President Hakainde Hichilema has pledged to scale – up investment in education and skills development and health sectors, under his renewed mandate to govern Zambia.
He has noted that in his last term, reforms introduced in the education sector, notable among them, the introduction of signing of free education into law, saw about 2.6 million learners who had previously dropped out, return to school.
Guided by the ‘Go Zambia Agenda’ under his new mandate, President Hichilema has assured that his administration will therefore continue to build on the gains scored in his previous term.
Speaking shortly after his inauguration, the Head of State noted that continued investment in education will, therefore, ensure equal access to opportunities for all Zambians.
“Education remains the greatest equalizer, best investment and indeed inheritance that we can pass on to our children. Education gives them a lasting sense of value and protection for whatever else they are left with”, the President highlighted.
The President assured of increased economic empowerment for women and young people in order to enable them to contribute to job creation and economic growth.
He added that continued empowerment of young people will not only curb the culture of handouts but also enable them to contribute to economic growth, noting that social protection programmes are meant to uplift the livelihoods of vulnerable citizens.
President Hichilema further stated that his administration will expedite decentralisation, which saw the increase of the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) from 1.6 to 40 million kwacha in his previous term, in order to ensure development reaches all parts of the country.
Meanwhile, visiting Heads of State have pledged their countries’ support towards President Hichilema’s new developmental agenda.
President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa assured that his country will continue to partner with Zambia to achieve mutual developmental targets.
He called for the two countries to harness regional opportunities for the benefit of citizens’ economic growth.
“The responsibility to build and industrialise our countries remains with us”, he stressed.
And President of Kenya, William Ruto expressed confidence in President Hichilema’s new mandate, further stressing the need for Zambia to maximise on its various resources, including a youthful population to create wealth.
“We have resources and the youngest population on earth. The challenge before us isn’t the absence of resources but how we use them”, President Ruto emphasised.
