Hichilema wraps up Eastern tour with pledge on maize, dams and fertiliser

President Hakainde Hichilema has concluded a two-day campaign tour of Eastern Province, telling residents across nine districts that a vote for the United Party for National Development on August 13 will guarantee continued free education, expanded farmer support and completed…

President Hakainde Hichilema has concluded a two-day campaign tour of Eastern Province, telling residents across nine districts that a vote for the United Party for National Development on August 13 will guarantee continued free education, expanded farmer support and completed irrigation projects. The tour took him through Chama, Chasefu, Lundazi and Lumezi on the first day, before he addressed Nyimba, Petauke, Lusangazi and Sinda on the final leg, drawing large crowds throughout.

In Petauke, Hichilema cautioned farmers against politicians promising to buy freshly harvested maize, warning that grain with high moisture content could develop aflatoxin contamination if dried later, posing a risk to both human and animal consumption. “Don’t follow those who are saying they will buy fresh maize; they are not farmers. They don’t know farming. You and I know farming,” he told the gathering, drawing a distinction between his agricultural background and that of his rivals.

The President attributed the delayed start of maize purchases by the Food Reserve Agency to the need for moisture levels in the crop to fall to acceptable standards. He said he had directed the agency to announce this season’s buying price immediately, and assured farmers gathered in Petauke that payment would follow promptly once supplies reached FRA depots. He also pledged to complete construction of the Lutwazi and Mumbi dams in Petauke if re-elected, saying the projects would strengthen irrigation and boost agricultural productivity in the district.

Addressing supporters in Lusangazi, Hichilema said Copperbelt, North-Western, Western, Central and Eastern provinces had all expressed support for his re-election, and urged young people who remain unemployed to stay patient, arguing that opportunities under his administration were continuing to expand. He reminded the crowd that a vote for the UPND was a vote for free education to continue, a policy he said had already transformed access to learning for millions of children. He also said his government would increase fertiliser allocation under the Farmer Input Support Programme and continue distributing seed, ruling out the sharing arrangements he said had failed farmers under previous policies.

The tour carried a heavier undertone in Nyimba, where Hichilema recalled the human cost of political violence during the Patriotic Front era. He named Joseph Kaunda, Lawrence Banda, Nsama Mpezeni, Grazier Matapa and Vespers Shimuzhila as UPND supporters who lost their lives for their political affiliation under the previous administration, telling the crowd that re-electing the PF would return the country to a warzone. He said he himself had campaigned under difficult circumstances before rising to the Presidency, describing himself as a victim of the same intimidation.

At Tiritonse Primary School in Sinda, where the tour formally concluded, Hichilema engaged the crowd directly on the record of the past five years, invoking memories of tear gas and political violence that characterised campaigns before 2021. Asked whether voters wanted a return to those days, the crowd responded emphatically that they did not. He went further, asking the gathering to weigh which government had left the country with more debt against which had made repayments, prompting the crowd to affirm that his administration was the one that had paid rather than borrowed further.

He drew on biblical imagery to warn against a return to the Patriotic Front, likening the party’s rebranded coalition partners to crocodiles that remain dangerous regardless of the name they now go by. “Elo izakuluma,” he said, arguing that those who had previously mismanaged the country had merely changed their name rather than their conduct, and cautioning supporters against being drawn back into old alliances under a different banner.

Hichilema urged Eastern Province residents not to squander their votes on independent or opposition candidates, arguing that doing so would only weaken the voice of communities that stood to benefit from continued UPND programmes. Government has already increased the Constituency Development Fund to K40 million per constituency annually, a figure the President said would keep rising under continued UPND leadership, alongside ongoing investment in agriculture, education, health and infrastructure across the toured districts.

He reiterated that he had not designated any individual to stand as an independent candidate, nor endorsed any contestant running under another party’s banner, distancing himself from suggestions of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring within the ruling alliance.

Closing the tour, Hichilema thanked residents for the reception across all nine districts and reaffirmed his commitment to continued development, telling supporters that the choices made on August 13 would determine whether ongoing projects, including the Petauke dams and expanded agricultural support, were completed or abandoned. He is expected to continue his national campaign schedule in the coming weeks ahead of polling day.