Africa-Press – Zambia. President-elect Hakainde Hichilema conferred with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power through a call yesterday.
President-elect Hichilema said his administration will ensure to deliver to the Zambian people as promised. Mr. Hichilema expressed confidence that Zambia’s democratic progress can serve as an example for other nations globally.
Mr. Hichilema laid out his plans for fighting corruption among other issues aimed at strengthening democratic values, press freedom and civil liberties.
“It is important for my new government to demonstrate that it can deliver for the people of Zambia, especially young people,” said Mr. Hichilema in a statement released by USAID spokesperson Rebecca Chalif.
Ms. Power noted that the United States was looking forward to partnering with the President-elect’s government as it seeks to meet the Zambian people’s democratic and economic aspirations.
She listed USAID’s support to the Zambian people across programming sectors such as health, education, climate change, economic development, democracy and governance. Administrator Power congratulated Mr. Hichilema on his election as the seventh President of Zambia.
This was contained in a statement issued to ZANIS by USAID spokesperson Rebecca Chalif who stated that the two discussed the critical role played by the Zambian civil society during the peaceful election and how their vigilant oversight increased the transparency of the electoral process.
Ms. Chalif added that engagement of the civil society contributed to the widespread confidence in the results, despite the constraints imposed by the government on the President-elect, including limits on his movement and a social media shutdown that started on election day.
Ms. Powers and Mr. Hichilema also discussed the challenges that Zambia and the world are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and further pledged to work together in an effort to fight the pandemic and accelerate Zambia’s economic recovery.
