Africa-Press – Zambia. The Citizens First Party, under the leadership of President Harry Kalaba, has taken note of the address by His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema to the National Assembly on Friday, 12th September, 2025.
While we recognise the importance of the occasion and the breadth of issues covered, we believe that the speech was long on self-praise but short on addressing the real hardships that ordinary Zambians are facing today.
President Hichilema spoke of “consolidating economic and social gains”, yet the lived reality is that the cost of living remains unbearable for millions of households, unemployment continues to bite the youth, and loadshedding has crippled small businesses. A true consolidation of gains must be reflected in the lives of citizens, not just in statistics read in Parliament.
President Kalaba has repeatedly emphasised that Zambia needs a people-centred economic transformation—one that ensures food security, affordable energy, accessible healthcare, and meaningful jobs. The CF Party maintains that agricultural surpluses and mining expansions are commendable on paper, but without deliberate policies to reduce poverty and empower communities at the grassroots, such growth will remain elusive to ordinary citizens.
We further note the President’s assurances on good governance, decentralisation, and the fight against corruption. However, these promises ring hollow when citizens continue to witness selective justice, slow delivery of services, and widening inequality. President Kalaba has consistently argued that good governance must not be about speeches, but about action that restores trust between government and its people.
As Citizens First, we reaffirm our commitment to providing an alternative government that places citizens at the centre of national development. We will continue to engage Zambians with policies that prioritise affordable food, jobs for the youth, stable energy supply, and a governance system that is fair, transparent, and accountable to the people.
The time has come for a leadership that not only counts economic gains but ensures that every household, every farmer, every worker, and every youth feels the impact of those gains. Citizens First stands ready to provide that leadership
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