Party leader, Kalaba, cautions Zambians not to be overjoyed by promises of $1.1 billion Ndola refinery project

Citizens First (CF) President, Harry Kalaba, has urged Zambians to temper their excitement over the recently announced $1.1 billion crude oil refinery project in Ndola, warning that it may be another election-season promise designed to sway voters.

The refinery, backed by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Fujian Xiang Xin Corporation, and the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), is expected to process 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day and generate thousands of jobs.

Kalaba in a statement issued in Lusaka on Tuesday expressed skepticism, citing the Lobito Oil Project in Angola as a more credible example of regional energy development.

He noted that Angola’s Lobito Refinery, slated for completion in 2025, would process 200,000 barrels per day and was already transforming Angola’s downstream sector.

“In the past, this government has promised the moon and not even delivered a star,” Kalaba said, referencing the UPND’s track record on infrastructure and economic pledges. Let’s wait until the bulldozers roll before we celebrate,” Kalaba said.

He warned that with elections just a year away, Zambians should brace for a flood of promises—cheap mealie meal, new bridges, and roads—that may never materialize.

“This is textbook hoodwinking. The poverty-stricken and skeptical masses deserve more than slogans,”Kalaba said.

If elected President, Kalaba pledged to prioritize reviving Indeni as a fully-fledged refinery, equipped with a hydrocarbon cracker to process crude oil locally and stabilize fuel prices.

He also envisions strategic fuel reserves to shield Zambia from global price shocks, and regional partnerships to build a sustainable energy corridor through Kapiri Mposhi.

“Kapiri is strategically located. We can make it a hub for oil refining and logistics,” Kalaba said recently at a CF rally,” Kalaba said.

He also pledged to revive Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia, expand the Farmer Input Support Programme, and restore industrial capacity in districts like Kapiri Mposhi and Luanshya.

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