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Ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) Director General for Media under the Presidential Support Programme, Frank Bwalya, says parents who neglect their responsibility of sending children to school are making the government’s poverty eradication efforts more difficult.
Bwalya stated that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration had prioritized poverty alleviation through economic growth and empowerment initiatives, with free education as a key pillar.
Speaking at a media briefing at the UPND Secretariat in Lusaka on Thursday, Bwalya said President Hichilema had attributed his success to the free education he received under Zambia’s First Republican President, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.
“President Hichilema believes that addressing social ills such as early marriages, gender-based violence, prostitution, ignorance, illiteracy, and corruption requires improving the living conditions of the people,” Bwalya said.
He stated that poverty alleviation started with education, which he described as the key to economic emancipation.
To ensure that no one was denied access to education, Bwalya highlighted that the government had fulfilled its campaign promise of providing free education, allowing more children to attend school.
“President Hichilema, like many insightful leaders, sees a direct connection between social vices and the poor conditions many of our people live in. Poverty and lack of opportunities are at the root of these challenges,” he stated.
Bwalya also urged young people to take advantage of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to acquire vocational skills such as carpentry, fashion design, plumbing, welding, and bricklaying.
“More economic opportunities are emerging, but those without skills may keep missing them—just as uninvited guests are turned away at a wedding reception,” he said.
He further highlighted government’s achievements in the mining sector, saying many of the challenges inherited by the UPND, including those at Mopani, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Lumwana, Kansanshi, Kalengwa, and Kasenseli, had been addressed.
“Mines that remained dormant for years, such as Luanshya Mine’s Shaft 28, have been revived, and dewatering of the shaft is ongoing,” Bwalya added.
He said these initiatives, along with other economic programs, aimed to create more opportunities and improve livelihoods across the country.
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