On January 1, 2023, ZESCO announced the commencement of daily rotational load-shedding amid a reported drastic reduction in water for electricity generation at the Kariba North Bank Power Station.
This news brought to the fore a “poly crisis” – a situation of numerous harmful events occurring simultaneously which President Hakainde Hichilema (below) has to deal with in his efforts to keep the Zambian economy above the water.
Everyone knows that when Mr Hichilema got elected as Zambia’s seventh president, the country was in economic turmoil.
Zambia was facing massive economic challenges as one of the world’s most indebted countries.
In 2020, Zambia became the first country to default on its sovereign debt.
The country was in distress.
Mr Hichilema did not waste time as he was on the front foot on day one and put his economic recovery plan in motion.
Of urgent attention was to plug the economy and stop the bleeding.
The plan included, among others, debt restructuring, taming inflation, job creation for the Zambian youth, fiscal discipline in government, fighting corruption and restoring investor confidence.
Significant progress has been achieved thus far, restoring order in the country and instilling a sense confidence on the country’s economic recovery journey.
Economic recovery is the single promise I would say was made by Mr Hichilema.
He was keen on fixing the economy because it is the precursor to social development and improved livelihoods for the Zambian people.
Considering the severe hemorrhaging that the economy suffered due to wanton pilfering and mismanagement of state resources, Mr Hichilema and the New Dawn government have so far done a commendable job in stopping the bleeding.
The intricate nature of this assignment, though, is that while addressing the ills left by the previous regime, Mr Hichilema is confronted with a cluster of issues with compounding effects, with climate change being one of the most pervasive.
Further to that, the turbulence in the geopolitical space with the Russia-Ukraine war is doing more harm to the global economy and sending a wave of ripple effects which has seen soaring commodity prices affecting Zambia too.
Mr Hichilema knows better than to sit back on this and that is why on January 1, 2023, he did not shy away from calling on the Russian and Ukrainian governments as well as the international community to find ways of ending the ongoing war between the two countries.
The head of state reiterated this call when he received letters of credence from Russian Ambassador to Zambia Azim Yarakhmedov at State House.
Mr Hichilema has continued to emphasise on Zambia’s commitment to regional peace and security, recognising that peace is a precondition for economic advancement.
Further to that, climate change presents one of the biggest threats to the sustenance of the economic recovery gains which the government has made so far.
This is simply because climate determines water availability, potential agricultural production and energy availability, particularly in a country like Zambia which is heavily dependent on hydropower.
Like other southern African countries, Zambia is highly exposed to climate variability and change due to the high dependence on climate sensitive sectors of water and agriculture and reliance on hydropower for energy.
These sectors are also the mainstay of our economies and are seen through the Water-Energy Food nexus.
The Water-Energy-Food nexus draws on a holistic, socio-ecological systems perspective that recognises the interconnection and value of all the sectors in equal terms.
Therefore, climate variability and change is the main cause of the fluctuations in water availability as well as access to energy and food resources.
The devastating effects of droughts, shrinking water table and drying of rivers across Africa, has increased food insecurity and driven up energy costs across the African continent.
These effects can now be seen here in our own back yard.
If this is not addressed, it would have far-reaching consequences on the economy, resulting into high energy costs, low productivity and soaring commodity prices that would further push vulnerable households into poverty.
In fact, it has been predicted that water stress and scarcity will increase in many countries.
Therefore, the question of how we are going to ensure adaptability depends on the institutional, financial and technological adaptive capacity.
Obviously, the talk is that Zambia needs to reduce its over-dependence on hydropower because hydropower is vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Because of this, the government must start investing heavily in other alternative renewable energy sources.
However, we are comforted with the fact that Mr Hichilema has placed a premium on promoting the green economy and environmental sustainability in Zambia owing to his firm belief that a well-managed environment is critical for achieving economic recovery, sustained growth and improved livelihoods of people.
The president highlighted this when he attended the COP27 conference in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt last year.
Much earlier, when he opened the first session of the 13th Session of the National Assembly, he emphasised that environmental sustainability would be a key pillar of his administration.
This is premised on the understanding that there can be no meaningful economic recovery and growth without environmental sustainability.
This was a further demonstrating of his understanding that sustainability and climate action have become an economic necessity.
In light of the foregoing, the country is faced with dozens of environmental, social and economic challenges which, obviously, cannot be resolved overnight.
But we take solace from the fact that we have a well-grounded leader in Mr Hichilema whose decisiveness, assertiveness and determination is putting the country back on the right trajectory.
The author is an alumni of the University of Zambia School of Law and The University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Masters Programme.