Politicians tend to promise voters heaven on earth during election time but become preoccupied with enjoying the benefits of public office instead of bringing about positive change for citizens once voted into power.

In the 1980s, many African governments vowed that there would be health for all by 2000. This has remained an unfulfilled promise. Here in Mzansi, many households still rely on the dehumanising bucket ablution system.

Zambia’s President, Hakainde Hichilema, who marks his first anniversary on August 24, is a breath of fresh air. His record demonstrates that he is serious about fulfilling the pledges in his party’s manifesto for the 2021 elections, which swept away the utterly unimpressive, autocratic and corrupt Edgar Lungu.

Hichilema inherited a heavily indebted country which in 2020 became the first African State to default on its commitments to creditors since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. By last December, he had managed to extract a promise of $32-billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). His predecessors had tried in vain for seven to ten to obtain a similar favour from the fund.

The IMF’s change of stance was prompted by the new government’s credibility, which was bolstered by what Hichilema calls joining “the gesture” (the current economic and other reforms) and “the word” (the pledges he made while on the campaign trail).

Hichilema’s campaign-trail pledges included eradicating rampant corruption, reviving the economy and bringing back investors. His performance on all three metrics has been impressive. His anticorruption crusade has netted several high-profile politicians, including two former Cabinet Ministers. Surely, this is a huge deterrent to bureaucrats and others with corrupt tendencies and must have swayed the IMF to come to Zambia’s aid this time around.

What’s more, the Zambian economy is in much better shape than when the new administration took over. This is exemplified by, among other indicators, the firming of the country’s currency, the kwacha, currently one of the best performing on the continent. From Hichilema’s election to the end of last year, the kwacha had gained 27% against the US dollar. At the time of writing, it was slightly more valuable than the rand, having firmed by more than 50% against the South African currency over the past year. The stronger kwacha has helped keep prices in check, thus mitigating the worldwide inflation crisis fuelled largely by commodity shortages stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the lingering effects of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Encouraged by the approach of the man they call HH or Bally on the streets of Lusaka and other strongholds of his political party, the United Party for National Development, investor dollars are pouring in again. Only a fortnight ago, Canadian company First Quantum Minerals launched the $250-million Enterprise nickel mining project in Zambia’s North-Western province. Expected to create 700 jobs, the mine will be the largest of its kind on the continent and is part of First Quantum’s $1.5-billion capital expenditure plan in the country.

In light of the improved health of the Zambian economy, the country’s government recruited 30 000 teachers and 11 000 healthcare workers last month. And, whereas Zambia had an electricity supply deficit not so long ago, it now generates more than what it needs.

HH, whose net worth is in the millions of greenbacks, draws no salary as President. In vying for the top job, was his a quest for self- actualisation – the highest of human needs, according to American psychologist Agraham Maslow – or was he motivated by a desire to lift millions of Zambians out of poverty? We will never know. But one thing is clear: his labour of love is benefiting his compatriots.