ADDRESS TO THE NATION
BY HIS EXCELLENCY MR. EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
ON THE EVE OF ZAMBIA’S 56TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
FRIDAY, 23RD OCTOBER, 2020
STATE HOUSE
LUSAKA
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
GOOD EVENING.
OCTOBER 24TH IS A SPECIAL DAY ON WHICH WE CELEBRATE THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SELF-GOVERNANCE. IT IS TRULY AN HONOUR TO SHARE WITH YOU MY REFLECTIONS ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT DAY, OUR 56TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY, WHICH FALLS TOMORROW.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
WE TAKE PRIDE IN CELEBRATING THIS DAY. IT PROVIDES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY EMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF PATRIOTISM.
ON THIS DAY, WE PAY TRIBUTE TO OUR FOREFATHERS AND MOTHERS, WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO ATTAIN AN INDEPENDENT ZAMBIA. OUR FOREFATHERS AND MOTHERS, LED BY THE STEWARDS OF THE STRUGGLE, KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA AND HARRY MWAANGA NKUMBULA, PUT UP A SUCCESSFUL STRUGGLE FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE. WE REMAIN ETERNALLY INDEBTED TO THAT BRAVE AND PATRIOTIC GENERATION.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY IS AN OCCASION TO REMIND OURSELVES OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE ASPIRE TO ACHIEVE AS A COUNTRY. WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT AND UNITARY STATE. AS A PEOPLE, WE ARE PROUD, FREE AND DETERMINED TO ACHIEVE THE ZAMBIA WE WANT. AN ALL-INCLUSIVE ZAMBIA. A PROSPEROUS ZAMBIA. A PEACEFUL ZAMBIA.
THE THEME FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATIONS THIS YEAR IS, THEREFORE, “ONE LAND, ONE NATION – BUILDING OUR FUTURE, PROUD AND FREE.”
ZAMBIA SHALL FOREVER BE ONE COUNTRY, ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE AND BELONGING TO ALL OF US AS ITS CITIZENS. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE ONE COMES FROM, WHAT LANGUAGE ONE SPEAKS, WHAT FAITH OR POLITICAL PERSUASION ONE HOLDS. WE ALL HAVE A STAKE IN OUR COUNTRY.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
- WHEN THE FOUNDERS OF THIS NATION WAGED THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE, IT DID NOT MATTER WHICH RIVERS THEY CROSSED, WHICH VALLEYS THEY WALKED THROUGH OR WHICH MOUNTAINS THEY CLIMBED DURING THE MARCH TO FREEDOM.
WHAT MATTERED WAS THEIR COMMON PURPOSE AND DESIRE TO FREE THIS COUNTRY FROM COLONIAL RULE.
THEY CAME TOGETHER, REGARDLESS OF THEIR DIFFERENCES, BECAUSE THEY WANTED THIS COUNTRY TO BE FREE. FREE FROM COLONIAL RULE AND FREE FROM EXPLOITATION. THEY EMBRACED THE MOTTO OF “ONE ZAMBIA, ONE NATION” BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT IN UNITY THERE IS STRENGTH.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY CHERISHED THE IDEA OF FREE MEN AND WOMEN, EQUAL BEFORE GOD AND EQUAL BEFORE THE LAWS OF THE LAND. AFTER ATTAINING INDEPENDENCE, THEY WORKED HARD TO DEVELOP THIS COUNTRY TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY. TO BUILD OUR FUTURE; THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN; AND THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN.
OUR GENERATION AND THOSE TO COME HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM THAT SELFLESS GENERATION. A CULTURE OF HARD WORK, DEDICATION, RESILIENCE, SACRIFICE AND A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY.
THE THEME REMINDS US TO ALWAYS PURSUE EXCELLENCE AND EMBRACE A WINNING SPIRIT, BECAUSE GREAT NATIONS ARE ALWAYS ANCHORED ON HARDWORK, RESILIENCE AND EXCELLENCE. THEY ENDURE, THEY OVERCOME, AND THEY SUCCEED. THAT IS WHAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS AND MOTHERS HAD IN ABUNDANCE. I ENCOURAGE EACH AND EVERYONE OF US TO CARRY ON WITH THE SAME SPIRIT OF PATRIOTISM AND HARDWORK.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
AS WE CELEBRATE THIS YEAR’S INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY, LET US REFLECT ON WHERE WE CAME FROM AS A NATION. THE TASK OF BUILDING THE NATION OF ZAMBIA WAS NOT EASY, BUT WE TRIUMPHED. WE WERE COLONISED. WE WERE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS IN OUR OWN COUNTRY. WE DID NOT HAVE A SAY ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE OF OUR COUNTRY. BUT WE FOUGHT AND FOUGHT AND FOUGHT UNTIL WE WERE FREE.
IN THE 56 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE, WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THREE REPUBLICS. FROM A PLURAL POLITICAL LANDSCAPE AT INDEPENDENCE, TO A ONE PARTY PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY INTRODUCED IN 1972 AND A RETURN TO MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY IN 1990. WE REMAIN A MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRATIC STATE.
IN 56 YEARS, WE HAVE HAD 12 GENERAL ELECTIONS AND THREE POLITICAL PARTIES HAVE RULED ZAMBIA WITHOUT ANY ACRIMONY DURING THE TRANSFER OF POWER. THIS IS AN ENVIABLE RECORD BOTH IN AFRICA AND THE WORLD. TODAY, ZAMBIA IS AMONG THE TOP MOST DEMOCRATIC STATES IN AFRICA. THESE ARE STRIDES THAT WE NEED TO SUSTAIN AND TAKE PRIDE IN.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
EQUALLY WORTHY OF REFLECTION ON THIS DAY IS OUR ECONOMIC JOURNEY. WE STARTED FROM A FREE MARKET ECONOMY POST INDEPENDENCE TO A NATIONALISED ECONOMY FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES AND BACK TO A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE 1990s.
OUR ECONOMY CONTINUES TO BE LIBERALISED AND MORE AND MORE OF OUR PEOPLE CONTINUE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AVAILABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES. WE HAVE ZAMBIAN ENTREPRENEURS OWNING AND GROWING THEIR OWN BUSINESSES UNDER OUR LIBERALISED AND ENABLING ENVIRONMENT.
WE HAVE ZAMBIANS TRAVERSING THE GLOBE AND BRINGING WEALTH TO THEIR COUNTRY. IN ADDITION, THE COUNTRY IS AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, AS WELL AS A RENOWNED TOURISM DESTINATION. ZAMBIA IS TRULY A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
OUR COUNTRY’S POPULATION HAS GROWN FROM FOUR MILLION IN 1964 TO AN ESTIMATED 18 MILLION. OUR POPULATION HAS BEEN A CATALYST FOR DEVELOPMENT. IT IS OUR TRAINED AND SKILLED ZAMBIANS WORKING IN INDUSTRY, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND WELL BEING OF OUR COUNTRY.
THEY ARE BENEFICIARIES OF EDUCATION ATTAINED AT GREAT COST TO THE NATION SINCE INDEPENDENCE. AND THEY ARE PAYING BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY BY WORKING HARD AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE NATIONAL COFFERS.
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE THE ENERGY, DRIVE AND INNOVATION THAT IS TAKING OUR COUNTRY TO GREATER HEIGHTS.
IN OUR CONTINUOUS EFFORT TO BUILD OUR FUTURE, THE COUNTRY HAS EMBRACED TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT. WE ARE INCREASINGLY BECOMING A DIGITAL SOCIETY, WITH THE MOBILE PHONE BECOMING PART OF LIVES. TO ACHIEVE THIS STATUS, MY GOVERNMENT HAS INVESTED HEAVILY IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY WITH STATE FIRMS LIKE THE ZAMBIA NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICES (ZNBC), ZAMTEL AND ZESCO LEADING THE WAY.
WE HAVE SIMPLIFIED OUR LIVES, AND CUT DOWN ON HOURS SPENT IN LONG QUEUES AND TRAFFIC JAMS BY JUST USING THE PHONE. WE HAVE LICENSED MANY RADIO AND TELEVISION COMPANIES AND PROVIDED DIGITAL BROADCASTING. WE HAVE CHANGED THE FACE OF ZAMBIA WITH STATE OF THE ART ROADS, BRIDGES, HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS. WE HAVE DONE THIS IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF OUR STAY IN GOVERNMENT.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
SINCE 1964, WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN VARIOUS GOVERNANCE AND LEGAL REFORMS. THIS HAS BEEN NECESSARY FOR THE PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF OUR FREEDOM.
AS AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY, WE HAVE ALWAYS ASPIRED TO BE A CARING COUNTRY, A PROSPEROUS COUNTRY AND A COUNTRY WHERE NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND. WE, AS A PEOPLE, MUST CONTINUE TO TREAT EACH OTHER WITH LOVE AND DIGNITY. WE MUST WORK HARD. WE MUST BE LOYAL. WE MUST BE PATRIOTIC.
AS A PEOPLE, WE ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE ZAMBIA A MORE PROSPEROUS NATION. TO LIVE AS ONE LAND AND ONE NATION. TO BUILD THE ZAMBIA WE WANT. WE MUST BE PROUD TO SHOULDER THIS RESPONSIBILITY AND USE OUR FREEDOM TO SHAPE OUR DESTINY.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
- AS I CONCLUDE, LET ME REITERATE THAT OUR FREEDOM WOULD NOT HAVE COME ABOUT WITHOUT THE SACRIFICES OF OUR FOREFATHERS AND MOTHERS. THEY LAID A FIRM FOUNDATION UPON WHICH TO BUILD OUR NATION. FOR THAT WE ARE GRATEFUL. IT IS NOW UP TO OUR GENERATION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT ZAMBIA OFFERS TO ALL OF US. LET US MAKE THE MOST OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES INHERENT IN OUR FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY.
WE MUST WORK HARD. WE CAN, WE SHOULD AND WE WILL MAKE OUR DREAMS A REALITY.
- WE WILL BUILD A ZAMBIA AND A FUTURE THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE. THIS IS POSSIBLE IF WE ALL UNITE AND WORK TOGETHER. THERE IS STRENGTH IN UNITY.
COUNTRYMEN AND WOMEN,
WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO CELEBRATE OUR NATIONAL DAY TOMORROW. THIS IS A DAY TO UNITE AND CONSOLIDATE OUR PRIDE AS A NATION. IT IS A DAY TO CELEBRATE OUR FREEDOM.
IN SO DOING, LET US CELEBRATE RESPONSIBLY. WE MUST ALSO ENSURE SAFETY ON OUR ROADS. LET US EQUALLY REMEMBER AND BE MINDFUL THAT COVID-19 IS STILL AMONG US. LET US, THEREFORE, CONTINUE TO OBSERVE THE PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDELINES UNDER THE NEW NORMAL.
I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY 56TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY.
LONG LIVE OUR FREEDOM FIGHTERS.
LONG LIVE OUR FREEDOM.
LONG LIVE ZAMBIA.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
GOOD NIGHT.
