Hichilema urges Zambezi to back UPND on economic record

ZAMBEZI — President Hakainde Hichilema urged Zambezi District residents to vote UPND on 13 August, saying the party's economic record is reason to sustain the government.

Speaking to residents during a campaign stop in Zambezi, in North-Western Province, Hichilema framed the 2026 general election as a choice about continuity: whether to keep in office the administration he says pulled Zambia out of a debt crisis and back into economic growth, or to hand that work to an untested alternative. The stop is part of a wider North-Western tour Kwacha News has covered in its reporting on the campaign's push through the province, but the Zambezi remarks were focused squarely on the economy rather than new pledges.

The economic argument

Hichilema's pitch to Zambezi voters rested on a retrospective case rather than fresh promises. According to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS), the President told residents that his government had steadied an economy it inherited in default and set it back on a growth path, and that continuing UPND rule was the surest way to protect those gains. The government's account of the record includes the 2023 restructuring of Zambia's external debt under the G20 Common Framework, a return to positive GDP growth after the 2020 sovereign default, and a comparatively steadier kwacha against major currencies over the past two years.

Zambia's economy has stabilised and is growing again, and that is the record UPND is asking Zambezi to vote to protect on 13 August.

— President Hakainde Hichilema, campaigning in Zambezi District — <a href="https://www.zanis.gov.zm/?p=4774">ZANIS, 2 July 2026</a>

Why Zambezi, why now

Zambezi District sits in a province where the UPND draws significant support, and campaign stops there function as much to mobilise turnout as to persuade undecided voters. With the election five weeks away, the President's language leaned on delivery rather than new commitments — a deliberate choice, campaign strategists say, when an incumbent's core message is that the hard part of governing is already done. Hichilema has made a similar case elsewhere on the tour, but the Zambezi remarks kept the focus narrowly on what the government says it has achieved rather than what it intends to do next.

The framing also answers a political need. As Kwacha News has reported, Hichilema's re-election bid launched on the argument that the UPND's first term was defined by economic repair work that takes time to show results — debt talks, budget discipline, currency stabilisation — and that a second term is where households start to feel the dividend. Framing the Zambezi visit around gains already banked, rather than gains promised, lets the President ask voters to judge the government on a record rather than on projections.

Background

Zambia defaulted on its external debt in November 2020, the first African country to do so during the pandemic. The UPND government, elected in August 2021, spent much of its first term negotiating a debt restructuring deal with official and private creditors under the G20's Common Framework, a process that concluded major agreements in 2023 and 2024. Vice-President Mutale Nalumango has separately told the country the economy has stabilised and is positioned for further growth, a message Kwacha News covered in its report on Nalumango's remarks on the stabilised economy. Independent of the politics, Zambia's GDP growth rate has recovered from the contraction recorded during the default years, and inflation and the kwacha's exchange rate have both shown more stability through 2024 and 2025 than in the years immediately after the default.

That economic narrative sits inside a tighter race than the UPND faced in 2021. Opposition parties have consolidated behind rival tickets ahead of August, and Kwacha News has reported that the contest is increasingly framed as a two-horse race between Hichilema and a leading opposition challenger. That consolidation is part of why the President's campaign has leaned so heavily on the economic record in stops like Zambezi — it is the argument the UPND believes travels best in a province where it already holds an advantage, and the one hardest for a single consolidated opposition ticket to counter without a governing record of its own.

What to watch

The next marker is turnout across North-Western Province on 13 August, and whether the UPND's economic message holds up against opposition attempts to shift the conversation to cost-of-living pressures that persist even amid headline growth. Watch also for whether the President repeats the same retrospective framing — gains banked, not gains promised — at further stops on the tour, or whether the campaign shifts tone as polling day nears. For readers following the wider campaign, Kwacha News maintains ongoing politics coverage of the election through to 13 August.

Frequently Asked Questions

Readers have asked for more context on the Zambezi visit and the economic claims behind it. Short answers follow, drawn from the ZANIS report and the public record on Zambia's debt restructuring.

What is the economic argument Hichilema made in Zambezi?

In short, Hichilema told Zambezi District residents that the UPND government's handling of the economy since 2021 — restructuring Zambia's defaulted external debt, returning the country to positive growth, and steadying the kwacha — is reason to vote for the party's continuity on 13 August. According to ZANIS, the President framed the argument around sustaining gains already achieved rather than around new pledges.

How does Zambia's debt restructuring relate to this campaign message?

The key is timing. Zambia defaulted on its external debt in November 2020, and the UPND government spent much of its first term negotiating a restructuring under the G20 Common Framework, with major creditor agreements concluding in 2023 and 2024. Research and analysis of Zambia's public finances generally credit that process with easing the country's debt-service burden, which the government now points to as evidence its economic approach is working.

Why is Zambezi District significant to the UPND's campaign?

The answer is turnout. Zambezi District sits in North-Western Province, a region where the UPND draws considerable support, and campaign stops there are aimed as much at mobilising the party's existing base as at winning over undecided voters. A strong showing in the province helps offset tighter contests elsewhere as the opposition consolidates behind rival candidates.

What are the main economic gains the UPND points to since 2021?

Simply put, the government cites three: the restructuring of Zambia's external debt after the 2020 default, a return to positive GDP growth, and greater stability in the kwacha's exchange rate through 2024 and 2025 compared with the years immediately following the default. Data on inflation and growth over that period shows a broadly improving trend, though the pace of improvement remains a point of political debate.

Which sources reported on the Zambezi campaign stop?

The answer is ZANIS, the Zambia News and Information Services, the government's official wire service, which published the account of the visit on 2 July 2026. Kwacha News has drawn on that report, together with its own coverage of the wider North-Western tour and the broader shape of the 2026 election campaign, for this story.

Sources

Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS): President Hichilema urges Zambezi residents to vote for UPND to sustain economic gains, published 2 July 2026. Kwacha News coverage: Hichilema takes 2026 campaign to North-Western Province, Hichilema launches re-election bid for 13 August vote, Nalumango says Zambia's economy stabilised, growth next and Zambia election shapes up as HH v Mundubile race.