Africa-Press – Zambia. On Wednesday 07 May, 2025, the United States of America ambassador to Zambia Mr. Gonzalez walked the unusual lane and held a press conference in Lusaka at which he revealed his government’s decision to stop the sum of US$50 million aid to Zambia’s health sector. On its face value the explanation was most convincing. How can a poor country abuse the philanthropic gesture of a rich friendly nation?
The ambassador cited the systemic pilfering and theft of drugs and vaccines purchased out of US money to the sector and the lack of action on the part of the UPND government to control this growing criminality and hold those responsible to account. The diplomat, however, decided to act beyond just words. He broke down in sympathy with the indigent and vulnerable, the main
2
beneficiaries of his country’s aid. This was no doubt dramatic, a diplomat exhibiting more empathy for the poor than the elected representatives of the people. It was jaw-dropping.
The Minister of Health in a press release delivered his rebuttal on 08 May, 2025. His statement was comprehensive. He highlighted the inaccuracies in the ambassador’s allegations. A few other people corroborated Elijah Muchima’s version. President Hakainde Hichilema weighed in and promised the arrest of those responsible. It was now a he-said, she-said game. But where does the truth lie in all this? It is hidden on the flip side of the coin.
The President’s response to the ambassador’s protest decision by his government was normal if your country’s neon-colonial history is one of going round the Western capitals and the US, bowl-in-hand with a plea for handouts at the beck and call of those who think they should dictate
3
how you should run the affairs of state of your country while wearing an epaulette of a sovereign nation.
The consequences have been obvious. Post-colonial history is witness to the fact that those who give can decide to blow the whistle at any time to show you the direction you should take and when you should do so. They can choose the voters for you and how long you will remain in power. They can also dictate your friends and who should not be, not for the reasons your friends are not of good morals or pervasive but only because they do not submit to them. To keep you on their side they will make you grow a fetishisism for loans and what they call grants. They are presented as subtle gifts.
In the last one month, President Hichilema has met at least three delegations of Chinese investors who have promised him massive investments in the energy sector, an albatross to the UPND’s fortunes in the 2026 general election. The Chinese are practical and less beanocratic, both values
4
which appeal to HH as a corporate creature. The man is forward leaning and upbeat to ensure that he turns round the energy sector in the remaining months of his first term.
But President Hichilema has failed to understand the obsession and level of US antipathy towards China. China is a word they utter with a lump in the throat. Any form of association with China, however beneficial it may be to the Zambian people is nothing but anathema and a sacrilege. It is Henry Kissinger former US secretary of State who said, “To be a friend to America is dangerous but to be an enemy is fatal.” This was way before China rose from its slumber to become an economic powerhouse it is today.
It is this apparent gradual navigation by HH towards China which remotely detonated the warning shots at the US embassy. However, because the underlying reasons are politically immoral, the US ambassador had to find a veiled explanation to express his government’s consternation.
5
This is not about theft of drugs, NO. The US has lost more money than US$50 million with user-friendly regimes who have not attempted to switch friends and walk away from them without raising a red flag.
There is a lesson in all this, one which is not only for HH but us all as a people. The legendary teaching is in the Trojan Horse depicted in the downfall and regime change of the city of Troy in the 12th Century BC: “Beware Greeks bearing gifts.”
h he revealed his government’s decision to stop the sum of US$50 million aid to Zambia’s health sector. On its face value the explanation was most convincing. How can a poor country abuse the philanthropic gesture of a rich friendly nation?
The ambassador cited the systemic pilfering and theft of drugs and vaccines purchased out of US money to the sector and the lack of action on the part of the UPND government to control this growing criminality and hold those responsible to account. The diplomat, however, decided to act beyond just words. He broke down in sympathy with the indigent and vulnerable, the main
beneficiaries of his country’s aid. This was no doubt dramatic, a diplomat exhibiting more empathy for the poor than the elected representatives of the people. It was jaw-dropping.
The Minister of Health in a press release delivered his rebuttal on 08 May, 2025. His statement was comprehensive. He highlighted the inaccuracies in the ambassador’s allegations. A few other people corroborated Elijah Muchima’s version. President Hakainde Hichilema weighed in and promised the arrest of those responsible. It was now a he-said, she-said game. But where does the truth lie in all this? It is hidden on the flip side of the coin.
The President’s response to the ambassador’s protest decision by his government was normal if your country’s neon-colonial history is one of going round the Western capitals and the US, bowl-in-hand with a plea for handouts at the beck and call of those who think they should dictate
how you should run the affairs of state of your country while wearing an epaulette of a sovereign nation.
The consequences have been obvious. Post-colonial history is witness to the fact that those who give can decide to blow the whistle at any time to show you the direction you should take and when you should do so. They can choose the voters for you and how long you will remain in power. They can also dictate your friends and who should not be, not for the reasons your friends are not of good morals or pervasive but only because they do not submit to them. To keep you on their side they will make you grow a fetishisism for loans and what they call grants. They are presented as subtle gifts.
In the last one month, President Hichilema has met at least three delegations of Chinese investors who have promised him massive investments in the energy sector, an albatross to the UPND’s fortunes in the 2026 general election. The Chinese are practical and less beanocratic, both values
which appeal to HH as a corporate creature. The man is forward leaning and upbeat to ensure that he turns round the energy sector in the remaining months of his first term.
But President Hichilema has failed to understand the obsession and level of US antipathy towards China. China is a word they utter with a lump in the throat. Any form of association with China, however beneficial it may be to the Zambian people is nothing but anathema and a sacrilege. It is Henry Kissinger former US secretary of State who said, “To be a friend to America is dangerous but to be an enemy is fatal.” This was way before China rose from its slumber to become an economic powerhouse it is today.
It is this apparent gradual navigation by HH towards China which remotely detonated the warning shots at the US embassy. However, because the underlying reasons are politically immoral, the US ambassador had to find a veiled explanation to express his government’s consternation.
This is not about theft of drugs, NO. The US has lost more money than US$50 million with user-friendly regimes who have not attempted to switch friends and walk away from them without raising a red flag.
There is a lesson in all this, one which is not only for HH but us all as a people. The legendary teaching is in the Trojan Horse depicted in the downfall and regime change of the city of Troy in the 12th Century BC: “Beware Greeks bearing gifts.”
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
