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- Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in as Zambia’s seventh president in Lusaka.
- His inaugural speech as head of state targeted on the nation’s economic system.
- Hichilema’s allies within the area’s opposition actions joined heads of state on the inauguration.
After six campaigns and years spent as a political outsider, Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in as Zambia’s president on Tuesday.
Sporting a masks and white gloves, Hichilema was sworn in because the nation’s seventh president since independence. He took the oath of workplace at Heroes Stadium within the capital Lusaka, in entrance of an invitation-only viewers. The gang was restricted as a result of Covid-19 laws.
The 59-year-old, who gained a landslide victory by about 1,000,000 votes – unseating the incumbent Edgar Lungu – thanked Zambians for placing their “belief in a easy village boy”.
READ | ‘Cattle boy’ millionaire: Meet Zambia’s new president Hakainde Hichilema
Mutale Nalumango, Zambia’s second lady vice chairman, was sworn in alongside him. The primary, Inonga Wina, served with Lungu.
As a brass band performed the nationwide anthem and varied hymns, hundreds watched from residence.
Newly elected Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema waves on the crowd after taking oath of workplace on the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
AFP Salim DAWOOD / AFP
In between the stay broadcasts, Zambia’s state tv ran commercials by varied corporations – from ceramics to forestry — congratulating Hichilema and Nalumango and promising to work with the brand new administration to construct the nation.
Within the stadium, one nook of the grandstand was awash in purple, the official colors of Hichilema’s United Get together for Nationwide Improvement.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa was among the many heads of state attending the ceremony, together with Democratic Republic of Congo Presient Felix Tshisekedi and Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Hichilema’s victory was seen as a lift for opposition actions. His regional political allies Mmusi Maimane and Zimbabwean opposition chief Nelson Chamisa, president of the Motion for Democratic Change Alliance, additionally attended the inauguration.
READ | Hichilema’s win in Zambia evokes hope for southern Africa’s opposition leaders, says Maimane
The gang roared as Lungu handed over the symbolic devices of energy to his former rival.
Newly elected Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema inspects the guard of honour throughout his inauguration on the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
AFP Salim DAWOOD / AFP
As Lungu conceded defeat final week, the 2 leaders met in an off-the-cuff photograph alternative, with each males smiling. It was a far cry from the animosity that has characterised their relationship.
“We select to not name it ‘switch of energy’ as a result of energy belongs to the individuals,” Hichilema stated in his inaugural speech.
“We should put apart our election-related and different variations and pull in on course as a rustic,” he added.
A give attention to the economic system
A lot of Hichilema’s first tackle as president targeted on the nation’s economic system, a constant message he carried all through his marketing campaign.
Hichilema talks to Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan at his ceremony.
AFP Salim DAWOOD / AFP
“Going ahead, you will notice rationality, prudence and effectiveness from our aspect,” he stated. it was maybe a veiled dig at his predecessor, whose financial insurance policies had been criticised for over-spending on massive however in the end irritating infrastructure tasks.
READ | Zambia’s opposition chief wins decisive victory in election overshadowed by Covid-19
Hichilema promised to revive “macro-economic stability”, by bringing down nationwide debt and restoring investor confidence. The businessman-turned-politician outlined what he described as an “formidable financial and social transformation agenda” that may see the nation attain middle-income standing.
Drawing on his personal expertise as a businessman who turned one in every of Zambia’s wealthiest males, he promised to diversify the economic system and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in a rustic that has been criticised for its over-reliance on pure assets.
Hichilema’s point out of unity, good governance and overseas coverage all returned to improvement and creating alternatives, in the end foregrounding the economic system. He additionally targeted on the significance of a free press in a democratic nation, after an election marketing campaign that deepened the partisanship of Zambia’s media.
“We’re not for large speaking, we’re for paperwork which are action-oriented, paperwork which are for transferring ahead.”
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Basis. The tales produced by the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that could be contained herein don’t mirror these of Hanns Seidel Basis.
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