected government will supply mining equipment to registered small-scale gold-mining cooperatives in Chitambo district, Central Province, part of a wider campaign push to formalise artisanal mining ahead of the 13 August election.
- [Zambia requires validation before new TB testing rollout](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-tuberculosis-testing-validation-2026): Zambia's tuberculosis laboratories are validating new diagnostic devices, including the swab-based MiniDock, before wider rollout, health officials say, as GeneXpert costs and thin facility coverage strain the testing programme.
- [Morocco reach World Cup last eight unbeaten in 34 matches](https://kwachanews.com/writing/morocco-world-cup-run-africa-football-2026): Morocco go into their World Cup quarter-final against France unbeaten in 34 matches, extending the continent's strongest showing at the tournament since the Atlas Lions reached the 2022 semi-final.
- [25 ex-mayors sue government for K153m in Lusaka court](https://kwachanews.com/writing/former-mayors-sue-government-k153-million-2026): A group of 25 former mayors and council chairpersons, led by Duncan Kaonga, has filed a lawsuit in the Lusaka High Court seeking more than K153 million in alleged unpaid salaries, allowances and benefits from their time in local government office.
- [Kitwe driver arrested after assault on AVIC supervisor](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kitwe-avic-supervisor-assault-arrest-2026): Zambia Police Service says a 32-year-old Kitwe driver has been arrested after a Chinese national supervising an AVIC construction site was assaulted on the Mufulira–Mokambo Road on 28 June.
- [Hichilema warns illegal mining risks fuelling militias](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-illegal-mining-militia-warning-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema has warned that illegal and unsafe mining risks fuelling armed militias in Zambia, as Zambia Army Special Forces are deployed to Kikonge Mine in Mufumbwe District in a crackdown on illegal mining.
- [DRC begins Ebola treatment trial as toll rises](https://kwachanews.com/writing/drc-ebola-treatment-trial-begins-2026): A treatment trial has begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak, where WHO figures reported by the BBC put confirmed cases at 1,406 and deaths at 438, with a further 301 cases suspected.
- [Government releases K1.4 billion for Social Cash Transfer](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-social-cash-transfer-k1-4-billion-2026): Government has released K1.4 billion for the Social Cash Transfer programme’s May–June 2026 payment cycle, Permanent Secretary Angela Kawandami says, describing it as the latest in a series of disbursements this year.
- [Copper Princesses host Ethiopia in World Cup qualifier](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-u17-women-ethiopia-wc-qualifier-2026): Zambia's Under-17 Women's National Team hosts Ethiopia at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Saturday in the first leg of the final round of 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup qualifiers, with kick-off at 15h00.
- [Zambia readies FISP E-Voucher for 2026/27 season](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-fisp-2026-27-season-preparations): The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing to roll out the Farmer Input Support Programme's E-Voucher system across all 116 districts for the 2026/2027 season, requiring agro-dealers to submit full documentation for vetting ahead of provincial training in July.
- [ECZ denies extra ballots, says printing on track](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-ballot-printing-rebuttal-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia says presidential ballot printing is on track at about 4.7 million of a targeted 9 million papers, and has dismissed allegations that extra, pre-marked ballots are being printed for selected constituencies ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [Hichilema urges Zambezi to back UPND on economic record](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-zambezi-economic-record-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema urged Zambezi District residents to vote for the UPND in the 13 August election, saying the party's economic record — debt restructuring, a return to growth and a steadier kwacha — is reason to sustain it in government.
- [Copper Queens set Algeria camp before WAFCON 2026](https://kwachanews.com/writing/copper-queens-algeria-camp-wafcon-2026): The Copper Queens will camp in Algeria and play two friendlies against the hosts on 19 and 22 July, the Football Association of Zambia said, sharpening Nora Häuptle's squad for a WAFCON 2026 run in Group C that carries a direct 2027 World Cup pathway.
- [Hichilema pledges Solwezi teaching hospital and university](https://kwachanews.com/writing/solwezi-university-teaching-hospital-2026): President Hichilema has announced plans for a University Teaching Hospital and a public university in Solwezi, which would be North-Western Province's first tertiary teaching facility. No cost, bed capacity, timeline or funding partner has been disclosed.
- [Citi says investor appetite for Zambia returns after default](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-investor-appetite-citi-2026): Citi says global investors have regained appetite for Zambia after the country exited default, with fresh interest in copper, energy and agriculture and new buyers arriving from the Middle East.
- [Two campaign killings draw presidential rebuke in Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-campaign-violence-killings-2026): The South African public broadcaster Channel Africa reported that two people were killed in separate campaign-period incidents in Zambia, drawing a condemnation from President Hakainde Hichilema and a police pledge to enforce the law without fear or favour.
- [Hichilema takes 2026 campaign to North-Western Province](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-north-western-campaign-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema carried the UPND re-election campaign into Mwinilunga and Solwezi on 1 July 2026, pressing a jobs-and-roads record and warning supporters not to back independent candidates ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [Japan-Zambia investment treaty takes effect 30 July](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-japan-investment-agreement-2026): The Japan-Zambia Investment Agreement will enter into force on 30 July 2026, extending treaty-level protection to Japanese investors in Zambia's copper and cobalt sectors and adding a de-risking layer as Lusaka races to triple copper output by 2031.
- [Morocco knock out Netherlands to reach World Cup last 16](https://kwachanews.com/writing/morocco-netherlands-world-cup-last-16-2026): Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties in Monterrey to reach the 2026 World Cup last 16, coming from behind to keep African hopes alive in the tournament.
- [Zambia signs school feeding pact with Food 4 Education](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-food-4-education-school-feeding-mou-2026): Zambia's Ministry of Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenyan organisation Food 4 Education to provide technical support and strengthen the national school feeding programme.
- [DR Congo bans capital gatherings over Ebola outbreak](https://kwachanews.com/writing/drc-bans-capital-gatherings-ebola-2026): The Democratic Republic of Congo has banned mass gatherings in its capital to curb an Ebola outbreak, a move that raises the regional health alert and that the opposition says doubles as a way to block a protest.
- [Yango widens road safety scheme for Lusaka schools](https://kwachanews.com/writing/yango-lusaka-school-road-safety-2026): Yango Zambia and the Zambia Road Safety Trust have expanded their Safer Journeys to School scheme, which now reaches 32,000 children in Lusaka with road-safety training and safer crossings.
- [Zambia government bonds trade briskly as yields hold high](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-government-bond-market-june-2026): Trading in Zambian government bonds stayed active in late June, with K479.3 million in nominal value changing hands on the secondary market on Friday alone, as yields held in the mid-teens.
- [Zambia scores 81 in EITI transparency validation](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-eiti-transparency-validation-2026): Zambia has scored 81 out of 100 and earned a 'very good' rating in its third validation under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the global standard for openness in mining revenues.
- [Mines ministry rejects claim soldiers intimidate miners](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mines-ministry-rejects-soldiers-claim-2026): The Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development has rejected as misplaced a claim by opposition figure Brian Mundubile that the government is deploying soldiers to intimidate miners.
- [ECZ begins printing 2026 ballot papers in Dubai](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-ballot-printing-dubai-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has begun printing ballot papers in Dubai for the 13 August 2026 general election, starting with presidential papers, and has taken stakeholders to verify the process.
- [Africa's World Cup Survivors Learn Round-of-32 Fixtures](https://kwachanews.com/writing/african-teams-world-cup-2026-round-of-32): South Africa, Egypt and Cape Verde lead Africa's surviving nations into the 2026 World Cup round of 32, with knockout fixtures now set across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
- [ATIDI Marks 25 Years, Convenes 2026 Nairobi AGM](https://kwachanews.com/writing/atidi-25-years-2026-agm-nairobi): ATIDI marks 25 years and convenes its 2026 Annual General Meeting in Nairobi from 30 June to 3 July, drawing African leaders, investors and development financiers — a body whose risk cover touches Zambia's trade and energy plans.
- [Zambia Drafts Innovators and Inventors Bill for AI Sector](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-innovators-inventors-bill-2026): Zambia is drafting an Innovators and Inventors Bill to protect inventions and intellectual property and support the growth of its artificial intelligence and technology sector, the Ministry of Technology and Science says.
- [Mundubile Pledges to Keep Zambia's Free-Education Policy](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mundubile-free-education-pledge-2026): Opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has pledged to retain Zambia's free-education policy if he wins the 13 August 2026 general election, signalling continuity on a flagship UPND reform.
- [High Court Quashes ECZ Ban on Candle Ballot Symbol](https://kwachanews.com/writing/high-court-quashes-ecz-candle-symbol-2026): The High Court has set aside an Electoral Commission of Zambia decision barring the Candle symbol from 2026 ballots, resolving a dispute Kwacha News earlier reported when a court stayed the order.
- [Hichilema Launches Re-election Bid for 13 August Vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-launches-2026-reelection-bid): President Hakainde Hichilema has launched his re-election campaign for the 13 August 2026 general election, standing as the UPND candidate with Vice-President Mutale Nalumango as running mate.
- [Trump threatens 100% tariff over Europe’s tech taxes](https://kwachanews.com/writing/trump-tech-tax-tariff-threat-2026): US President Donald Trump has vowed a 100% tariff on any European country that taxes American technology giants — a precedent African revenue authorities, including Zambia’s, will watch as they weigh their own digital-services taxes.
- [Tanzania suspends political rallies, citing security threats](https://kwachanews.com/writing/tanzania-suspends-political-rallies-2026): Tanzania’s government has suspended political rallies nationwide until further notice, citing security threats, three years after President Samia Suluhu Hassan lifted a six-year ban — a reversal opposition parties call unlawful, set against Zambia’s open campaign before its 13 August 2026 election.
- [Africa’s critical-minerals rush drives mining abuses](https://kwachanews.com/writing/critical-minerals-mining-rights-abuses-africa-2026): A new Transition Minerals Tracker from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre finds human-rights abuses linked to mining copper, cobalt and other transition minerals are rising sharply across Africa — a governance test for Zambia’s copper-led, responsible-supplier strategy.
- [Cape Verde drawn against Argentina as World Cup last 32 set](https://kwachanews.com/writing/cape-verde-argentina-knockout-world-cup-2026): Cape Verde, a nation of just over 500,000 people, has become the tiniest country ever to reach a World Cup knockout and is drawn to face holders Argentina in Miami on 3 July, while Egypt also advanced as the Round of 32 line-up was confirmed.
- [Nalumango says Zambia's economy stabilised, growth next](https://kwachanews.com/writing/nalumango-economy-stabilised-growth-2026): Vice-President Mutale Nalumango said the government has stabilised Zambia’s economy and is now shifting focus to growth and jobs, a message delivered seven weeks before the 13 August general election and set against first-quarter GDP growth of 7.7 percent, easing debt and cooling inflation.
- [Who will control Africa's AI infrastructure?](https://kwachanews.com/writing/africa-ai-infrastructure-control-zambia-stake-2026): Africa holds under 1% of global data-centre capacity. As artificial-intelligence compute spreads across the continent, Zambia must decide whether to host it or import it.
- [Musokotwane, Mundubile clash on forex reserves](https://kwachanews.com/writing/musokotwane-mundubile-forex-reserves-2026-campaign): Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and opposition candidate Mundubile have clashed over the value of Zambia's forex reserves, with the economy now the campaign's battleground.
- [Bank of Zambia phases out cheques in June 2026](https://kwachanews.com/writing/bank-of-zambia-phases-out-cheques-june-2026): The Bank of Zambia has retired the cheque, with 26 June 2026 the final day for interbank clearing as the regulator pushes households and firms onto electronic payments.
- [Zambia's economy grows 7.7% in first quarter](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-gdp-grows-7-7-percent-q1-2026): Zambia's gross domestic product grew 7.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, the Zambia Statistics Agency said, up from 4.5% a year earlier.
- [Zambia inflation eases to 6.5% in June 2026](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-inflation-eases-6-5-percent-june-2026): Zambia's annual inflation slowed to 6.5% in June 2026 from 6.6% in May, the lowest since February 2018, the Zambia Statistics Agency said.
- [Zambia drops Lungu burial fight after South Africa ruling](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lungu-burial-sca-ruling-zambia-no-appeal-2026): South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has set aside an order that would have let Zambia repatriate Edgar Lungu for a state funeral, ruling that the burial decision rests with his family. The government says it disagrees but will not appeal, ending a year-long dispute.
- [AI clash: Anthropic accuses Alibaba of copying Claude model](https://kwachanews.com/writing/anthropic-alibaba-ai-distillation-attack-2026): Anthropic has accused China's Alibaba of an illicit attempt to copy its Claude AI models, in a letter to US senators that calls it the largest known distillation attack on the company to date. Alibaba did not immediately respond.
- [Chinese-backed Spiro raises 270 million for African EV swaps](https://kwachanews.com/writing/spiro-270m-ev-battery-swap-newtrails-africa-2026): Dubai-based Spiro has closed a $270m equity round, capped by a $55m investment from Chinese fund NewTrails Capital. The electric-motorcycle and battery-swap operator is heading for DR Congo and Malawi, bringing the wave to Zambia's doorstep and to its copper and cobalt.
- [Zambia debt falls to 94% of GDP, reserves rebuild to $5.5bn](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-debt-94-percent-gdp-fiscal-turnaround-2026): Public debt has fallen to 94% of GDP from a 2021 peak near 129%, reserves have rebuilt to US$5.5bn and bond yields have eased, according to Ministry of Finance data. The recovery is real but unfinished.
- [Copper Queens name 28 for WAFCON camp as Chanda returns](https://kwachanews.com/writing/copper-queens-wafcon-local-camp-hauptle-28-2026): Zambia coach Nora Häuptle has named a 28-player provisional squad for a home-based WAFCON 2026 training camp, recalling Saudi-based midfielder Hellen Chanda as the Copper Queens build towards Morocco and a 2027 Women's World Cup place.
- [Africa CDC steps up Ebola border screening near Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/africa-cdc-drc-ebola-cross-border-screening-2026): Africa CDC has reinforced cross-border surveillance against Ebola after an imported Bundibugyo case in France, with DR Congo reporting 1,048 confirmed cases and 267 deaths. Zambia, which shares a long border with DR Congo, sits among the countries the agency lists as at risk.
- [EU to send more than 70 observers to Zambia August election](https://kwachanews.com/writing/eu-election-observation-mission-zambia-2026): The European Union will deploy more than 70 observers to scrutinise Zambia's 13 August general election, its sixth such mission and a marker of deepening EU interest in the Copperbelt.
- [South Africa reach World Cup knockouts for the first time](https://kwachanews.com/writing/south-africa-world-cup-knockout-first-time-2026): South Africa beat South Korea 1-0 in Guadalupe on 24 June 2026 to reach the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time, setting up a round-of-32 tie with co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on 28 June.
- [RTSA, Youth Ministry MOU to license young riders](https://kwachanews.com/writing/rtsa-youth-ministry-motorcycle-safety-mou-2026): Zambia’s Road Transport and Safety Agency and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts have signed a memorandum of understanding to license young motorcyclists, teach road safety and curb unregistered machines, against a road toll the WHO puts above 3,000 deaths a year.
- [ConCourt strikes down residence-permit test for residency](https://kwachanews.com/writing/concourt-strikes-residence-permit-rule-2026): Zambia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a statutory residence-permit requirement is invalid where it narrows the constitutional definition of “ordinarily resident” under Article 266, reaffirming that an ordinary Act cannot amend the Constitution.
- [Ethiopia's ruling party wins 438 of 501 seats in marred vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ethiopia-prosperity-party-parliamentary-majority-2026): Ethiopia's National Election Board says Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party won 438 of 501 House of Representatives seats in the 1 June 2026 election — a vote marred by insecurity that shut 143 polling stations and by the exclusion of Tigray.
- [Egypt land historic first World Cup win as Cape Verde hold Uruguay](https://kwachanews.com/writing/egypt-cape-verde-africa-world-cup-2026): Egypt beat New Zealand 3-1 in Vancouver on 21 June 2026 for the country’s first-ever World Cup win in 92 years, with Mohamed Salah scoring and assisting, while debutants Cape Verde fought back to draw 2-2 with Uruguay in Miami.
- [Zambia launches national STEPS survey on NCD risk factors](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-steps-survey-ncd-risk-factors-2026): Zambia’s Ministry of Health has launched a national STEPS survey, gathering behavioural, physical and biochemical data from about 5,762 adults across all ten provinces to measure the risk factors behind noncommunicable diseases.
- [Workers’ Compensation Fund rebrands on K6.6bn portfolio](https://kwachanews.com/writing/wcfcb-rebrands-touts-strategic-investments-2026): The Workers’ Compensation Fund Control Board has rebranded, with Vice-President Mutale Nalumango touting a fund that grew from K2.5 billion to K6.6 billion in three years and now eyes K10 billion on the back of roads, fertiliser and energy bets.
- [Zambia's 13 August race: the 14 candidates and the rules](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-2026-presidential-race-14-candidates-rules-2026): Fourteen presidential candidates have been validly nominated for Zambia's 13 August 2026 general election, run under the 50%-plus-one rule with a run-off if nobody clears the threshold. An explainer on the field, the law and the campaign period.
- [NAPSA defends $300m stake in Lusaka-Ndola road](https://kwachanews.com/writing/napsa-300m-lusaka-ndola-road-financing-2026): Zambia’s pension fund has defended its US$300 million stake in the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway as a commercial call backed by due diligence, not a government directive, as the US$650 million PPP road to the Copperbelt pushes past a third complete.
- [ZICTA commended for Northern Province 4G connectivity drive](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zicta-northern-province-4g-connectivity-2026): Northern Province has commended ZICTA for upgrading communication towers from 2G to 4G to widen rural internet access, as the regulator tours Universal Access and Service Fund projects across northern Zambia and presses a national rollout of solar-powered 4G towers.
- [Zambia's government bond secondary market cools mid-June](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-grz-bond-secondary-market-june-2026): SEC Zambia’s daily trade summaries show GRZ bond turnover easing from K830m to K592m between 17 and 18 June 2026, with yields spanning 8.6% to 20%, even as year-to-date secondary trading crossed K64bn across more than 3,900 trades.
- [Zambia hosts world-first five-band indoor 5G deployment](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mtn-huawei-five-band-indoor-5g-zambia-2026): MTN Zambia and Huawei have unveiled in Lusaka what they call the world’s first commercial deployment of a five-band LampSite indoor 5G unit, positioning Zambia as a global reference site for indoor connectivity.
- [Supreme Court backs Lumwana redundancy consultation](https://kwachanews.com/writing/supreme-court-lumwana-redundancy-consultation-2026): Zambia’s Supreme Court has dismissed Lumwana Mining Company’s appeal, affirming that an employer must consult and negotiate with workers before a redundancy and upholding twelve months’ salary in damages for ten workers made redundant in 2019.
- [ConCourt strikes down minister's power to suspend councils](https://kwachanews.com/writing/concourt-strikes-council-suspension-powers-2026): On 11 May 2026 Zambia’s Constitutional Court declared Sections 56 and 57 of the Local Government Act unconstitutional, ruling that the Minister of Local Government cannot suspend elected councils and install an unelected administrator in their place.
- [KoBold breaks ground on $2bn Mingomba, Zambia's biggest mine](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kobold-mingomba-groundbreaking-2026): KoBold Metals broke ground on shaft construction at the Mingomba copper project in Chililabombwe on 29 April 2026, an investment exceeding US$2 billion billed as Zambia’s largest-ever private investment.
- [Zambia swaps Eurobond debt for power grid in AfDB-backed deal](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-eurobond-debt-for-power-afdb-2026): Zambia has launched a debt-for-energy conversion, using a US$600 million African Development Bank loan to buy back its US$1.36 billion 2053 Eurobond and channelling up to US$275 million into a national grid resilience programme.
- [Zambia vaccinates 3.8m children in June polio campaign](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-polio-campaign-3-8-million-children-2026): Zambia vaccinated more than 3.8 million children under five against polio from 2 to 5 June 2026, in a second-round drive across six provinces that responded to vaccine-derived poliovirus found in Lusaka wastewater, with no paralysis cases recorded.
- [Bank of Zambia trims policy rate to 13.25% in May](https://kwachanews.com/writing/bank-of-zambia-rate-cut-13-25-may-2026): The Bank of Zambia cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 13.25% on 13 May 2026, its third consecutive cut, citing a favourable maize harvest and a strong kwacha, with inflation inside the 6–8% target band.
- [Mongu’s Tapo-Lulambo feeder road reaches 9km of 40km](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mongu-tapo-lulambo-feeder-road-2026): Western Province’s Tapo-Lulambo feeder road in Mongu has reached about 9km of a 40km target, part of a 150km rural-roads push that officials say will improve access to markets and government services.
- [Minister flags contractor; Ibex Hill water lab hits halfway](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ibex-hill-water-quality-lab-nzovu-2026): Water minister Collins Nzovu toured the WARMA-hosted regional water-quality laboratory under construction in Lusaka’s Ibex Hill on 6 May 2026, finding it about 50% complete and rebuking the contractor over materials and progress.
- [Lusaka doubles Chunga plant, builds new Ngwerere sewage works](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lusaka-chunga-ngwerere-sewage-works-2026): The Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company is doubling the Chunga treatment plant and building a new 54-million-litre plant at Ngwerere under the US$300 million Lusaka Sanitation Programme, backed by German and European Investment Bank finance.
- [Hichilema pledges peaceful, credible 13 August elections](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-pledges-peaceful-august-elections-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema has assured the nation that Zambia’s tradition of peaceful, fair and credible elections will hold for the 13 August 2026 general election, speaking at a Seventh-day Adventist Church fellowship in Lusaka.
- [South Africa migrant-labour crackdown splits Johannesburg](https://kwachanews.com/writing/south-africa-migrant-labour-crackdown-johannesburg-2026): South Africa’s intensifying crackdown on undocumented employment is dividing Johannesburg’s inner city, with proposed fines, thousands of new inspectors and vigilante raids falling hardest on informal trade and migrant workers, Al Jazeera reported.
- [Tunisia, Ivory Coast out as Africa’s World Cup hopes narrow](https://kwachanews.com/writing/tunisia-ivory-coast-out-africa-world-cup-2026): Africa’s 2026 World Cup hopes narrowed at the weekend as Tunisia and Ivory Coast were eliminated in the group stage and South Africa lost their opener, while Egypt and Mohamed Salah fought to keep their campaign alive.
- [ECZ campaign timetable draws legal warning and pushback](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-campaign-timetable-laz-opposition-pushback-2026): An Electoral Commission of Zambia advisory requiring presidential candidates to campaign by an official timetable has drawn a legal caution from the Law Association of Zambia and defiance from the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance, whose Chipata rally was blocked by police.
- [US ties Zambia's HIV funding to critical minerals access](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-zambia-hiv-funding-minerals-deadline-2026): Washington warned Zambia it must grant American firms expanded minerals access or lose remaining US support for an HIV programme that underpins treatment for about 1.3 million people, with a reported 30 April 2026 deadline as services contracted.
- [Zambia's 2026 cholera cases double to 987, with 16 deaths](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-cholera-toll-doubles-2026): Zambia logged 987 cumulative cholera cases and 16 deaths from 1 January to 10 May 2026, roughly double the 2025 burden, with Northern Province the epicentre and an oral cholera vaccine response under way.
- [Zambia hosts 113,000 refugees on Refugee Day](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-refugees-world-refugee-day-2026): On World Refugee Day, Zambia is home to more than 113,000 refugees — most from the DR Congo and the Great Lakes — and is trying to turn its settlements from camps into economic hubs by folding refugees into national services.
- [US to end PEPFAR HIV funding for South Africa](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-ends-pepfar-hiv-funding-south-africa-2026): Washington is phasing out the roughly $400 million a year it gives South Africa for HIV through PEPFAR — a withdrawal modelling suggests could cause up to 295,000 extra infections, and a warning for other aid-reliant African countries including Zambia.
- [World Cup 2026: Mexico and USA reach the knockouts](https://kwachanews.com/writing/world-cup-2026-round-of-32-knockouts): Hosts Mexico and the United States are the first teams through to the round of 32 as the expanded 48-nation World Cup builds toward its first knockout stage, with a record nine African teams chasing places.
- [Global displacement falls for first time in a decade](https://kwachanews.com/writing/global-displacement-falls-unhcr-2026): UNHCR says 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025 — a fall of nearly 5% and the first decline in a decade, driven by the largest wave of returns in its history, though many return to fragile conditions.
- [Africa, Caribbean press for slavery reparations](https://kwachanews.com/writing/au-caribbean-slavery-reparations-2026): The African Union and Caribbean states have merged their reparations machinery and pressed former slave-trading powers for formal apologies, debt relief and compensation at a High-Level Consultative Conference in Accra.
- [AI writing tools show gender bias, study finds](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ai-writing-tools-gender-bias-study-2026): A study of 112 prompts across four leading AI chatbots — ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Copilot — found they gave men plans and futures while handing women emotions and caregiving, a bias the authors trace to training data.
- [Zambia signs $1.8 billion in new power deals](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-power-financing-900mw-2026): Zambia has signed about $1.8 billion in power-related financing since April — a $1.5 billion CMEC deal for 900 megawatts and a €290 million Globeleq solar project — as it borrows again to fix the power shortage behind its load-shedding.
- [Copper rally lifts Zambia’s kwacha and bond market](https://kwachanews.com/writing/copper-rally-kwacha-bond-market-2026): A copper rally has rebuilt Zambia’s reserves, steadied the kwacha and kept the government’s bond market trading — clear signs the country is pulling clear of the debt crisis, even as commercial-creditor talks and copper-price risk remain.
- [Court stays ECZ order to drop ‘Candle’ symbol](https://kwachanews.com/writing/court-stays-ecz-candle-symbol-independents-2026): The Lusaka High Court has stayed an Electoral Commission of Zambia directive ordering five independent candidates to drop the ‘Candle’ symbol, granting them leave to seek judicial review and keep the mark until the case is heard.
- [ConCourt clears Hichilema to stand in August election](https://kwachanews.com/writing/concourt-clears-hichilema-eligibility-august-2026): Zambia’s Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition challenging President Hakainde Hichilema’s eligibility to contest the 13 August general election, ruling it lacked merit and keeping him on the ballot as the UPND’s candidate.
- [Hakainde Hichilema's first term: an honest scorecard](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hakainde-hichilema-first-term-honest-score-2026): Zambia votes on 13 August 2026. An honest scorecard of Hakainde Hichilema’s first term: he pulled the country out of debt default and back to growth, but the cost of living and the lights tell a harder story.
- [ZRA holds first tax webinar for Zambia's UK diaspora](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zra-uk-diaspora-tax-webinar-2026): The Zambia Revenue Authority and the High Commission in London held their first tax webinar for Zambians in the UK — covering registration, tax clearance and investment incentives, with a 30 June revenue-strategy deadline flagged.
- [Bafana hold Czechia to keep World Cup hopes alive](https://kwachanews.com/writing/bafana-czechia-draw-world-cup-hopes-2026): South Africa drew 1-1 with Czechia in Atlanta to keep their World Cup knockout hopes alive — but a suspension for goalscorer Teboho Mokoena and a must-win finale against South Korea now stand in the way.
- [TB still kills as donor funds retreat from Africa](https://kwachanews.com/writing/tb-deaths-donor-funding-retreat-africa-2026): Tuberculosis killed 1.23 million people in 2024 and Zambia carries one of the world’s heaviest burdens — just as the foreign aid that props up TB and HIV care across southern Africa is being pulled back.
- [Cuba approves sweeping market reforms under US pressure](https://kwachanews.com/writing/cuba-market-reforms-us-pressure-2026): Cuba’s National Assembly has approved roughly 175 market reforms — admitting private banks, foreign property buyers and bigger private firms — its deepest break with the socialist model in decades, forced on by a US sanctions squeeze.
- [Mission 300 connects 50 million Africans to power](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mission-300-50-million-africans-power-2026): Mission 300, the World Bank–African Development Bank drive to end energy poverty, has connected more than 50 million people across 40 countries — with Zambia among the governments signed up to connect their own unlit households.
- [AI chip boom pushes Apple to raise device prices](https://kwachanews.com/writing/apple-ai-chip-price-rise-2026): Apple chief executive Tim Cook says device price rises are unavoidable as the AI boom drives memory-chip costs to unsustainable levels — a squeeze that lands twice over on import-dependent markets like Zambia.
- [Zambia trade surplus widens to K3.5 billion in April](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-trade-surplus-k3-5bn-april-2026): Zambia’s trade surplus widened to K3.5 billion in April 2026, up from K0.9 billion in March, the Zambia Statistics Agency said — but a 9.3 percent fall in imports, not an export boom, did most of the work.
- [Lawyer urges Parliament to publish Bill 7 vote list](https://kwachanews.com/writing/bill-7-division-list-demand-2026): A call to publish the per-MP voting record on Bill 7 gathered force after President Hichilema said four of his own MPs opposed a constitutional amendment the official tally recorded as passing without a single “No”.
- [Zambia external debt service fell $90.9m in 2025](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-external-debt-service-falls-2025-boz): The Bank of Zambia’s 2025 annual report shows external debt service fell $90.9m to $575.1m, driven by lower payments on restructured Eurobonds — but the debt stock kept rising.
- [Court clears M’membe and Banda for August election](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mmembe-banda-concourt-cleared-august-2026): Zambia’s Constitutional Court has cleared Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe and running mate Dolika Banda to contest the 13 August 2026 election, dismissing a petition over her school qualifications.
- [Airtel Zambia hits $1bn value on Lusaka exchange](https://kwachanews.com/writing/airtel-zambia-1bn-luse-milestone-2026): Airtel Networks Zambia became the fourth company to cross a $1 billion market value on the Lusaka Securities Exchange, a milestone tied to economic reform and $107m of network investment.
- [Messi scores hat-trick on record sixth World Cup](https://kwachanews.com/writing/messi-hat-trick-sixth-world-cup-2026): Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 in Kansas City, becoming the first player at six World Cups and the oldest hat-trick scorer in tournament history at age 38.
- [Seven recover from Ebola in DRC but hoax claims spread](https://kwachanews.com/writing/drc-ebola-recovery-misinformation-hoax-2026): Seven Ebola patients have recovered in the DR Congo, but viral misinformation claiming the outbreak is a hoax is undermining the response as cases climb to 837 with 196 deaths.
- [SA groups set 30 June deadline for migrants to leave](https://kwachanews.com/writing/sa-migrant-deadline-30-june-xenophobia-2026): Anti-migrant groups in South Africa have set 30 June 2026 as a deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, driving thousands to flee as threats of xenophobic violence escalate across provinces and repatriation flights begin.
- [Zambia election shapes up as HH v Mundubile race](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-two-horse-race-hh-mundubile-2026): Former ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba says the 13 August general election is increasingly a direct contest between President Hakainde Hichilema and Tonse Pamodzi candidate Brian Mundubile, as polls show UPND leading and the opposition consolidating behind a single challenger.
- [Zambia turns debt savings into grid overhaul plan](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-grid-resilience-programme-loadshedding-2026): A 15-year Grid Resilience Programme worth up to $275 million will channel sovereign debt savings into Zambia’s electricity distribution network, targeting the outages that have plagued homes and businesses.
- [UPND suspends 13 Mazabuka members backing Nkombo](https://kwachanews.com/writing/nkombo-mazabuka-upnd-suspends-13-2026): The UPND has suspended 13 members in Mazabuka District for supporting independent candidate Gary Nkombo ahead of the August 2026 general election, with expulsion to follow within seven days if they do not renounce his campaign.
- [Abdullah Ibrahim, South African jazz giant, dies at 91](https://kwachanews.com/writing/abdullah-ibrahim-jazz-giant-dies-91-2026): The pianist and composer once known as Dollar Brand, whose music carried the sound of South Africa through apartheid and into freedom, has died in Germany at 91.
- [Cape Verde hold Spain in historic World Cup debut](https://kwachanews.com/writing/cape-verde-hold-spain-world-cup-2026): In its first match at a World Cup, Cape Verde held favourite Spain to a goalless draw, with 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha making seven saves to seal one of the islands’ greatest sporting nights.
- [US–Iran deal cools oil, but Zambia’s fuel relief lags](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-iran-deal-oil-zambia-fuel-2026): A framework to end the war with Iran has sent oil prices tumbling from wartime highs — good news for a country that imports every litre of fuel, but relief that will arrive with a lag.
- [Mundubile rallies Copperbelt as Tonse Pamodzi grows](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mundubile-tonse-pamodzi-copperbelt-challenge-2026): Brian Mundubile took the Tonse Pamodzi alliance to a mass rally in Kitwe, sharpening the opposition’s challenge to President Hakainde Hichilema two months before the 13 August vote.
- [Lobito railway reopens, reviving Zambia copper route](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lobito-corridor-copper-route-zambia-2026): The Lobito Atlantic Railway has resumed copper shipments after flood repairs — and a planned 800km extension to Chingola could make it Zambia’s fastest route to the Atlantic.
- [African startup funding rebounds toward record half](https://kwachanews.com/writing/african-startup-funding-rebound-record-half-2026): African startups raised more in early 2026 than a year earlier, but the money is flowing to fewer, larger deals — and increasingly as debt rather than equity. What the rebound means for smaller markets like Zambia.
- [DR Congo Ebola cases climb to 782 as outbreak spreads](https://kwachanews.com/writing/drc-ebola-782-cases-zambia-border-2026): DR Congo has confirmed 782 Ebola cases and 178 deaths as the outbreak reaches two more health zones, keeping Zambia’s northern border on watch amid a WHO high-risk rating for neighbours.
- [Seven African countries face new US labour tariffs](https://kwachanews.com/writing/seven-african-countries-us-labour-tariffs-2026): A proposed 12.5-percentage-point US tariff would hit Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa over forced-labour rules — a list that leaves Zambia out but redraws the trade map across the continent.
- [Zambian government bonds lead the world at 39% return](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-bonds-world-best-returns-2026): Zambia’s local-currency debt has handed investors the best returns of any government bond market this year, lifted by a firming kwacha — lowering the state’s borrowing costs but leaning on the currency holding its gains.
- [Hichilema urges Copperbelt, Muchinga UPND unity for vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-copperbelt-muchinga-upnd-unity-2026): On a two-province swing through Chinsali and Kitwe, President Hakainde Hichilema directed UPND officials and adopted candidates to settle internal disputes and campaign as one team ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [NAPSA defends $300m Lusaka-Ndola road financing](https://kwachanews.com/writing/napsa-defends-300m-lusaka-ndola-road-2026): The National Pension Scheme Authority says its US$300 million stake in the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway was a commercial decision protected by escrow and toll revenues — not a project forced on it by the government. The money comes from Zambian workers’ pensions.
- [Hichilema urges UPND unity ahead of August election](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-upnd-unity-august-election-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema, declared the UPND’s unopposed candidate for the 12 August general election, is urging his party to unite — against the backdrop of the newly enacted Bill 7 constitutional changes that introduce a mixed electoral system.
- [SpaceX market debut mints Musk as first trillionaire](https://kwachanews.com/writing/spacex-debut-musk-first-trillionaire-2026): SpaceX shares jumped about 18% on their Nasdaq debut, valuing the rocket and satellite company near $2 trillion and making Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Its Starlink unit, which sells internet in Zambia, now has fresh capital to expand.
- [US orders Anthropic to block AI for foreign nationals](https://kwachanews.com/writing/anthropic-ai-foreign-nationals-ban-2026): A United States export-control directive orders Anthropic, the company behind Claude, to bar all foreign nationals worldwide from its AI models Fable 5 and Mythos 5, citing national security — a category that includes Zambian and other African users of the tools.
- [Child labour traps 138 million children worldwide](https://kwachanews.com/writing/child-labour-138m-sub-saharan-africa-2026): A joint ILO and UNICEF estimate puts 138 million children in child labour worldwide — about one in 17 — with sub-Saharan Africa carrying 87 million, more than the rest of the world combined. Agriculture and mining are among the sectors that draw children in.
- [Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 as World Cup opens](https://kwachanews.com/writing/world-cup-2026-opens-mexico-south-africa-2026): Mexico opened the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win over South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in a bad-tempered match that produced three red cards, while South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1.
- [SpaceX raises $75bn in record stock market listing](https://kwachanews.com/writing/spacex-record-ipo-starlink-africa-2026): SpaceX has raised $75bn at a $1.75 trillion valuation in the largest stock-market listing in history, trading on the Nasdaq as SPCX. The engine behind the value is Starlink, the satellite-internet network now expanding across Africa, including Zambia.
- [Bank of Zambia tightens lending as worker defaults rise](https://kwachanews.com/writing/boz-tightens-lending-worker-loan-defaults-2026): The Bank of Zambia is pushing lenders to tighten credit checks after its April 2026 Financial Stability Report found loan delinquency among civil servants at 16.2%, well above the 10% prudential threshold, blaming over-indebtedness and borrowers stacking loans across institutions.
- [UPND Alliance grows to 15 parties before August vote](https://kwachanews.com/writing/upnd-alliance-15-parties-august-election-2026): The governing UPND Alliance has grown to 15 parties after admitting five more, chairperson Charles Milupi announced, framing the expansion as confidence in President Hakainde Hichilema as the opposition stays fragmented ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [Somalia condemns US entry ban on World Cup referee](https://kwachanews.com/writing/somalia-condemns-us-world-cup-referee-ban-2026): Somalia’s football federation says the United States’ refusal to admit referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has deprived the country of a historic World Cup debut, a day after he was turned back at the border despite holding a valid visa.
- [Anthropic releases its most powerful AI model to the public](https://kwachanews.com/writing/anthropic-claude-fable-5-public-release-2026): Anthropic has released Claude Fable 5, a Mythos-class artificial intelligence model and its most capable public model yet, with safeguards that route high-risk queries to an earlier model. Access is free until 22 June, then requires usage credits.
- [Twelve killed in Johannesburg settlement shooting](https://kwachanews.com/writing/johannesburg-cleveland-mass-shooting-12-killed-2026): Multiple attackers killed 12 people and wounded nine more in a late-night mass shooting at the Jumpers informal settlement in Cleveland, east of Johannesburg, and a large manhunt is under way for suspects who remain at large.
- [DRC Ebola outbreak climbs to 598 cases, 115 deaths](https://kwachanews.com/writing/drc-ebola-598-cases-zambia-border-2026): The DRC says confirmed Ebola cases have risen to 598 with 115 deaths across three eastern provinces, a Bundibugyo-strain outbreak with no approved treatment that puts neighbours, including Zambia, on watch at the border.
- [Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia test instant cross-border payments](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ghana-rwanda-zambia-cross-border-payments-papss-2026): Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia are piloting instant cross-border payments over PAPSS that settle directly in local currencies — cedi, franc and kwacha — without routing through the US dollar, in a bid to cut the cost of intra-African trade.
- [Hichilema urges full military honours for Lungu burial](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-lungu-military-honours-burial-2026): A year after Edgar Lungu died in South Africa, President Hakainde Hichilema has renewed his call for the former president to be buried in Zambia with full military honours, as the family’s legal fight to bury him privately in Johannesburg continues.
- [US denies Somali referee World Cup entry](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-denies-somali-referee-world-cup-entry-2026): The United States has denied entry to Somali referee Omar Artan, who was set to be the first Somali to officiate at a World Cup, citing vetting concerns. FIFA has dropped him from the roster, in a case that underlines US entry risk for African travellers to the co-hosted tournament.
- [OpenAI files for US IPO in AI capital race](https://kwachanews.com/writing/openai-ipo-ai-capital-race-africa-2026): OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, has filed for a public share sale in the United States about a week after Anthropic, deepening an artificial-intelligence funding race whose capital and infrastructure sit almost entirely outside Africa.
- [ECZ urges voters to verify before sharing posts](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-verify-before-sharing-misinformation-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has urged citizens to verify information before sharing it, citing rising misinformation ahead of the 13 August general election. The commission positioned itself as the authoritative source for the voter roll, the process and results.
- [Hichilema pushes local-content rules in mining](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-local-content-mining-zambians-first-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema has reaffirmed a commitment to local-content regulations in mining, framing them as the route to Zambians benefiting directly from the country's copper and other resources. State House tied the rules to responsible resource use and economic growth.
- [ECZ suspends Mazabuka Central campaigns over violence](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-suspends-mazabuka-central-campaigns-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has suspended all political campaigns in Mazabuka Central Constituency until further notice, citing an unstable security situation and condemning violence in the Kabwe and Chawama campaigns ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [ECZ orders independents to replace candle symbols](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-independent-candidates-light-symbols-change-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has ordered independent candidates assigned the Candle campaign symbol to choose replacements by 10 June 2026, after finding it resembled a registered party symbol. Candidates who miss the deadline will have a symbol allocated under Regulation 8(6). The directive affects multiple constituencies ahead of the 13 August general elections.
- [Ebola vaccines race to trial as DRC outbreak spreads](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ebola-vaccines-research-drc-outbreak-zambia-border-2026): Three Ebola vaccine candidates are in development for the Bundibugyo strain driving the DRC outbreak that has reached Uganda, with Zambia screening at its northern border.
- [AI farm tech grows in Africa but foreign capital leads](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ai-agtech-africa-foreign-capital-dominates-2026): AI-powered agricultural technology is growing across Africa but more than 70% of investors are based outside the continent, raising questions about technological sovereignty.
- [Zambia repatriates 40 nationals as SA crisis deepens](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-repatriates-40-nationals-south-africa-xenophobia-2026): The Zambian Embassy in Pretoria repatriated 40 nationals after xenophobic threats forced families to flee KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Gauteng.
- [Kwacha breaks below K18 as copper and harvest drive gains](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kwacha-strengthens-below-k18-dollar-copper-2026): The Zambian kwacha is trading in the K17 bracket against the US dollar for the first time since 2023, driven by copper earnings, a bumper harvest, and debt reform.
- [Zambia warns against fake AI video of former president Lungu](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-warns-fake-ai-video-lungu-deepfake-2026): The Ministry of Information and Media has warned the public against sharing an AI-generated video purportedly showing former President Edgar Lungu undergoing a post-mortem examination.
- [Hichilema signs education and pension reform into law](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-signs-five-bills-education-pension-2026): Free education is now law in Zambia after President Hakainde Hichilema signed five bills that also raise the minimum pension from K1,861 to K2,327 a month.
- [Police probe 10 candidates over forged grade 12 certificates](https://kwachanews.com/writing/police-probe-10-candidates-forged-certificates-2026): The Zambia Police Service is investigating 10 aspiring parliamentary candidates for submitting forged grade 12 certificates to the Examinations Council of Zambia ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [How the visa industry profits from African applicants](https://kwachanews.com/writing/visa-industry-cost-african-travellers-2026): A handful of outsourcing firms — led by Blackstone-owned VFS Global — now run the front desk of global migration. Their profits have quadrupled on fees and add-ons that African travellers, Zambians among them, pay whether or not they are ever let in, while the EU raised visa fees 12.5% despite high African rejection rates.
- [US health grant to Zambia is not yet signed, government says](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-zambia-health-grant-not-yet-signed-2026): At a US anniversary event in Lusaka, Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa thanked Washington for a five-year, $1.5 billion health package for HIV, TB and malaria; Information PS Thabo Kawana then clarified the deal is not yet signed. The correction is small, but with US funds underwriting core disease programmes through PEPFAR, the distinction between a welcome and a signature matters.
- [African fintech and the case for building to the constraint](https://kwachanews.com/writing/african-fintech-build-for-the-constraint-mobile-money-2026): The African fintechs that last design for the basic phone, the thin data bundle and the cash that people already use — not a premium market that has not arrived. With WhatsApp near-universal and lenders like Optasia clearing $30m a day in tiny loans, the lesson lands on Zambia’s USSD-based mobile-money market more usefully than any Silicon Valley template.
- [Ramaphosa impeachment inquiry holds its first sitting](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ramaphosa-impeachment-inquiry-first-sitting-2026): A 31-member committee of South Africa’s parliament has opened the first impeachment inquiry into a sitting president, examining whether Cyril Ramaphosa should be removed over the 2020 Phala Phala theft. Convened on a Constitutional Court order, the inquiry will run for months — and Zambia, a major trading partner, is watching the rand and the region.
- [New Congress Party endorses Hichilema as parties realign](https://kwachanews.com/writing/parties-endorse-hichilema-2026-election-realignment): The New Congress Party, led by Peter Chanda, has endorsed President Hakainde Hichilema for Zambia’s 13 August election, joining a run of small parties backing the incumbent. The declarations matter in a system where the presidency is won only with more than half the vote — a contrast the governing UPND wants voters to see.
- [Petition seeks to strike 100 independents from August ballot](https://kwachanews.com/writing/independent-candidates-article-51-petition-zambia-2026): A Lusaka High Court petition by activist Isaac Mwanza and a civil-society consortium asks the court to disqualify more than 100 independent candidates for the 13 August election, arguing Article 51 bars party members from standing as independents. Named candidates include Garry Nkombo and Miles Sampa. No hearing date has been set.
- [Court to hear M'membe eligibility case on 17 June](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mmembe-banda-concourt-eligibility-hearing-2026): Zambia's Constitutional Court will hear on 17 June a petition seeking to bar the Socialist Party ticket of Fred M'membe and running mate Dolika Banda from the 13 August ballot, over whether Banda holds a Grade 12 certificate or a proven equivalent. A full bench is listed to determine the matter. The Socialist Party disputes the claim.
- [What football rules change at the 2026 World Cup?](https://kwachanews.com/writing/2026-world-cup-rule-changes-explainer): Three football rule changes arrive for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada: an eight-second limit on goalkeepers holding the ball, red cards for players who cover the mouth, and broader VAR review. The Laws are set by the IFAB and applied by FIFA — and they reach Zambian football over time.
- [What the EU carbon border tax means for Zambian copper](https://kwachanews.com/writing/eu-cbam-carbon-border-zambia-copper-2026): The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism prices the carbon embedded in selected imports. Zambia's hydro-heavy grid is a low-carbon advantage over coal-reliant rivals — but drought-driven load-shedding and diesel back-up erode it, and the live question for copper is scope expansion rather than present coverage.
- [Nigeria warns on reprisals as SA migrant tensions rise](https://kwachanews.com/writing/sa-anti-migrant-tensions-sadc-2026): Nigerian police have warned against reprisal attacks on South Africans after weeks of anti-migrant protests in South Africa, the BBC reported on 1 June 2026. For Zambia and the wider continent, the episode raises the safety of African migrants and the SADC free-movement agenda.
- [US to halve African embassies that process visas](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-africa-visa-embassy-cuts-2026): The United States will cut by more than half its embassies in Africa that process visas, the Associated Press reported on 1 June 2026. Fewer processing points mean longer journeys and waits for students, businesses, families and the diaspora — Zambians among them.
- [Anthropic's near-$1tn share sale and the AI-access gap](https://kwachanews.com/writing/anthropic-share-sale-1tn-ai-access-africa-2026): Anthropic, the US company behind the Claude assistant, plans a public share sale this year at a valuation approaching $1 trillion. For Zambia and Africa, the story is about access — the capital, infrastructure and policy terms behind a dependence on foreign frontier-AI providers.
- [Alphabet's $80bn AI raise is a copper story for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/alphabet-80bn-ai-raise-zambia-copper-2026): Alphabet said it will sell about $80bn in stock to fund artificial-intelligence plans, including a $10bn slice to Berkshire Hathaway. For Zambia the read is physical: data centres are copper-intensive, and a build-out at this scale feeds the long-run copper-demand thesis behind the mining strategy.
- [The fiscal case for health taxes in Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/health-taxation-zambia-fiscal-case-2026): Zambia faces a dual squeeze: rising debt service and falling donor health funding. Health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks offer a double dividend — more domestic revenue and fewer non-communicable diseases — but the design choices and enforcement decide how much of the promise lands.
- [Kambwili pleads guilty to leaving Zambia illegally](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kambwili-illegal-entry-guilty-plea-2026): Former Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili pleaded guilty before the Lusaka Magistrates' Court to departing Zambia without passing through immigration, a charge tied to a 2024 Zimbabwe crossing. The plea change sends the matter to sentencing on 4 June 2026.
- [Chingola dump death prompts state rescue-funding warning](https://kwachanews.com/writing/chingola-illegal-mining-death-rescue-policy-2026): A 36-year-old Chingola man, Kelvin Musebo, died in a tunnel collapse at the OB 13 KCM dumpsite while allegedly engaged in illegal mining, the police said. Separately, the Ministry of Mines says the state will no longer fund rescues of people engaged in illegal mining on the Copperbelt.
- [Velos Mining eyes a copper processing plant in Rufunsa](https://kwachanews.com/writing/velos-mining-rufunsa-copper-processing-plant-2026): Velos Mining Limited is weighing a copper processing plant in the Bunda Bunda chiefdom of Rufunsa District. The Bunda Bunda Royal Establishment has welcomed the prospect, and the plan tests Zambia’s push to add value to copper closer to source. The investment remains at a consideration stage.
- [Hichilema pledges 40,000 more health workers in second term](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-40000-health-workers-pledge-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND administration have pledged to recruit more than 40,000 additional health workers in a second term if re-elected on 13 August — a promise that turns on the public-sector wage bill.
- [Nkombo charged with assault after Mazabuka nominations](https://kwachanews.com/writing/nkombo-mazabuka-assault-charge-nominations-2026): Garry Nkombo, the former Mazabuka Central MP now standing as an independent, has been charged with two counts of assault after an altercation during UPND nominations, Southern Province police said. The case lands weeks into the 13 August election campaign.
- [What is a data centre, and why does Zambia want one?](https://kwachanews.com/writing/what-is-data-centre-zambia-national-explainer-2026): A data centre is a building full of servers that store and process digital information. Here is why Zambia wants a national one, and what reliable power and connectivity it would need.
- [What happens when a Zambian election candidate withdraws?](https://kwachanews.com/writing/candidate-withdrawal-zambia-election-explainer-2026): Candidate withdrawals have become an election-year talking point in Zambia. Here is how withdrawal works under the rules the ECZ administers, and why it has become an issue before 13 August.
- [What is a Eurobond buyback, and why is Zambia doing one?](https://kwachanews.com/writing/what-is-eurobond-buyback-zambia-explainer-2026): A Eurobond buyback is when a government repurchases its dollar bonds before they mature. Here is how Zambia's $1.36bn tender works and what it means for the economy.
- [Gold's record run is a quiet opening for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/gold-record-high-2026-zambia-reserves-mining): Gold has hit records above $5,500 an ounce as war and fiscal risk drive safe-haven demand. For Zambia, building gold reserves and a young gold-mining sector, it is an opening as much as a warning.
- [Joburg's sinkhole crisis is a warning for the Copperbelt](https://kwachanews.com/writing/johannesburg-illegal-mining-sinkholes-copperbelt-2026): Illegal mining is collapsing Johannesburg into sinkholes, costing the city billions. For Zambia's Copperbelt, with its own abandoned shafts and informal miners, it is a warning.
- [DEC seizes cannabis and codeine on a Kabwe bus](https://kwachanews.com/writing/dec-kabwe-bus-cannabis-codeine-bust-2026): Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission seized cannabis and codeine syrup hidden in the fuel tank of a Copperbelt-bound bus in Kabwe and arrested five people, in its latest trafficking interception.
- [Cholera holds in Zambia's north a year into outbreak](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-cholera-outbreak-response-2026): Nearly a year after it began in Mpulungu, Zambia's cholera outbreak is contained but persistent, centred on Northern Province. The response leans on oral vaccine and clean water.
- [Zambia ties $600m AfDB loan to 15-year grid rebuild](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-grid-resilience-afdb-debt-for-energy-2026): The $600m African Development Bank loan financing Zambia's bond buyback is tied to a 15-year National Grid Resilience Program, coordinated by GreenCo and aimed at ending load-shedding.
- [Iran war oil shock tests Zambia's fragile recovery](https://kwachanews.com/writing/iran-war-oil-shock-zambia-frontier-economy-2026): The Iran war has pushed Brent crude up more than 55% and choked the Strait of Hormuz. For fuel-importing Zambia, the global oil shock tests the kwacha, inflation and a fragile recovery.
- [Guinea's bauxite paradox holds a warning for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/guinea-bauxite-resource-curse-zambia-copper-2026): Guinea mines more bauxite than anywhere on earth yet ranks 179th on the Human Development Index. For copper-dependent Zambia, the resource-curse warning is about local linkages.
- [IBA denies banning campaign songs, sets poll rules](https://kwachanews.com/writing/iba-election-broadcast-guidance-songs-2026): Zambia's IBA denied banning campaign songs but ordered Hot FM to stop airing an inflammatory track and issued election content guidance ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [Zambia's malaria cases fall as deaths drop 40%](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-malaria-cases-fall-2026): Zambia's malaria cases fell to an estimated 9.5 million in 2024 from 11.5 million in 2023, with deaths down 40%, according to Ministry of Health data — even as the country battles a separate cholera outbreak.
- [Zambia's RightsCon cancellation rattles digital rights](https://kwachanews.com/writing/rightscon-2026-lusaka-cancelled-digital-rights): Zambia cancelled RightsCon 2026 days before it opened in Lusaka. Host Access Now blamed Chinese pressure over Taiwanese delegates; rights groups warn of shrinking civic space before the August election.
- [ERB cuts diesel, holds petrol in June fuel review](https://kwachanews.com/writing/erb-june-2026-fuel-prices-diesel-cut): Zambia's Energy Regulation Board cut diesel, kerosene and jet A-1 prices for June 2026 while holding petrol at K27.15 a litre, citing cheaper imports and a stronger kwacha.
- [Paramount Chief Mpezeni IV of the Ngoni dies at 75](https://kwachanews.com/writing/paramount-chief-mpezeni-iv-dies-ngoni-2026): Paramount Chief Mpezeni IV, the Ngoni traditional ruler of Zambia's Eastern Province, has died at 75 after a 44-year reign. Government has begun engaging the Royal Establishment on succession.
- [Zambia launches $1.36bn buyback of 2053 Eurobond](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-2053-eurobond-buyback-tender-2026): Zambia opened a cash tender offer for its $1.36bn 2053 Eurobond, part-financed by a $600m African Development Bank loan tied to a 15-year grid plan.
- [WHO logs 906 suspected Ebola cases in DRC, Zambia border](https://kwachanews.com/writing/who-drc-ebola-toll-zambia-border-2026): The World Health Organization reported 906 suspected Ebola cases and 223 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an escalation of the Bundibugyo outbreak now pressing on Zambia's northern border and Copperbelt cross-border trade.
- [Rwanda-Russia Nuclear Deal Deepens Africa's Atomic Diplomacy](https://kwachanews.com/writing/rwanda-russia-nuclear-deal-africa-energy-2026): Rwanda has signed a fresh nuclear-cooperation memorandum with Russia's Rosatom in Kigali, the latest move in a continental scramble for atomic training, research reactors and low-carbon power that Zambia joined when it contracted a nuclear science centre near Lusaka.
- [Solar Mini-Grids Light Kaumbwe in $350,000 China Donation](https://kwachanews.com/writing/solar-mini-grid-donation-kaumbwe-2026): Kaumbwe Constituency in Eastern Province has received solar mini-grid equipment worth about US$350,000 from Chinese firm Simba New Materials Technology, an off-grid route to electricity as ZESCO battles a drought-driven power deficit.
- [China Zero-Tariff Access Opens Door for Zambia's Exporters](https://kwachanews.com/writing/china-zero-tariff-zambia-exports-2026): China's zero-tariff policy now covers every African country with diplomatic ties to Beijing, including Zambia. For Lusaka the prize lies not in copper, which already entered duty-free, but in gemstones, agriculture and processed goods.
- [Hichilema Ties Private-Sector Revenue to Zambia's Growth](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-private-sector-revenue-barrick-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema has put private-sector revenue at the centre of Zambia's growth pitch, pointing to Barrick's Lumwana copper mine and its contribution to the national purse as the economy emerges from debt restructuring.
- [Lungu Burial: SCA Reserves Judgement on Repatriation](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lungu-remains-sca-reserves-judgement-2026): South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein has reserved judgement in the dispute over Edgar Lungu's remains, weighing the family's wish for a private burial against Zambia's claim to a state funeral.
- [Withdrawals redraw Zambia's 13 August parliamentary ballot](https://kwachanews.com/writing/sampa-withdraws-zambia-parliamentary-race-2026): Candidate withdrawals, factional realignments and disqualification petitions are reshaping Zambia's National Assembly contest ahead of the 13 August 2026 general election, testing the Electoral Commission of Zambia's nomination rules.
- [Analysis: 14 candidates and the 50%+1 trap](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-opposition-fragmentation-fifty-plus-one-analysis-2026): The 14-candidate Zambian presidential ballot is the most fragmented field of the constitutional 50%+1 era. The arithmetic of that fragmentation is the single most important variable in whether 13 August produces an outright winner or a run-off.
- [Brent at $99 — Hormuz crisis reaches Zambian pumps](https://kwachanews.com/writing/brent-crude-99-strait-hormuz-zambia-pump-prices-2026): Brent crude is back above $99 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz disruption deepens — the IEA calls it the biggest supply shock in oil history. Zambia's pump-price feedthrough lands in 2-6 weeks via the ERB cost-plus formula.
- [Smart Zambia and Huawei sign a national AI data centre deal](https://kwachanews.com/writing/smart-zambia-huawei-national-ai-data-centre-mobile-congress-2026): Smart Zambia and Huawei signed an MoU at the 2026 Zambia Mobile Congress for a national AI data centre, AI-powered services across all 25 ministries, and 5,000 trained ICT professionals by 2028 — the largest digital infrastructure announcement since the Smart Zambia Institute was created.
- [LME copper holds above $13,500 — what it means for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/lme-copper-13500-tonne-may-2026-zambia-royalties): LME copper spot reached $13,565.69 a tonne on 26 May and held above $13,500 through the week. US tariff-driven inventory pull and Middle East supply concerns continue to bid the metal, even as Q1 2026 Zambian output came in 4.27% below year-ago levels.
- [Zambia copper slips 4.3% in Q1 — the 3-million-tonne math](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-copper-q1-2026-down-4-percent-three-million-target): Zambia produced 208,993 tonnes of copper in Q1 2026, down 4.27% on Q1 2025. Large-scale mines posted modest gains; small-scale operations dragged the headline. The 3-million-tonne 2031 target now requires a sustained 23% annual growth rate from the 2025 base.
- [Hichilema receives six envoys, pitches trade reset](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-six-envoys-trade-investment-push-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema received Letters of Credence from envoys representing Tanzania, Indonesia, Greece, Gabon, Norway and Mexico on Tuesday, framing Zambia as a destination for equal-terms trade and investment after the close of its debt restructuring.
- [AfDB 'Made in Africa' forum opens — Zambia's exporter angle](https://kwachanews.com/writing/afdb-integrate-africa-forum-brazzaville-2026-zambia): The AfDB opened its inaugural Integrate Africa Forum in Brazzaville on Thursday under the theme 'Made in Africa, Trade in Africa', putting AfCFTA implementation and regional value chains at the heart of Africa's 2026 integration agenda.
- [ECZ sets campaign timetable for 13 August Zambia election](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-campaign-timetable-13-august-2026-general-election): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has released a constituency-level campaign timetable for the 13 August general election, running 23 May to 12 August, with the stated aim of giving all 14 presidential candidates equal access.
- [Africa Day 2026: what liberation looks like from a Zambian vantage](https://kwachanews.com/writing/africa-day-2026-liberation-zambian-vantage): Africa Day 2026 marks the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity. From Lusaka, the question is no longer political independence but economic agency — and Zambia's ledger reads better than the global headlines suggest.
- [HEA urges Zambian universities to embrace AI — responsibly](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hea-zambia-tertiary-ai-responsible-adoption-2026): Zambia's Higher Education Authority is calling on universities and colleges to put artificial intelligence into curriculum, research and administration — but with explicit guardrails on academic integrity, equity of access and faculty preparedness.
- [Brent crude slips on US-Iran signals — implications for Zambia's pumps](https://kwachanews.com/writing/brent-crude-falls-us-iran-zambia-fuel-2026): Brent crude has fallen on mixed signals around a possible US-Iran peace deal, dragging the imported-fuel cost line in Zambia's pricing model lower and easing pressure on the Energy Regulation Board ahead of its next monthly review.
- [Moody's lifts South Africa rating outlook — what it means for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/moodys-south-africa-upgrade-zambia-bond-implications-2026): Moody's has raised its outlook on South Africa's sovereign rating to positive while keeping the rating in sub-investment grade — a move that loosens regional bond spreads and may help Zambia's ongoing restructuring story at the margin.
- [NGOCC says political violence is keeping women out of Zambia's elections](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ngocc-women-political-violence-zambia-2026): Political violence and online intimidation are deterring women from contesting and campaigning in Zambia's 2026 election cycle, the Non-Governmental Gender Organisations Coordinating Council said on Monday — and the coalition is calling on the ECZ, the Zambia Police Service and the political parties to act before nomination momentum is lost.
- [ECZ commends peaceful Muchinga nominations as campaign opens](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-muchinga-peaceful-nominations-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has commended electoral officers and candidates in Muchinga Province for what it called peaceful and orderly nomination filings, setting it up as a benchmark for the remaining provinces ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [Hichilema frees over 1,500 inmates in Africa Freedom Day clemency](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-africa-freedom-day-clemency-2026): President Hakainde Hichilema has exercised the constitutional prerogative of mercy on more than 1,500 inmates to mark Africa Freedom Day, with non-violent offenders and those nearing the end of their sentences making up the bulk of the release.
- [Zambia steps up DRC border screening after WHO Ebola alert](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-drc-ebola-border-screening-2026): The World Health Organization declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda a global health emergency on 17 May, with 80 deaths reported and no licensed vaccine for the strain. Zambia is now screening arrivals at Kasumbalesa, Kashiba, Mokambo, Jimbe and Chembe — the five border posts that handle most road traffic with the DRC, including the copper and cobalt that move down the North-South corridor.
- [Samukonga builds Zambia's first athletics academy](https://kwachanews.com/writing/samukonga-zambia-first-athletics-academy): Muzala Samukonga, Zambia's Olympic 400m bronze medallist and 2022 Commonwealth champion, is building what his team describes as Zambia's first athletics academy, a project nearing launch that aims to give aspiring athletes the foundations and opportunities to succeed at home. The athlete-led venture targets a long-standing gap in Zambian sport: raw talent without the facilities, coaching and pathways that turn it into international results. It arrives as Samukonga, still only in his early twenties, anchors a new generation of Zambian track athletes.
- [Africa sends a record nine teams to the 2026 World Cup](https://kwachanews.com/writing/world-cup-2026-africa-nine-teams-zambia): The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first with 48 teams and co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, hands Africa a record nine automatic places plus an inter-confederation play-off slot, nearly double its presence at Qatar 2022. Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde are among the qualifiers. Zambia is not: the Chipolopolo finished fourth in their group behind Morocco, leaving the 2012 African champions still chasing a first men's World Cup as the 2030 cycle approaches.
- [A hawkish Fed and record gold squeeze frontier borrowers](https://kwachanews.com/writing/fed-hawkish-gold-record-frontier-markets-zambia): The US Federal Reserve held its policy rate at 3.5–3.75% for a third straight meeting in April 2026 on an 8-4 vote, and markets now see a real chance the next move is a hike rather than a cut as an energy shock revives inflation. Gold has surged past $4,700, with banks forecasting $5,000 or more. For frontier borrowers such as Zambia, higher-for-longer US rates raise the cost of external debt — but a record copper price and a strong kwacha are cushioning the squeeze.
- [Washington Accords falter as M23 fighting drags on](https://kwachanews.com/writing/drc-rwanda-washington-accords-minerals-zambia): The US-brokered Washington Accords between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, signed in December 2025, are faltering: Washington sanctioned Rwandan commanders in March 2026, the M23 rebel group remains outside the deal in a separate Doha process, and fighting in eastern Congo has intensified. The conflict sits on top of the world's richest cobalt and copper ground, which is why the outcome shapes the critical-minerals contest, the Lobito Corridor and Zambia's own position in the regional Copperbelt.
- [AfDB's first Brazzaville meetings test Ould Tah's agenda](https://kwachanews.com/writing/afdb-annual-meetings-2026-brazzaville-zambia): The African Development Bank holds its 61st Annual Meetings, alongside the 52nd African Development Fund meeting, at the Kintele International Conference Center near Brazzaville from 25 to 29 May 2026. It is the first gathering under President Sidi Ould Tah, elected in May 2025, and centres on a push to scale up co-financing across the continent. For Zambia — where the Bank helps fund energy, transport and agriculture — the resource-mobilisation agenda shapes how much concessional money flows toward national projects.
- [What Anthropic's enterprise-AI surge means for Zambian SMEs](https://kwachanews.com/writing/anthropic-enterprise-ai-surge-claude-zambian-smes): Anthropic's enterprise business is running past $30 billion a year, up from about $9 billion at the end of 2025, on the back of Claude Opus 4.7, deals such as KPMG rolling Claude out to 276,000 staff, and a $200 million Gates Foundation partnership. Its new Claude for Small Business pushes the model into tools Zambian firms already use — QuickBooks, PayPal, HubSpot, Canva and Microsoft 365. This analysis weighs what the enterprise-AI surge means for Zambian SMEs, and the connectivity and cost gaps that still stand in the way.
- [MTN Zambia and Starlink put mobile money on satellite](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mtn-zambia-starlink-direct-to-cell-fintech): MTN Zambia and SpaceX's Starlink have completed Zambia's first satellite data session and first mobile-money transaction over a satellite link, routed through MTN's MoMo platform to a standard smartphone with no special hardware. MTN Zambia became the first African operator to finish Starlink Direct-to-Cell testing and is targeting commercial service within weeks, pending approval from the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority. The technology promises to extend payments and connectivity to rural areas terrestrial networks have never reached.
- [What Zambia's kwacha-only payment rule means for business](https://kwachanews.com/writing/boz-kwacha-only-settlement-directive-2026): The Bank of Zambia's Currency Directives, 2025 require that all domestic transactions in Zambia are settled in kwacha rather than US dollars, even where a contract is priced in a foreign currency. Issued under the Bank of Zambia Act, 2022 and effective from 26 December 2025, the rule converts foreign-currency contracts at the market rate, exempts banking, securities, insurance and specified mining flows, and carries penalties of up to 2,500 penalty units or two years' imprisonment. This explainer sets out how the kwacha-only rule works and who it affects.
- [Zambian inflation back inside the 6-8% target band](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-inflation-returns-target-band-2026): Zambian consumer inflation fell to 7.5% year-on-year in February 2026, its lowest since June 2018 and the first reading inside the Bank of Zambia's 6-8% target band since April 2019. A kwacha that has strengthened around 30% against the dollar and a maize harvest that more than doubled to 3.7 million tonnes pulled food and import prices down. Lower inflation eases the cost of living and gives the central bank room on its 14% policy rate, though an oil-price shock remains the main risk to the outlook.
- [Zambia's copper output set to pass one million tonnes](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-copper-output-one-million-tonnes-2026): Zambia's copper output is forecast to pass one million tonnes in 2026, with Fitch Solutions projecting a 10% rise as expansion projects at Barrick's Lumwana, Konkola Copper Mines, Mopani and Lubambe add around 400,000 tonnes a year at full ramp-up. The milestone underpins GDP growth near 6.4%, lifts mineral royalties and supports the kwacha, and marks a step toward the government's stated target of three million tonnes by 2031. Power supply remains the central risk to the forecast.
- [Copper hits record above $13,000 on US tariff rush](https://kwachanews.com/writing/copper-record-13000-us-tariff-zambia): Copper hit a record above $13,000 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange in 2026, with a record $6.69 a pound on the US Comex on 13 May, as buyers rushed to import metal ahead of further US Section 232 tariffs. For Zambia, where copper is the dominant export, the rally lifts mineral royalties, strengthens the kwacha and eases debt servicing — though most Zambian exports are exempt from the duty driving the price. A US Commerce Department review on refined-copper tariffs is due by 30 June 2026.
- [Hichilema files as Zambia's presidential nominations close](https://kwachanews.com/writing/hichilema-files-zambia-presidential-nominations-close): Zambia's five-day presidential nomination window closes on 22 May 2026 at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, with President Hakainde Hichilema filing for the UPND alongside opposition leaders Harry Kalaba, Fred M'membe, Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu. The Electoral Commission of Zambia validates each nomination against Article 100 of the Constitution before publishing the final candidate list. The next milestone is the opening of the campaign period ahead of the 13 August general election.
- [How to challenge a Zambian presidential result](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-presidential-election-petition-concourt): Once the Electoral Commission declares a presidential winner, the result is not automatically final. Under Article 101 of the Constitution, it can be challenged — but only by petition to the Constitutional Court, filed within seven days of the declaration, and the court must hear and decide it within fourteen. The compressed timeline has been the most contested feature of Zambian election law since 2016. Here is how the petition route works and why the clock matters so much.
- [What Zambia's Electoral Code of Conduct bans](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-electoral-code-of-conduct-explained): The campaign for 13 August is governed by more than goodwill. Zambia's Electoral Code of Conduct is a binding legal instrument under the Electoral Process Act that sets the rules of the contest — barring violence and intimidation, hate speech, vote-buying and the abuse of state resources, while guaranteeing equal access to public media. The Electoral Commission of Zambia enforces it through conflict-management committees. Here is what the Code covers and what happens when it is broken.
- [The 50%+1 rule: how Zambia elects a president](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-50-percent-plus-one-presidential-rule): Zambia does not elect a president on a simple plurality. Under the Constitution, a candidate must win more than 50% of all valid votes cast — the 50%-plus-one rule. If no candidate clears that bar on 13 August, the top two go to a run-off within 37 days. The rule, introduced in the 2016 constitutional amendments, reshaped Zambian presidential politics. Here is how the threshold, the run-off and the timelines actually work.
- [Why a presidential bid needs backers in all 10 provinces](https://kwachanews.com/writing/presidential-supporters-ten-province-rule-ecz): To stand for president in Zambia, a candidate cannot rely on a single regional base. The Constitution requires the nomination to be supported by registered voters from each of the country's ten provinces — a deliberate test of national reach. The Electoral Commission of Zambia ran provincial pre-processing of presidential supporters from 11 to 15 May 2026 to verify those backers before nominations. Here is how the rule works and why it exists.
- [ECZ certifies Zambia's voters' roll for August 13](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-certifies-register-of-voters-2026): The Electoral Commission of Zambia certified the Register of Voters on 4 May 2026 — the formal legal step that fixes the list of who is eligible to vote in the 13 August general election. Certification closes the register to further changes and becomes the single source of truth used at every polling station. It is one of the quieter milestones in the electoral calendar, and one of the most consequential: no name on the certified roll, no vote.
- [Modi, Norway and the storm over India's press freedom](https://kwachanews.com/writing/modi-norway-media-india-press-freedom): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to avoid the media during a Norway visit has set off a storm over press freedom in the world's largest democracy. The incident itself is minor — a skipped joint press conference. The reaction is the story: it crystallised long-running concern about the space for independent journalism in India. For readers tracking how democracies handle scrutiny, the episode is a useful marker, and the press-freedom question travels well beyond India.
- [US charges a shipping-container cartel: why Zambia cares](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-charges-chinese-shipping-container-cartel): The United States has charged seven Chinese executives and four firms with running an illegal shipping-container cartel. The case is about price-fixing in the boxes that move global trade. For landlocked Zambia, freight is a tax on everything imported — fuel, machinery, medicines, consumer goods — and anything that distorts the cost of containers and shipping reaches the Zambian shelf price. Here is why a US antitrust case matters in Lusaka.
- [AfCON 2027 qualifying: what awaits Zambia's Chipolopolo](https://kwachanews.com/writing/afcon-2027-qualifying-zambia-chipolopolo-path): The Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying draw has produced its first headline pairings, with Ghana drawn to face Ivory Coast in a group of real weight. For Zambia's Chipolopolo, the qualifying campaign is the next test of a rebuild that has promised more than it has delivered at senior men's level. Here is how AfCON qualifying works, where Zambia stands, and what the campaign needs to look like.
- [Zambia activates Ebola response centres after DRC toll rises](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-activates-ebola-response-centres-drc): Zambia has activated its Ebola response centres as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo worsens, with the death toll in eastern Congo rising and the World Health Organization warning the virus may be spreading faster than first thought. Zambia does not share a border with the affected Ituri region, but the cross-border traffic through the copper corridor makes preparedness, not panic, the correct posture. Here is what activation means and why it matters.
- [Zambia eyes a new IMF programme after August polls](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-imf-successor-programme-after-polls): Zambia's current IMF programme is winding toward its end, and Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says the government is confident of clinching a successor arrangement after the 13 August general election. The framing is deliberate: a new programme is being lined up for after the vote, not before it. For a country still consolidating a post-default fiscal path, the continuity of an IMF anchor is the variable markets and lenders are watching most closely.
- [ECZ extends nomination window for MPs and mayors](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-extends-nomination-window-mps-mayors): The Electoral Commission of Zambia has extended the nomination period for National Assembly, mayoral and council-chairperson candidates ahead of the 13 August general election. The presidential window closed on schedule; this extension covers the down-ballot races. The move buys parties more time to finalise adoptions, but it also tightens the calendar that follows — objections, the courts and the gazette all have to happen before campaigning proper begins.
- [Trust is the scarce asset as Zambian banks adopt AI](https://kwachanews.com/writing/banking-trust-age-of-ai-zambia): Banks everywhere are pushing AI into credit decisions, fraud detection and customer service. The technology is real and the efficiency gains are real. But a Daily Maverick reflection makes the sharper point: in an AI age, trust is the scarce asset, and a bank that automates faster than it earns trust is building on sand. For Zambia, where banking confidence is still being built, the sequence matters more than the speed.
- [Zambia moves to professionalise its mobile-money agents](https://kwachanews.com/writing/payz-mobile-money-agent-training-manual): The mobile-money agent — the person at the kiosk who turns cash into digital value and back — is the most important node in Zambia's financial system. A new agent training manual from the Payments Association of Zambia marks a shift: the agent network is being treated as a profession with standards, not an informal patchwork. The move matters because agents are where financial inclusion, fraud risk and consumer trust all meet.
- [The bond reckoning, the AI mirage and Zambia's rates](https://kwachanews.com/writing/bond-reckoning-ai-mirage-zambia-borrowing): Two forces dominate global markets: a bond reckoning, as investors demand higher yields to hold government debt, and an AI investment mania driving a capital-spending boom. They pull in opposite directions. The resolution sets the global cost of capital — and for a frontier borrower like Zambia, the global cost of capital is the gravity that sets domestic borrowing rates. Here is the tension, decoded, and why it reaches Lusaka.
- [What Zambia's GRZ bond secondary market tells you](https://kwachanews.com/writing/grz-bond-secondary-market-seczambia-trade-summaries): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zambia now publishes daily GRZ bond secondary-market trade summary reports. They are dry documents. They are also one of the clearest windows into the cost of money in Zambia: where government bond yields sit, how much trading is happening, and what investors think of the fiscal path. Here is how to read the secondary market, and why its liquidity matters far beyond the trading desk.
- [UN cuts global growth forecast: Zambia's exposure](https://kwachanews.com/writing/un-cuts-global-growth-forecast-zambia-copper): The United Nations has cut its 2026 global growth forecast, citing the Middle East crisis and elevated oil prices as the main drags. For Zambia, a downgraded world outlook is not an abstraction. It transmits directly through three channels: copper demand and price, the kwacha exchange rate, and the fuel-import bill that feeds domestic inflation. The size of each channel decides how much a weaker world costs Lusaka.
- [SA citrus overtakes Spain: the lesson for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/sa-citrus-overtakes-spain-zambia-agri-export): South Africa has overtaken Spain to become the world's leading citrus exporter, a milestone built on two decades of variety investment, cold-chain logistics and market-access diplomacy. For Zambia — where agriculture is the second-largest employer but exports stay narrow — the South African route is the most relevant playbook on the continent. The lesson is not the fruit. It is the system behind it.
- [Egypt's Amina Orfi wins PSA world squash at 18](https://kwachanews.com/writing/amina-orfi-psa-world-squash-champion-egypt): Amina Orfi, 18, beat compatriot Nour El-Sherbini in a five-game final to win the PSA World Championship title in Giza on 17 May 2026. The result hands Africa another title in a sport the continent has quietly dominated for two decades. For Zambian sports administrators, the story is the long-term institutional model that Egyptian squash has built — and what an African individual-sport pipeline actually looks like at full strength.
- [Panama at World Cup 2026: small-economy lessons for FAZ](https://kwachanews.com/writing/panama-fifa-world-cup-2026-small-economy-lessons): Panama qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 — the country's second appearance in eight years. The football economics here are not glamorous: Panama has roughly four million people and a GDP smaller than several African economies. What it did with the sport — federation governance, diaspora pipeline, club investment — is the kind of small-economy story Zambia's Football Association of Zambia and broader sport administrators should be reading carefully.
- [Google I/O 2026 opens with AI direction at the centre](https://kwachanews.com/writing/google-io-2026-opens-ai-direction-centre): Google I/O 2026 opened on 19 May, with the company's developer conference positioned by its own event page as the year's flagship. Gemini and broader AI updates are widely expected to define the agenda.
- [Ten AI stories from May 2026 and what they mean for Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ai-may-2026-ten-developments-zambia): From GPT-5.5 to robotics livestreams to the AI for Good Global Summit, the May 2026 AI cycle is too big for any single launch story. Here is the month, and what it means for Zambia.
- [OpenAI launches GPT-5.5 for real work on a computer](https://kwachanews.com/writing/openai-launches-gpt-5-5-april-2026): OpenAI introduced GPT-5.5 on 22 April 2026, framing the model as a step toward real work on a computer rather than chatbot back-and-forth. A safety system card shipped alongside.
- [Ilara Health is quietly wiring Africa's primary clinics](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ilara-health-primary-care-infrastructure-africa): Ilara Health is the Kenya-based health-tech firm that has spent the past five years equipping small private clinics across East Africa with diagnostic devices, working capital and management software. The play is unflashy and durable. Five thousand clinics later, the company is one of East Africa's most significant primary-care networks. For Zambia, where private clinics carry an outsized share of urban primary care, the model is directly applicable.
- [Cape Town protest at Castle of Good Hope marks Nakba](https://kwachanews.com/writing/cape-town-castle-good-hope-nakba-protest): Protesters in Cape Town gathered at the Castle of Good Hope — the oldest colonial building still standing in South Africa — on 17 May 2026 to mark the Nakba, the 1948 displacement of Palestinians that produced the modern refugee question. Al Jazeera carried the demonstration. The choice of venue, on the date Palestinians worldwide commemorate as the catastrophe, ties South Africa's own anti-colonial reading to its position on the International Court of Justice case against Israel.
- [What Zambia's parliament must finish before August 13](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-parliament-legislative-agenda-august-13): The Twelfth National Assembly is in its closing sittings before Zambia's 13 August general election dissolves it. A short list of bills is now in active progress through committee and second reading — the Public Gatherings Bill, the supplementary budget, electoral reform amendments and statutory instruments tied to the next fiscal year. What passes before August matters; what stalls waits for the Thirteenth Assembly that the election produces.
- [How Zambia's presidential nomination process actually works](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-presidential-nomination-process-explainer): The Electoral Commission of Zambia opened the presidential nomination window for the 13 August 2026 general election on 18 May. The process runs five working days. The legal framework sits in the Constitution and the Electoral Process Act, the document checklist is specific and unforgiving, and what happens after a candidate is filed is a defined sequence of objection, adjudication and final acceptance.
- [Wits scientists push Southern-led climate scenarios](https://kwachanews.com/writing/wits-southern-led-climate-scenarios-research): Climate modelling is the field Wits University's Professor Laura Pereira and a global team of scientists now want to rewrite. Their argument is that the dominant scenarios used by the IPCC and most climate finance institutions encode Western economic assumptions that miss Africa's polycrisis dynamics. The proposed alternative is Integrated Transformative Scenarios — a research agenda built to give the Global South authorship of its own climate futures.
- [What replaces cheques in Zambia after 24 June](https://kwachanews.com/writing/replace-cheques-zambia-fintech-explainer): From 24 June 2026, Zambian commercial banks stop processing cheques. The Bank of Zambia phase-out is final, the rationale is sound — cheques are the slowest, most fraud-prone payment rail in the system — and the practical question for businesses is what to use instead. The answer is a three-rail mix: real-time gross settlement (RTGS) for large payments, the Zambia Electronic Funds Transfer (ZEFT) system for routine batched flows, and mobile money for everything small.
- [Africa Soft Power Summit in Nairobi: creative finance](https://kwachanews.com/writing/africa-soft-power-summit-nairobi-2026): The Africa Soft Power Summit runs in Nairobi from 20 to 23 May 2026, drawing investors, creators, policymakers and technologists around a single question: when finance, creativity and human capital compound together, what becomes investable? For Zambia — whose creative economy sits behind only mining and agriculture in informal earnings but barely registers in formal capital allocation — the answer matters.
- [Ethiopia's quiet tech awakening: lessons for the LuSE](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ethiopia-capital-market-reforms-luse-lessons): Ethiopia spent two decades as Africa's most state-owned major economy. The government is now unwinding the telecoms monopoly, opening the banking sector to foreign players and standing up a proper capital market for the first time. African Business calls it a 'hidden tech awakening'. For Zambia and the Lusaka Securities Exchange, the lesson is in the sequencing — what Ethiopia is doing now is what Zambian markets pulled off a generation earlier, and the reverse-engineering opportunities are real.
- [McKinsey's $5tn agentic-AI retail call reaches Zambia](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mckinsey-agentic-ai-african-retail-zambia): Agentic AI — software that can plan and take multi-step actions on a shopper's behalf — is the next platform shift in retail, according to a new McKinsey and ICSC report carried by African Business. The headline number is $5 trillion in unlocked global retail revenue by 2030. Zambian retailers, mostly mid-sized and offline-dominant, are not the target audience for that scenario. They are the next-door audience: the businesses agentic AI will reach through Africa's mobile-money rails before the average shop owner has read a slide deck.
- [Afreximbank's 33rd AGM in Alamein: what Zambia is watching](https://kwachanews.com/writing/afreximbank-33rd-agm-alamein-zambia-stakes): Afreximbank's 33rd Annual Meetings open in Alamein from 21 to 24 June 2026 under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's patronage, with more than 3,000 delegates expected. For Zambia — a long-standing member state and one of the bank's busiest trade-finance counterparties — the meetings matter for AfCFTA payments, the Lobito Corridor pipeline and the next phase of intra-African settlement.
- [Bank of Zambia ends cheque payments from 24 June 2026](https://kwachanews.com/writing/boz-ends-cheques-june-24-2026): LUSAKA — The Bank of Zambia is closing the cheque system. Circular 08/2024 sets 24 June 2026 as the last day customers can deposit a cheque at any commercial bank.
- [Oil at $110 puts the kwacha and Zambian inflation in the firing line](https://kwachanews.com/writing/oil-iran-kwacha-zambian-inflation-analysis): LUSAKA — Brent crude is back above $110 a barrel after Donald Trump's latest warning to Iran and that is the variable Zambian fuel prices and the kwacha will struggle to absorb.
- [US and South Africa minerals talks shift the board around Zambia's copper](https://kwachanews.com/writing/us-south-africa-minerals-talks-zambia-copper-position): LUSAKA — The latest round of US–South Africa critical-minerals talks is a fresh entry on a board where Zambia is already a named player through the trilateral MoU and the Lobito Corridor.
- [WHO declares Bundibugyo Ebola in DRC and Uganda a global health emergency](https://kwachanews.com/writing/who-ebola-pheic-drc-uganda-zambia-border): GENEVA — The World Health Organization declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May.
- [Russian Rosatom pushes uranium plan that threatens southern African aquifer](https://kwachanews.com/writing/rosatom-uranium-stampriet-aquifer-southern-africa): JOHANNESBURG — A Rosatom subsidiary is seeking permits to mine uranium by injecting sulphuric acid into the Stampriet aquifer, the largest transboundary groundwater body in southern Africa.
- [Zambia opens five-day presidential nomination window for August 13 polls](https://kwachanews.com/writing/ecz-presidential-nominations-open-august-13-polls): LUSAKA — The Electoral Commission of Zambia opens a five-day presidential nomination window today, the formal start of the campaign period for general elections set for 13 August.
- [BoZ Governor Kalyalya: 'difficult to determine' whether kwacha will keep appreciating](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kalyalya-kwacha-appreciation-difficult-to-forecast): Bank of Zambia Governor Denny Kalyalya says the central bank does not forecast the exchange rate and that whether the kwacha keeps appreciating depends on underlying export earnings, fiscal discipline and investor sentiment.
- [Police detective: gun, 35 rounds, axe found in M'membe's vehicle after Serenje fracas](https://kwachanews.com/writing/mmembe-firearm-case-detective-testimony): A Lusaka High Court witness has told the M'membe firearm trial that a search of the Socialist Party president's vehicle, after a 2023 by-election fracas in Serenje, uncovered a CZ97B pistol, 35 rounds of ammunition, a metal axe, a catapult and pepper spray.
- [Zambia has signed 19 PPP projects worth $9.1bn since 2022, Treasury says](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-19-ppp-projects-9-1-billion-since-2022): Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says the UPND government has signed 19 Public-Private Partnership projects worth $9.1 billion since 2022, with $1.7 billion already returned to the Treasury and a 51-project pipeline worth another $5.1 billion.
- [Chikote bids farewell: 'Zambia is destined to become a regional energy hub'](https://kwachanews.com/writing/chikote-leaves-strong-foundation-energy): Outgoing Energy Minister Makozo Chikote, departing cabinet to seek a fresh parliamentary mandate, says Zambia is "destined to become a major energy hub in the region" and that the team he leaves behind has plans for Middle East-driven petroleum disruption.
- [IMF to Zambia: restore TAZAMA open access — fuel premium halved when it ran](https://kwachanews.com/writing/imf-zambia-restore-tazama-open-access): The IMF is urging Zambia to restore the TAZAMA pipeline open-access framework, suspended in response to Middle East conflict, and to publish emergency-procurement terms. Mission chief Edward Gemayel says open access had previously cut fuel-import premia by about 50%.
- [Supp budget brought forward to beat Cabinet dissolution, Treasury says](https://kwachanews.com/writing/supplementary-budget-26-billion-nkulukusa): Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says the K26.3 billion supplementary budget came early because Cabinet will dissolve in June, MPs will be sworn in in August, and waiting until September would leave wages, allowances and farmer payments unfunded.
- [Zambia clinches $460m debt restructuring deal with Israel](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-israel-460m-debt-restructuring-deal): Zambia has signed a bilateral agreement with Israel to restructure US$460 million in debt owed to the Israeli state-backed insurer ASHRA. Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane called the deal proof of fiscal discipline; the repayment window runs to 2043.
- [Kansanshi spent $21m on local suppliers in Q1, names contract renewals](https://kwachanews.com/writing/kansanshi-21-million-local-procurement-q1-2026): Kansanshi Mining PLC says it spent about US$21 million on local procurement in the first quarter of 2026, drawing supply from 553 local companies and renewing contracts with named suppliers including Cable Network Solutions and Blue Lithium Communications.
- [Analysis: Zambia 'must own 60% of mines' to make China tariff waiver pay](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-china-tariff-waiver-60-percent-mines-hambayi): Economist Trevor Hambayi argues Zambia must own at least 60% of its mines and bypass European intermediaries to benefit from China's new zero-tariff policy. Fellow economist Bright Chizonde calls for an outright suspension of raw-material exports.
- [Zambia passes Public Gatherings Bill; threshold raised from 3 to 7 at Committee Stage](https://kwachanews.com/writing/national-assembly-passes-public-gatherings-bill): Zambia's National Assembly has passed the Public Gatherings Bill, with the threshold for required police notification amended at Committee Stage from three to seven persons. Critics call it the death of democracy; the government says it preserves order.
- [How a single call from Lusaka unwound RightsCon 2026](https://kwachanews.com/writing/rightscon-organisers-china-intervened-analysis): RightsCon director Nikki Gladstone says a Zambian official told her diplomats from the People's Republic of China had pressured Lusaka to exclude Taiwanese participants. Analysts say Beijing is more willing to use its leverage in Africa.
- [Zambia accuses US of tying $2bn health deal to mineral access](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-rejects-us-health-deal-minerals-link): Zambia is accusing the United States of linking a $2 billion health assistance deal to access to its critical minerals, in a sharpening dispute that opens a window on Donald Trump's transactional approach to African aid.
- [RightsCon cancelled after Chinese pressure to exclude Taiwan](https://kwachanews.com/writing/rightscon-2026-cancelled-china-taiwan-pressure): Access Now cancelled RightsCon 2026 days before its Zambia opening, saying the government had been pressured by China to exclude Taiwanese activists.
- [Six decades on, Zambia confronts a quieter racism](https://kwachanews.com/writing/zambia-race-pan-african-principles-revisited): Zambians say subtle, everyday racism makes them feel like second-class citizens more than 60 years after independence. The government denies a problem; historians say the bias has gone underground.
- [Female political aspirants asked for sex for selection, official says](https://kwachanews.com/writing/female-candidates-sextortion-zambia-elections): Mainga Kabika, the civil-service head of the gender division in Zambia's presidency, says aspiring female candidates have reported being asked for sexual favours in exchange for selection ahead of August's general election.

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