By HAKAINDE HICHILEMA-
It’s hard to escape the sense that democracy is under siege. According to the EIU Democracy Index, each of the world’s seven regions is less democratic today than it was a decade ago.
Until recently, Zambia was part of this statistic.
Like many countries in Africa and elsewhere, Zambia saw a flowering of freedom in the 1990s with the advent of multiparty democracy.
But over the last decade these gains were reversed as the government entrenched its power at the expense of Zambia’s citizens.
But one year ago, the people of our country brought about a democratic revival.
Faced by a violent and authoritarian regime, the people of Zambia stood tall.
They ignored threats and intimidation, overcame obstacles and voted for a better future.
Ours wasn’t a victory for one party, or even for the Zambian people alone.
It was a victory for democrats and oppressed people everywhere—a sign that democracy’s retreat isn’t inevitable.
When I took office, I committed to ensuring that what happened last year wouldn’t be a one-time event. Future elections will be free and fair.
Like a fruit tree, democracy needs constant attention.

If you come to it once every five years and expect a bountiful harvest, you will be disappointed.
So we committed to tending to the tree every day by freeing the media, empowering the opposition to campaign freely, respecting and entrenching the rights of Zambian citizens, and fighting corruption.
Yet the Zambian Government needs to do more.
We need to show that democracy can deliver jobs, development and higher living standards as well as political freedom.
Our administration has embarked on a wave of economic diplomacy, restoring Zambia’s good name abroad, bringing in new investments—including a $1.25 billion expansion of the Kansanshi Copper Mine, the largest foreign investment in Zambia in more than a decade—and making strides with our creditors to restructure the crippling debt we inherited.
When I came into office, the inflation rate was almost 25 per cent.
As the rest of the world has struggled with inflation, we have bucked the global trend by bringing it below 10 per cent for the first time in three years.
Our money, the Kwacha, has gained almost 33 per cent against the US dollar, becoming the world’s second-best-performing currency.
We also made school free until Grade 12, the most significant investment in our education system in a generation.
Tens of thousands of young people are learning in our schools who otherwise would have dropped out for financial reasons.
Zambia has achieved these gains not in spite of democracy but because of it.
Open, accountable government produces better governance.
That isn’t to say the job is done.
Too many talented young Zambians are jobless, and too many children still go to bed hungry.
But we are on the right path.
As we progress, my hope is that we send a message beyond our borders:
No matter the situation you are in, change is possible.
Democracy is worth fighting for.
It is the best, fastest and most sustainable path to economic prosperity.
Mr Hichilema is President of Zambia. (Published by courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.)