Thank you very much. May I start by recognizing my dear brothers and sisters, their excellencies, heads of state and government: President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, President—my sister—Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, President William Ruto of Kenya, President Nangolo Mbumba of Namibia, President Duma Boko of Botswana, Prime Minister Matekane of Lesotho, Deputy Prime Minister of Eswatini, and indeed Madam Shen Yueyue, Vice Chairperson, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. May I simply say to my dear brothers and sisters, you're welcome here.
May I recognize their excellencies, representatives of heads of state and government. Your excellencies, former heads of state and government that are present here; your honor, the Republican Vice President, Madam Mutale Nalumango; former Vice President of the Republic of Zambia; First Lady; former First Ladies of our Republic; the Royal Highnesses that are here from across the 10 provinces of our country; the honorable Chief Justice, Dr. Mumba Malila; the honorable Speaker of the National Assembly, Madam Mutti; Judge President of the Constitutional Court; My Lords and Ladyships, Judges of the Supreme Court, of the Constitutional Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court. May I also recognize the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, Madam Mwangala Zaloumis; the Secretary to the Cabinet; our service chiefs and men and women in uniform; Your Worship, the Mayor of the City of Lusaka.
May I also recognize other mayors, council chairpersons from across the country, members of Parliament, members of the UPND management and alliance partners, leaders of political parties in our constitutional democracy. May I recognize other senior government leaders that are present here, members of the diplomatic corps, and indeed representatives of the churches, church mother bodies, other religious leaders, and I must say representatives of our unions, other civil society organizations and trade unions, representatives of the student movement—my dear friends, the students across the country who have delivered us into this second term by and large. My fellow monks and momas, you know who you are. Thank you for being present.
Let me commence my address with lots of humility. We start with the sovereign will of the people of Zambia. Fellow citizens, today we honor you and celebrate the sovereign will of the people of Zambia. You, the people of Zambia, have spoken through the ballots. You have renewed our mandate to serve this great republic, and we're grateful for that. Five years ago, you ushered us into office on the theme of the 'New Dawn.' Today, we witness the birth of the 'Grow Zambia' agenda. That is what will define our second term in office, courtesy of you, the people of Zambia, and God's will. We accept this renewed mandate with profound gratitude, deep humility, and indeed a renewed sense of duty. We believe that an electoral victory is a sacred responsibility to serve the people—in our case, the people of Zambia.
This mandate therefore belongs not to HH, but to the people of Zambia: to strengthen our democracy, to expand opportunities for all our people, and indeed to build a more prosperous, united, resilient nation. So, it is a mandate to grow Zambia. I repeat, I want to offer gratitude to God and the people of Zambia. Fellow citizens, we acknowledge the supremacy of the Almighty God over our nation of Zambia. We give thanks to the Zambian people. You came forward to exercise your constitutional mandate to vote. You stood patiently in queues, made your choices, and once again demonstrated your faith, your love, your confidence in democracy.
You are the true custodians of our democracy. To those who placed their trust and confidence in us, we say thank you. We receive your support with humility and with a clear understanding of the responsibility it places upon our shoulders. To those who chose other candidates or other parties, we say with equal sincerity: we have heard you, we respect your choice, and we value your choice. Democracy does not require us to agree on everything. It requires us to respect one another even when we disagree. Whatever our political choices, we remain one people bound together by Zambia under a common destiny.
May I turn to offer my gratitude to family and colleagues. Fellow citizens, I thank my beloved wife Mutinta seated here, our children, and the wider family for their sacrifice, patience, encouragement, and unfailing support. To the Vice President and my running mate, Dr. Nalumango, I express my deepest gratitude for your steadfast and invaluable support over the years—I'm talking about our first term. To the members of the United Party for National Development, our alliance partners, campaign teams, foot soldiers, volunteers, and supporters across the country—and there are really many—we thank you, we honor you for your sacrifice, diligence, hard work, and faith in the Zambia we seek to build together. Your effort has brought us to this moment. Thank you.
We celebrate the achievement with dignity and humility. There must be no taunting, no provocation, and no humiliation of those who voted differently from you and I. They have an equal measure of respect that they deserve from us. The person who voted against us is not our enemy. He is our brother, she is our sister, they are fellow Zambians. Period. In victory, let us show the character of the Zambia we are building.
May I turn to offer gratitude to national institutions. Fellow citizens, we acknowledge with gratitude the church, traditional leaders, civil society, the media, and other stakeholders who contributed to the promotion of peace, unity, and democratic participation before, during, and after elections. We thank our cooperating partners, local and international election observers, party agents, and all those who contributed to our electoral process and subsequently to our victory—this victory which belongs to all the people of Zambia. Our democracy is strongest when our institutions are respected, and our differences are resolved peacefully and lawfully, nothing else.
To our international friends, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests: we thank the heads of state and government, foreign dignitaries, representatives of international and regional organizations, members of the diplomatic corps, and all distinguished guests who have joined us here today to celebrate this great day for our country, engraved in the history books of our beloved country. Your presence is a profound expression of friendship, solidarity, and partnership with the government and, more importantly, the people of Zambia. We value your friendship and look forward to deepening our cooperation for the mutual benefit of our peoples in our respective countries.
Let me say something about the record of our first term because it lays the foundation for this day today, and the days, months, and years going ahead. Fellow citizens, your renewal of our mandate is also a responsibility to build upon the foundations we have laid together in the last five years. During our first term, we worked to stabilize and revitalize our broken economy, and that we have done. Economic growth has improved. Our external debt was successfully restructured—a very difficult exercise we went through, but it's been done. Thank you to God and you, the people of Zambia, for your support. Our international reserves have reached their highest level ever since our independence. Inflation has been reduced to the lowest level in 8 to 9 years. Investor confidence has improved without doubt, if you see the levels of investments that we've attracted in the last five years. Our local currency, the Kwacha, has been stabilized, and people and businesses can now plan how to manage themselves and expand their equity or risk capital deployed in their businesses.
Free education has become a reality, against those who believed it was not possible. Free education is here and is now protected by law. We've legislated that all children of Zambia are entitled to education irrespective of their backgrounds. As a consequence of this great policy, we have now brought back to school children of school-going age who were out of school—2.6 million of our children are now back in school. This is extremely enriching to the people of Zambia. Access to quality healthcare has definitely improved. Through the enhanced Constituency Development Fund, resources are reaching communities and local development priorities are taking center stage in the utilization of these resources. This is how it should be. Our social protection programs are reaching more of our vulnerable citizens across the country. The rule of law has been restored. There can be no sustainable development without peace, security, and stability—very important.
We have enhanced access to information and widened participation in governance. What do I mean? We have introduced the proportional representation system, a landmark reform that has enhanced the participation of women, the youth, and those that live with disabilities in our country, in the National Assembly, and in the 116 local authorities across the country. We have also decentralized functions, resources, and decision-making to local authorities, bringing government closer to the people. Yes, a lot has been achieved in our first mandate, but we know very well that there is still a lot more work to be done. And that's what this next mandate is all about.
So let me say something about this new mandate: we are moving from stabilization to growth effectively. Fellow citizens, we know that many of our families have challenges with the cost of living and that the benefits of our stabilization have not yet been felt at every level. We hear you, the citizens of Zambia. We're listening attentively, we are looking, and we are absorbing your views. Yes, stability of our national balance sheet must continue to flow to households across the country. Having done the heavy lifting in our first term, the next five years is all about growth, expansion, opportunity, and prosperity for all our people. This is what we dub the 'Grow Zambia' agenda: from stabilization to growth. This means, in practice, growth and expansion for all our people to access opportunities irrespective of their backgrounds. Very important.
Going forward, our focus is clear: we build on the economic stabilization platform anchored on strong, broad-based, and deep reforms. Sometimes they've been very uncomfortable to many of our people, but the benefits are clear. Going forward, yes, we will continue with the reform agenda so we can expand our economy. No matter how good-hearted one may be to their children and families, it is true that you cannot share poverty. This is not possible, and therefore we have to address wealth creation. So our attention now turns to shaping our growth agenda for the economy so that more citizens can generate revenue for reinvestment and redistribution through the central treasury and local authorities. Working with the private sector, we will continue with an even more ambitious reform agenda. I want to commit that to the people in this country, my fellow presidents, heads of state, and representatives of government. I can confidently say that reforms have delivered for us, and we want them to continue delivering positive results for our people.
We will grow and diversify our mining sector, agriculture, tourism, and energy sectors, amongst others. We will accelerate infrastructure development and industrial transformation through reforming institutions that have stood in the way of the country's growth for too many years. We know the areas that have constrained development of our country, and we shall move rapidly to attack these areas to loosen them up. This is all anchored on our flagship policy of what we call the 10-10-5-3-3-1-1 vision: very clear—10 million tons of maize for food security, 10,000 megawatts of electricity to power our economy, 5 million tourist arrivals, 3 million tons of copper, 3 million tons of soybeans, 1 million tons of wheat, 1 million tons of sugar, and a billion dollars or more worth of beef exports outside of our country in the region.
Through this agenda, we have worked our numbers that we will more than double the size of our economy in a few years from now. In fact, the first doubling has already been done in the first years, so in essence, we'll be tripling the size of our economy in this five-year term. We are very confident about that. This is to create jobs, business opportunities, treasury revenue, and also reinvestment to support a cycle of growth through reinvestment, revenues, more growth, and more reinvestment. Simple, very straight. Economic growth must mean something at the dinner tables of all our people. It must mean a job to a graduate, a market for a farmer, and customers for a marketeer for whatever merchandise you sell. That's how we understand it.
Investing in our people is important; let me address this very briefly. We will scale up investment in education, skills development, and health. Education remains the greatest equalizer, best investment, and indeed inheritance that we can pass to our children. If we don't give them education and give them money to inherit properties, most likely they will sell these at the earliest opportunity. But education gives them a lasting sense of value and protection for whatever else they are left with. We will deepen the economic empowerment of women and young people and continue to strengthen social protection for those who need it the most. We know them, and they are already getting support, but we will expand support for them because society is structured that way. There are people who need support all the time, and we are with you. We hear you, we support you, and we work for you. We will strengthen and accelerate decentralization, putting more responsibility and resources in the hands of local communities. As I've said already, development will continue to reach every corner of our country; no province will be left behind. Actually, in our program of regional economies, we have already structured what each province should focus on given its resource endowments and offerings.
Let me address the change of mindset. Fellow citizens, we are emerging from an era that taught many of our people to think only of today and not about tomorrow. The 'tantameni' culture, or the handout syndrome, is something we must attack consciously, deliberately, and intentionally. This culture was engraved over many years, and it cannot be done away with overnight. As a nation, we have to think differently. We have to think of tomorrow, not only to consume today and ignore tomorrow. This is vital; this is societal. We have to change that, and we're working already very hard to change it. We have to think of our children, our young people, and the generations to come. That's what leadership is all about, especially when you are in leadership to manage public affairs and public resources. Very important.
May I address a public service that serves all of us. Fellow citizens, we will continue to transform the public service into an effective, efficient, and delivery-oriented public service. Delivery doesn't mean reporting for work at 08:00 hours and knocking off at 17:00 hours. No, it means specific outcomes, and that's the focus that will continue. We want a public service that delivers quality services to all our citizens without discrimination. We will continue to strengthen digitization, accountability, professionalism, and innovation, and ensure that public resources are managed prudently and used for the benefit of all our people. The fight against corruption, I can bet, will continue so public resources are respected and protected. Every public officer should put national interest first before their personal interest, because when you do that, your personal interest will be taken care of—but national interest first.
May I turn to Zambia in the community of nations. Your Excellencies, Zambia will continue to play an active and principled but constructive role in the community of nations. I call it the league of decent and civilized nations. Our foreign policy will remain anchored on economic diplomacy, peace, security, and stability for mutual cooperation and benefit. We have always said instability anywhere is instability everywhere, and we should not be veering into that area at all because it injects cost, pain, and dislocation to our people across the continent and globally. Zambia remains a peaceful sovereign nation and will continue to stand with our neighbors in our region, on the continent of Africa, and indeed the global community in pursuit of lasting peace. Without peace, we cannot deliver development and benefits to our people. We will remain an attractive, investor-friendly country, a reliable partner, and a destination of choice for tourists, investors, and global partners. Zambia will continue to be a voice for peace, dialogue, and cooperation in our global communities. And we do say once again: we believe in the rules-based global order, because everybody will be taken care of if we take that approach.
May I address my citizens on 'One Zambia, One Nation, One People.' Fellow citizens, we are here to serve all the people of Zambia regardless of your political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, gender, or social status. We therefore invite every citizen to join in the work of building our beloved country. Let us dedicate ourselves to hard and smart work. Only with hard and smart work can we create jobs, business opportunities, and indeed treasury income that is much needed to support education, healthcare, and other aspects like looking after the sick, the old, the differently-abled, the young, the retired, and the vulnerable overall. Hard and smart work is essential for a united, peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous Zambia. Above all, let us remain One Zambia, One Nation, and One People.
May I address our pledge to you, the people of Zambia. Fellow citizens, our purpose remains clear: to uplift the lives and improve the well-being of every Zambian citizen. This is the promise that the heart of the 'Grow Zambia' agenda holds. We pledge to serve you with integrity and accountability as we did in our first term. I'm sure the proof of the pudding is in the eating; the examples abound out there of what we did in the last five years. We will soldier on on this trajectory and even do better. We pledge to lead a government in which every voice matters, every citizen is heard. We pledge to lead a government that takes tangible development to all our communities across the country. And so I make this pledge to you personally: I will continue to be a servant president for all the people of Zambia. I repeat that: I will continue to be a servant president for all the people of Zambia. Thank you. Yes, you have heard me. You have heard me.
Let me also talk about an extension of a hand of unity. Fellow citizens, we commend all the candidates who participated in the presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections. It takes courage to offer oneself for public service and to submit one's ideas to the judgment of the people of Zambia. But it should never reach the point where it becomes a matter between life and death. Life is sacred; never tamper with life. As we begin this new chapter, we must reflect soberly on the importance of peace and national unity. Political differences are an inevitable part of a democracy, but the pursuit of political power must never come at the expense of peace, security, and stability in our country.
To our political competitors and their supporters, we say: you remain an important part of our democracy and we respect your choices. Where we disagree, we do so as political competitors, not as enemies. Elections and contests of ideas are contests of ideas; they must never become permanent divisions amongst our people. The election is now behind us; the country before us belongs to us all. The campaign is over, but the work of building Zambia continues. We therefore extend our hands to those who opposed us, not as a gesture of political convenience, but as an expression of our conviction that this republic belongs equally to all of us—all of us, and I mean all of us. Where you have good ideas, we will listen. Where you offer constructive criticism, we will hear you. Where national interest calls upon us to work together, we should do so without hesitation. Zambia is a big and endowed country, fully capable of taking care of all of us.
May I turn to Zambia forward together. Fellow citizens, today is not simply the end of an election; it is the beginning of another chapter in our nation-building journey. With determination, let us move forward together. With humility and gratitude, let us move forward together. With inclusivity and fairness, let us move forward together as brothers and sisters united by the land we love and the future we share. Let us move forward together. Our political preferences may be there and may mean something to us, but our future is one. Together, let us continue to make this great republic a beacon of peace, hope, opportunity, and indeed prosperity. Together, let us grow Zambia sustainably for generations to come. Let us not be a nation of consumers only, but producers as well. For someone to consume, someone must produce, and we want to do both—focusing on production because it sustains our consumption. Fellow citizens, may peace, unity, and progress forever prevail in our motherland, and may the Almighty God continue to bless our nation, Zambia. May I thank all of you for your kind attention. God bless Zambia. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
