28/09/2025
We can’t solve all problems in 4 years, we are still working - Musokotwane
FINANCE and National Planning minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says government cannot solve challenges such as unemployment and poverty in four years.
Speaking when he presented the 2026 National Budget on Friday, Dr Musokotwane stated that the most comforting thing was that the country was now headed in the right direction and all problems shall soon be eliminated.
He said government’s policies had stabilised the economy after years of decline and were beginning to show results in areas such as education, healthcare and social protection.
“The work of this government is far from over. Challenges like youth unemployment and poverty cannot be totally eliminated in four years,” he said. “But what is clear by now is that the decline of the past has been arrested and the country is now headed in the right direction," he said.
“The commitment and competence demonstrated by this Government thus far, should give everyone hope that the outstanding challenges will also be resolved. These achievements are just a stepping stone towards improving the livelihoods of our people.”
The minister outlined a series of measures that government has taken since coming into office which included the introduction of free education, the recruitment of thousands of teachers and health workers, an expansion of the Constituency Development Fund, the construction of schools and hospitals and increased investment in clean water supply.
“Unprecedented numbers of teachers, many of them having stayed for more than a decade post training, have been recruited and deployed to the most remote areas. Youths have been provided with bursaries. Meal allowances for students have been reinstated. The quality of education is being improved,” said Dr Musokotwane.
He said for the first time in some communities, children had access to running water, while new maternity facilities were reducing the risks faced by mothers in rural areas.
The minister said national budgets now allocate greater funds for roads, airports and industrial development, as well as bursaries and meal allowances for students.
Dr Musokotwane praised parliament for supporting cost-cutting measures such as the removal of fuel subsidies, saying the money saved had been redirected to social programmes including the social cash transfer scheme and drought relief initiatives.
“In this Budget, we have provided
resources to consolidate socio-economic gains for scaling up social protection programmes, building more health facilities and schools, providing free education, constructing roads and airports, and revamping our industries.”
“Madam, I thank the people of
Zambia for the support. I thank the
President and Cabinet for their good leadership. Lastly, I thank you madam speaker and all the MPs in this House for standing together to do the good things for our people,” he explained.
“It is this House that we made vital
changes like eliminating subsidies on fuel and cutting out other less critical expenditures so that the money saved can be utilised to introduce free education, increase CDF, increase Social Cash Transfer and introduce Cash-for-Work which enabled us to save our people from starvation during the severe drought of 2024.”
By Catherine P**e
Kalemba, September 28, 2025
