LUSAKA CHESSBOARD…HH ready to unveil full second-term Cabinet

LUSAKA CHESSBOARD…HH ready to unveil full second-term Cabinet By DAVID KANDUZA THE political atmosphere across the capital is charged with immense anticipation today as President Hakainde Hichilema prepares for what is expected to be the defining announcement of his newly minted second term. Exactly a fortnight after unveiling an initial, highly calculated core of four […]

LUSAKA CHESSBOARD
…HH ready to unveil full second-term Cabinet

By DAVID KANDUZA
THE political atmosphere across the capital is charged with immense anticipation today as President Hakainde Hichilema prepares for what is expected to be the defining announcement of his newly minted second term.

Exactly a fortnight after unveiling an initial, highly calculated core of four senior cabinet ministers, President Hichilema is poised to name the remaining men and women who will spearhead his administration’s ambitious policy directions.

The current mood in the country is a mix of quiet anxiety and intense lobbying behind closed doors.

For two weeks, the Government has run on a lean engine.

On September 14, President Hichilema selectively restored veteran economist Situmbeko Musokotwane to the Ministry of Finance and re-appointed Mulambo Haimbe to Foreign Affairs

He balanced these familiar faces by injecting technocratic fresh blood into the mix, appointing Roma Chilengi to Health and academician Gilbert Siame to the Green Economy portfolio.

But four pillars do not make a whole Government and the remaining 22 ministerial seats have left a vacuum that political insiders, civil society, and ordinary citizens are desperate to see filled.

Today’s expected announcement is less about political rewards and entirely about performance execution.

At the heart of this upcoming announcement is the Grow Zambia Agenda, an aggressive economic blueprint aimed at moving the country away from mere stabilization toward explosive domestic growth.

The administration has already locked in monumental production targets, including an audacious push for 10 million tonnes of maize, three million tonnes of copper, and a billion dollars in beef exports.

For these targets to transform from ink on a concept paper into food on Zambian tables, every single upcoming ministerial appointment must hit the ground running

“Public office is a position of trust and service,” President Hichilema warned his first batch of ministers, a stern message that still echoes through the corridors of the executive.

Observers expect that today’s list will reflect that exact sentiment—a meticulous blend of seasoned loyalists who can navigate bureaucratic inertia, balanced by highly competent professionals brought in to overhaul struggling sectors like mining, energy, and local Government.

As the hours tick away, the big question remains: who makes the cut?

The nation is watching State House closely, waiting to see the final shape of the team entrusted with carrying Zambia’s economic hopes through 2031.