President Hichilema Reinforces Development Agenda in Lusaka Rural Districts

President Hakainde Hichilema has wrapped up a two-day tour of Lusaka rural, restating his government’s resolve to advance grassroots development anchored on education, agriculture, infrastructure, and civic order.

The Head of State held rallies in Luangwa, Rufunsa, Chongwe, Kafue, Shantumbu, and Chilanga, where he engaged residents and outlined projects aimed at transforming rural constituencies into economic hubs. In Luangwa, he pledged expansion of rural road networks to improve trade and mobility, announced new clinics and improved mobile phone connectivity, and addressed human–animal conflict affecting communities.

 In Kafue, the President underscored the district’s strategic role as an industrial hub, pledging support for local manufacturing and announcing youth empowerment grants under the expanded Constituency Development Fund.

 At Shantumbu, he focused on community-level infrastructure, promising new classroom blocks, boreholes, and feeder roads, while emphasising that decentralization ensures resources flow directly into projects chosen by residents themselves. In Chilanga, he highlighted the district’s tourism potential, pledging investment in hospitality and local enterprise, stressing that rural districts must be positioned as economic hubs rather than satellite communities of Lusaka city.

Speaking in Rufunsa, President Hichilema reaffirmed the free education policy, which has returned more than 2.5 million children to classrooms nationwide, describing it as a long-term economic investment. He also announced expansion of the Farmer Input Support Programme and teased upcoming cattle loans to empower livestock farmers. And in Chongwe, he emphasized job creation and business opportunities, while highlighting the restoration of public order in markets and bus stations.