Zambia’s Lungu touts debt-laden China infrastructure as legacy

Outgoing Zambian leader Edgar Lungu on Monday bade farewell to his countrymen in a message touting his administration’s massive investment in infrastructure as his legacy. 

These projects, however, have become a source of concern for the country after debt owed to China rose significantly, sometimes causing delayed servicing.

President Lungu is leaving office officially on Tuesday as president-elect Hakainde Hichilema, who beat him in the August 12 elections, is sworn into office in a ceremony that will be attended by regional leaders.

The incumbent’s humbling defeat was partly attributed to Zambia’s ballooning debt to countries such as China that gave the government massive loans to build infrastructure.

Some Zambians feel that the infrastructure will turn into white elephants due to the economic slump.

“Tomorrow I leave office with a sense of pride - proud of the many achievements that my government scored in the past 10 years under the leadership of our President Michael Sata, and when I took over the reins,” President Lungu said in his farewell speech on Monday.

“Most of these achievements are cast in concrete and cannot be erased now or in the near future.

“Posterity will look at the infrastructure we have built across the country with gratitude. That is a legacy we leave with you.

“Today I look back at our 10 years in office with satisfaction, our failures notwithstanding.

“Yes, there are things we could have done better, but I’m happy that in many aspects, we leave behind a better country.”

On the eve of the polls, President Lungu commissioned the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in the country’s second largest city of Ndola and the commercial hub of its main copper producing region.

The massive project cost $400 million and was financed through a government-to-government loan from China’s Export-Import Bank.

Aviation Industry Cooperation of China, which constructed the airport, said it has a 3.5-kilometre runway and the terminal could handle as many as a million passengers a year.

President Lungu first came to power in 2015 before winning the presidential elections the following year.

He was cleared by the courts for a second full term in this month’s elections, losing to Mr Hichilema by one million votes.

The ruling Patriotic Front leader initially rejected the outcome of the presidential elections, claiming that they were not free and fair because of violence in three provinces.

President Lungu described the transition as “momentous” for Zambia.

“This is a momentous occasion for our country, and we all must be proud for letting the torch of our democracy to shine for the world to see,” he said.

“We must all be happy that even after a highly contested election on August 12, it is the Zambian people who won; it is peace and unity that triumphed.

“I’m personally proud that our transfer of power has been smooth; adding to our enduring legacy as a democratic country, which started with our founding president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, in 1991.”

The incoming president said his priorities after taking office would include resolving Zambia’s debt crisis and rebooting the economy.