By Hon. Felix Mutati Strategic Leadership vs. Politics: A Response to Muhabi Lungu In national leadership, every decision must bring clear benefits to the country. My brother Muhabi Lungu has criticized President Hakainde Hichilema for choosing a working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) instead of attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in […]

By  Hon. Felix Mutati

Strategic Leadership vs. Politics: A Response to Muhabi Lungu

In national leadership, every decision must bring clear benefits to the country.

My brother Muhabi Lungu has criticized President Hakainde Hichilema for choosing a working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) instead of attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

As a seasoned economist and a former diplomat himself, Mr. Lungu knows very well that different foreign trips serve completely different purposes. A serious economic discussion requires simple, honest facts.

To understand the President’s decision, one must look at what each trip actually offers to the Zambian people. The UNGA is a massive political meeting in New York where global leaders gather to discuss international peace, climate policy, and diplomacy. While this event is important, sending a full presidential delegation to New York costs millions of Kwacha in travel, hotel stays, and daily allowances. More importantly, UNGA yields speeches and diplomatic goodwill, but it does not bring direct cash or immediate business deals to Zambia.

President Hichilema made the smart choice to send the Minister of Foreign Affairs to handle these talks, ensuring Zambia’s voice was heard without spending huge amounts of public money.

On the other hand, the working visit to the UAE is a direct business mission focused entirely on trade, funding, and investment. It is a short and targeted trip designed to spend very little taxpayer money while securing massive economic returns. Trade between Zambia and the UAE has already grown to over US$2.24 billion, and direct meetings between heads of state are necessary to finalize large investment deals.

The economic benefits of the UAE visit reach everyday Zambians in very practical ways. UAE investments in solar energy help build power plants that reduce load shedding across the country. When UAE investors put money into Zambian mines and large-scale farming, they create new jobs for young people and bring foreign currency into our economy.

At the same time, skipping the long and expensive UNGA trip saves millions of Kwacha that the government can use for local needs like buying medicines for hospitals or funding education.

True economic discipline is not about staying at home completely. It is about choosing trips that put food on the table, create jobs, and bring money into the national treasury.

Skipping UNGA saves taxpayers money, while visiting the UAE brings direct investment to Zambia. As an economist, Mr. Lungu understands these basic facts, and ignoring them is simply him playing politics, which sadly does a great disservice to the Zambian people.