Zambian President Hichilema swears in 24 ministers, completing cabinet formation

Cabinet formation after re-election

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Wednesday swore in 24 ministers, completing the formation of a unified cabinet after his re-election to a second term in the August general elections, the Anadolu agency reports. The ceremony took place at State House in Lusaka; all 10 provincial ministers were sworn in at the same time.

Key appointments and restructuring

Among those appointed is Brenda Tambatamba, who became the first woman to hold the post of Minister of Mines and Minerals Development in the mineral-rich country; during Hichilema's first term she headed the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Elvis Nkandu, who previously led the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, became the new Minister of Information and Media, as well as the chief government spokesperson. Frank Moyo, who served as Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, was appointed Minister of Agriculture. The new 24 ministers joined the four whom Hichilema had appointed just two weeks after his inauguration on 1 September: they took charge of health, finance and national planning, green economy and environment, and foreign affairs and international cooperation. Among those sworn in were the heads of newly created ministries of trade and export, petroleum, energy, industry, culture and arts, as well as skills and higher education, as part of the restructured system of governance.

The 'Zambia Growth Agenda' and goals to 2031

According to Anadolu's assessment, having successfully led the southern African country out of a severe debt crisis and drought-induced energy deficits, Hichilema tied his second term to the 'Zambia Growth Agenda', setting eight sectoral production targets for 2031: 3 million tonnes of copper, 10 million tonnes of grain, 10 gigawatts of electricity and 5 million tourist arrivals. He called on the appointees to deliver concrete results. 'As a government, we are obliged to ensure equitable development for all our people. That is why we carefully restructured and built the system of ministries so that the state machinery works for the people of Zambia,' Hichilema wrote on Facebook after the ceremony. Nkandu told journalists that his ministry would step up public outreach on the Zambia growth agenda.