LUSAKA, Zambia
The August election of Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, which he won by a landslide, was widely hailed as a milestone for African opposition movements.
But
while in his first 100 days in office Hichilema had reassured investors, he has
been seen to drag his feet on promises to fight corruption and reduce poverty,
fuelling impatience among voters.
Zambians
turned out en masse to vote for change on August 12, fed up with growing
economic hardship and repression under their former leader Edgar Lungu.
Hichilema
inherited a heavily indebted country — the first in Africa to default during
Covid — and soured bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).
Sworn
in on August 24, he vowed to revive the economy, root out graft and woo back
scarred investors to Africa’s second copper producer.
Much
of the international community remains starry-eyed, but some Zambians are
beginning to feel disenchanted.
“The
president is too slow,” said Martin Nawa, a 30-year-old newspaper vendor in the
capital Lusaka.
“These
people are hiding whatever they have stolen,” he told AFP, referring to alleged
embezzlement by the previous regime.
Critics
say Hichilema has been slow to take action against wrongdoers.
So
far, only one former state journalist has been charged for acquiring property
with public funds. She was freed after surrendering her assets.
“He has only shown the will to fight corruption, but he will not achieve anything with the same officials in the police” and anti-graft bodies, said Zambian rights activist Brebner Changala.
A
self-made businessman, Hichilema centred his campaign on economic
restructuring.
The
2022 budget he presented to parliament at the end of October was well-received
among investors and creditors — reassured by promised fiscal reforms, spending
cuts and debt transparency.
These
measures “will help the country make progress in debt restructuring” and
facilitate negotiations with the IMF that resumed this month, said Aleix
Montana of risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft.
Hichilema
has been critical in international media of the billions of dollars of
sovereign debt Lungu accumulated during his six-year rule.
He
claims it was grossly underestimated, particularly regarding money owed to
China.
The
president “is quite popular among investors, especially in the mining sector,”
said Montana, pointing to a new policy that will allow companies to deduct
mineral royalties from corporate tax.
Zambia’s
sovereign bond prices, which jumped after Hichilema’s election, have continued
to increase steadily, he added.
Hichilema has sought to shelter citizens from the impact of fiscal reforms, increasing constituency development funds and introducing free access to secondary school.
He
also removed bribe-taking political cadres who controlled markets and bus
stations under Lungu.
But
a “proposed reduction of subsidies for fertiliser, electricity and fuel is likely
to have a serious knock-on effect on people’s budgets,” noted South
Africa-based political analyst Nicole Beardsworth.
Inflation
has remained stuck at a high of over 20 percent, she added, stressing that it
was still too early to draw a line.
For his part, the more optimistic Zambian economist Maambo Hamaundu said: “I can confidently say that as a country we are on the right trajectory/”
Politically,
Hichilema set off on a positive note, freezing the bank accounts of Lungu’s
close aides and filling government positions with technocrats.
And
even critics agree the new government is less repressive.
“What
100 days has done to us is give us back our freedom and liberty, and for that
we must give him credit,” Changala said.
Beardsworth,
however, flagged a “mushrooming of appointments to State House” which he
derided as “thank-you appointments”.
Eyebrows
have also been raised around a flurry of work trips Hichilema has already made.
Since
a first trumpeted visit to the United States for the UN General Assembly, he
has travelled to Glasgow for COP26 and attended events in Botswana, the
Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.
Lusaka
resident Sean Tembo, who leads a small opposition party, described the new
president as Zambia’s “Vasco da Gama”, a reference to the 16th-century
Portuguese explorer.
“I
travelled with a lean delegation” on a commercial flight, Hichilema has tweeted
in his defence, distancing himself from Lungu’s controversial presidential jet.
A government spokesman declined to comment on Hichilema’s first 100 days in office, saying an official statement would be issued on the topic.
The
high expectations spurred by Hichilema’s victory could be a “double-edged
sword”, Montana said.
“Discontent
will grow if he is unable to provide some tangible results,” he warned. “The
people who voted for him are expecting a real change soon.” - AFP
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