Re-electing Hichilema: A Strategic Move, Not Just Politics
Every election season, countries face a choice.
Not just between candidates.
Not just between political parties.
But between competing visions of the future.
Unfortunately, many voters don’t think about elections this way. They think about today’s frustrations. The expensive meal they bought yesterday. The fuel prices they paid this morning. The job they still haven’t found. The promises they feel were not fulfilled.
Those concerns are real.
In fact, they should be real. Citizens should demand results from their leaders.
But if a nation only votes based on today’s emotions, it risks sacrificing tomorrow’s opportunities.
As Zambia heads toward the 2026 elections, the debate surrounding President Hakainde Hichilema is becoming increasingly intense. Supporters see a reformer trying to rebuild a damaged economy. Critics see a leader who has not delivered change fast enough.
Yet beneath the political arguments lies a deeper question:
Is re-electing Hichilema merely a political decision, or is it a strategic one?
I believe it is increasingly becoming the latter.
Because whether you support him or not, Zambia is currently involved in a long-term economic and institutional transformation that may require continuity more than change.
And sometimes the smartest move a nation can make is not chasing a new direction but staying the course.
Politics Loves Quick Results. Nations Are Built Slowly.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is treating a country like a business that can be fixed overnight.
Real transformation does not happen in a year.
It rarely happens in five years.
The countries we admire today often spent decades implementing reforms before citizens fully experienced the benefits.
Singapore.
Rwanda.
Botswana.
South Korea.
These countries did not become success stories because they changed direction every election cycle.
They became success stories because they maintained strategic consistency.
They understood something many developing nations still struggle with:
Development rewards patience.
Politics rewards impatience.
The tension between those two realities is what defines many African elections.
Citizens want immediate improvements.
Leaders need time to implement long-term solutions.
And often, governments are voted out before those solutions have a chance to mature.
Zambia Is Still Recovering From Yesterday’s Problems
One of the most unfair things in politics is that new leaders inherit old problems.
When Hichilema took office in 2021, Zambia was already dealing with serious economic challenges.
The nation had defaulted on its debt.
Public finances were under pressure.
Investor confidence had weakened.
The economy was struggling to generate enough opportunities for a rapidly growing population.
Many of these issues had been building for years.
Yet many people expected solutions within months.
Economic reality rarely works that way.
Imagine inheriting a house with a damaged foundation.
The first thing you do is not paint the walls.
You strengthen the foundation.
Unfortunately, strengthening foundations is not exciting.
It is slow.
It is expensive.
And most people do not immediately see the results.
That is exactly where Zambia has been.
Much of the work done during Hichilema’s first term has focused on stabilizing systems rather than creating flashy headlines.
Debt restructuring.
Fiscal discipline.
Investor confidence.
Institutional reforms.
Energy sector adjustments.
These are not policies designed to generate applause.
They are policies designed to create sustainability.
Why Investors Matter More Than Many People Realize
There is a popular belief that foreign investment only benefits rich people.
The reality is more complicated.
Investment creates factories.
Factories create jobs.
Jobs create income.
Income creates spending.
Spending creates economic activity.
Economic activity creates growth.
Countries do not become prosperous simply because they have resources.
They become prosperous because they attract capital, technology, and expertise that transform those resources into economic value.
One of Hichilema’s strongest achievements has been rebuilding Zambia’s credibility internationally.
Again, this is not something that immediately puts money into people’s pockets.
But it matters.
A lot.
Investors are attracted to predictability.
Businesses are attracted to stability.
Financial institutions are attracted to confidence.
Without those ingredients, economic growth becomes much harder.
The world is not investing billions of dollars based on political speeches.
It invests based on trust.
And trust takes years to build.
The Cost of Starting Over
Every election creates uncertainty.
That is normal.
The question is whether the benefits of change outweigh the costs.
Many Zambians understandably want faster progress.
The challenge is determining whether replacing leadership would accelerate development or delay it.
A new administration would likely introduce new priorities.
New policies.
New teams.
New strategies.
New approaches.
While that may sound appealing, it also carries risks.
Projects could be interrupted.
Negotiations could be revisited.
Investors could become cautious.
Institutional momentum could slow down.
This is one reason many successful countries place such a high value on policy continuity.
Economic growth is cumulative.
You build on yesterday’s progress rather than restarting every few years.
The danger is not merely electing someone new.
The danger is abandoning unfinished reforms before they have had sufficient time to produce results.
Leadership Is About Direction, Not Popularity
One of the hardest truths about leadership is that doing the right thing does not always make you popular.
In fact, some of the most important reforms in history were deeply unpopular when they were introduced.
People naturally prefer immediate rewards.
Leaders focused on long-term outcomes often have to make decisions that generate criticism in the short term.
That does not mean every unpopular decision is correct.
It means popularity alone is a poor measure of effectiveness.
The better question is:
Where is the country heading?
If a ship is moving toward its destination, passengers may complain about the rough waves.
But changing captains during a storm is not always the smartest solution.
Sometimes the wiser choice is ensuring the ship reaches its destination safely.
Zambia’s Opportunity Window Is Opening
The world economy is changing.
Artificial intelligence is growing.
Energy systems are evolving.
Critical minerals are becoming increasingly important.
Global supply chains are shifting.
And Zambia sits on resources that the world desperately needs.
Copper.
Cobalt.
Agricultural land.
Young talent.
Strategic geography.
These are advantages many countries would envy.
But having opportunities is not enough.
A country must position itself to capture them.
This requires strategic leadership.
It requires long-term planning.
It requires consistency.
And it requires credibility.
Global investors making multi-billion-dollar decisions want to know one thing above all else:
Will this country remain stable?
Every step Zambia takes toward predictability increases its attractiveness.
Every step toward uncertainty creates hesitation.
Elections Should Be About the Future
Too often, elections become conversations about the past.
People argue about who made mistakes.
Who said what.
Who deserves blame.
Who deserves credit.
Those discussions matter.
But they are not the most important discussions.
The most important question is:
What happens next?
The future does not care about political slogans.
The future responds to strategy.
It responds to investments.
It responds to institutions.
It responds to execution.
The next five years could be some of the most important years in Zambia’s modern history.
The country has an opportunity to leverage global demand for minerals, strengthen agriculture, expand entrepreneurship, and attract major investment.
The question is whether Zambia wants continuity during that process or another period of adjustment.
Why This Election Is Bigger Than Hichilema
Ironically, the strongest argument for re-electing Hichilema is not actually about Hichilema himself.
It is about Zambia.
It is about proving that long-term reforms can survive political pressure.
It is about demonstrating that strategic thinking can outweigh short-term emotions.
It is about giving major national initiatives enough time to succeed or fail on their merits.
Too often, African politics becomes trapped in cycles of constant reinvention.
Every administration promises transformation.
Every administration starts new projects.
Few are given enough time to complete them.
The result is that nations spend years beginning journeys but rarely finishing them.
Zambia has an opportunity to break that pattern.
A Strategic Vote, Not Just a Political One
At its core, the argument for re-electing Hakainde Hichilema is not rooted in party loyalty.
It is rooted in strategy.
It is the recognition that countries are not transformed through election slogans.
They are transformed through sustained effort.
Through consistent policies.
Through institutional strengthening.
Through economic credibility.
Through patience.
The reality is that Zambia’s biggest challenges were not created in a single term.
They are unlikely to be solved in a single term either.
The reforms currently underway may not deliver all their benefits immediately.
But abandoning them prematurely could prove more costly than continuing them.
As 2026 approaches, voters will have a choice.
They can focus solely on today’s frustrations.
Or they can evaluate the broader trajectory of the nation.
Reasonable people will disagree.
That is healthy.
That is democracy.
But if the objective is long-term national success rather than short-term political satisfaction, then re-electing Hichilema becomes more than a political decision.
It becomes a strategic one.
And history often rewards nations that think strategically.
