Hichilema urges Copperbelt voters, directs Kabwe road fix

KITWE — President Hakainde Hichilema is campaigning across Zambia's Copperbelt, telling voters here his government has delivered the jobs and mining gains it promised in 2021.

The rally on Tuesday was one stop in a wider swing. The same day, Hichilema addressed separate crowds in Masaiti and Mpongwe districts with a starker warning about the opposition, and a day earlier, in Kabwe, he directed a stalled road contractor to move faster. Together the three stops show an incumbent leaning on delivery and infrastructure as the 13 August vote nears.

Kitwe: mining and jobs message

Speaking at a rally at Kitwe Playing Fields on Tuesday, Hichilema said his administration had delivered on its major 2021 campaign promises, pointing to a revitalised mining sector and new jobs, State House said in a statement on 7 July. Rising mining production and a new local-content law were driving the Copperbelt's recovery and employment, Hichilema told the crowd.

The rally continues a pattern Kwacha News has tracked through the campaign: Hichilema's re-election bid, launched in late June, has leaned heavily on the Copperbelt's mining recovery and on road and health infrastructure. In Kitwe, he also dismissed opposition criticism of the government's record and cautioned against political misinformation, pledging continued investment in healthcare and infrastructure alongside civil service salary increases as the economy grows.

Thanking Copperbelt residents for their role in putting the UPND into office in 2021, Hichilema used his popular campaign nickname to make the point directly.

You stood with Bally, and Bally stands with you.

— President Hakainde Hichilema, addressing supporters at Kitwe Playing Fields, <a href="https://www.sh.gov.zm/support-the-government-that-delivers-president-hichilema-urges-kitwe-voters/">State House, 7 July 2026</a>

Masaiti and Mpongwe: free education and a warning

Hichilema carried a different message to Masaiti and Mpongwe districts the same day, addressing crowds separately at Lubendo Primary School in Kafulafuta constituency and at Mpongwe Combined School ground. He urged both crowds to make the "right decision" on 13 August and not to "play with the vote," State House reported.

The warning was blunt: a return to opposition rule would undo Zambia's economic recovery and return the country to debt, Hichilema said.

The people who created those problems are known. They brought debt, and we resolved it. Going back will only create problems for yourselves.

— President Hakainde Hichilema, Kafulafuta constituency, Masaiti district, <a href="https://www.sh.gov.zm/vote-upnd-to-safeguard-free-education-jobs-president-hichilema-urges-copperbelt-voters/">State House, 7 July 2026</a>

Hichilema pointed to the free education law, which he said has enabled 2.5 million children to return to school, as a gain a UPND vote would protect. He also linked the message to jobs for unemployed graduates.

If you are an unemployed teacher or nurse, you are next. Whether you are a technician or plumber, your time is now. Be the first in the queue so that you get a job.

— President Hakainde Hichilema, Mpongwe Combined School ground, <a href="https://www.sh.gov.zm/vote-upnd-to-safeguard-free-education-jobs-president-hichilema-urges-copperbelt-voters/">State House, 7 July 2026</a>

On agriculture, Hichilema announced an expansion of the Farmer Input Support Programme to reach more small-scale farmers, with a promise of adequate fertiliser distribution. He also pointed to ongoing road projects, efforts to resolve water shortages, and the construction of schools and market shelters as evidence of the UPND's delivery record, and dismissed claims that he had endorsed independent candidates: "We only support UPND candidates from councillors to the presidency. I have not endorsed any independent candidate," he said, according to State House.

Kabwe: pressure on a stalled contractor

A day before the Copperbelt rallies, on Monday, Hichilema addressed residents of Kabwe, in Central Province, and turned to infrastructure rather than campaign rhetoric. He directs the same contractor building the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway to also fix the city's township roads, Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) reported, after expressing concern at the slow pace of the works.

We have included Kabwe township roads in the construction of the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway, the contractor is moving slowly, but from today, I will tell them to speed up the works.

— President Hakainde Hichilema, addressing Kabwe residents, <a href="https://www.zanis.gov.zm/?p=4807">ZANIS, 6 July 2026</a>

Hichilema also assured residents of Kabwe's Makululu compound that the government would address water shortages, saying better water reticulation was needed alongside continued job creation. He told the gathering the government had restructured the economy in a way that would allow it to create more jobs, and urged Kabwe residents to back UPND candidates in the 13 August general election.

Background

Hichilema is seeking a second term at the 13 August general election, in a field of registered candidates that includes Tonse Pamodzi's Brian Mundubile. Kwacha News has reported on UPND unity efforts in the Copperbelt and Muchinga earlier in the campaign, and the president has carried a similar delivery message to North-Western Province in recent weeks.

The Copperbelt and Central Province are both considered competitive ground, having swung between parties in past elections. The Kitwe, Masaiti and Mpongwe stops sit inside Copperbelt Province, while Kabwe is the capital of Central Province; the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway that Hichilema referenced in Kabwe runs through both. The swing is part of Kwacha News's continuing politics coverage of the run-up to the vote.

What to watch

The test now is delivery, not rhetoric. Watch whether the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway contractor speeds up work on Kabwe's township roads as directed, whether Masaiti and Mpongwe farmers see the promised Farmer Input Support Programme expansion before the growing season, and how opposition parties respond to Hichilema's warning about a return to debt. The next data point is 13 August itself.

Sources

State House: "Support the Government That Delivers: President Hichilema Urges Kitwe Voters," 7 July 2026; "Vote UPND to safeguard free education, jobs – President Hichilema urges Copperbelt voters," 7 July 2026. Zambia News and Information Services: "President Hichilema urges contractor to work on Kabwe township roads," 6 July 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions readers have been asking about the president's Copperbelt and Central Province swing. Short answers follow, drawn from State House and ZANIS.

What is Hichilema's message to Copperbelt voters?

In short, the message is delivery: at a rally at Kitwe Playing Fields on 7 July, Hichilema said his government had met its 2021 promises on jobs and mining, and in Masaiti and Mpongwe the same day he tied that record to the free education law, according to State House. The data he cited was rising mining output, a new local-content law and the return of 2.5 million children to school.

How does the Kabwe road directive work?

Simply put, Hichilema told the contractor building the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway to extend its work to Kabwe's township roads, saying on 6 July that progress had been too slow, according to Zambia News and Information Services. The directive does not create a new contract; it adds scope to the existing one and leans on the same firm to move faster.

Why is the Masaiti and Mpongwe warning significant?

The answer is that it frames 13 August as a choice about debt and stability. Hichilema told crowds at Lubendo Primary School and Mpongwe Combined School that "the people who created those problems are known" and that a return to opposition rule would undo the recovery, according to State House, leaving little room for a protest vote in a province both sides are contesting.

Who is affected by the Copperbelt and Kabwe pledges?

In other words, three groups: Copperbelt commuters on the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway corridor, Kabwe's Makululu compound residents awaiting improved water reticulation, and unemployed teachers, nurses, technicians and plumbers Hichilema said would be "next in the queue" for jobs as the economy grows.

What are the risks facing this campaign swing?

Analysis of the president's own remarks shows the main risk is credibility on delivery timelines: the Kabwe road contractor has already been found to be behind schedule, and the promised water and jobs gains will be measured against results before voters decide. The key is whether infrastructure promises made on the campaign trail are kept once the votes are counted on 13 August.