The country was gone, we recovered it — Hichilema PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says his administration inherited a country that was “gone” and worked to recover it, stabilise the economy and set it on a path of growth. Speaking to the Zambian private sector in Abu Dhabi yesterday, President Hichilema said the country’s recovery had to […]

The country was gone, we recovered it — Hichilema

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says his administration inherited a country that was “gone” and worked to recover it, stabilise the economy and set it on a path of growth.

Speaking to the Zambian private sector in Abu Dhabi yesterday, President Hichilema said the country’s recovery had to start from the bottom because Zambia was in a negative position.

“Yesterday we were talking of from stabilisation to growth and I reminded everybody yesterday… We started with recovering the country. The country was gone,” President Hichilema said.

He said his first term in office involved doing the heavy lifting required to recover the country and lay the foundation for economic growth.

“So recover the country, bottom it up. It was minus, then stabilisation, now growth,” he said.

President Hichilema thanked Zambians for their patience during what he described as his administration’s first five-year term, acknowledging that reforms can be painful.

“Thank you for your patience in our first five-year term. Reforms can be painful. To take people away from what they are used to…” he said.

And President Hichilema questioned how some Zambians expect to achieve a good life without working.

“How is it that our country and the people who live in it, some of them believe they can have a good life without working?” he asked.

-TV Yatu | David Kashiki | October 1, 2026.