Hakainde Hichilema

President Hakainde Hichilema has warned newly appointed cabinet and provincial ministers to desist from issuing verbal instructions to Permanent secretaries and their subordinates with a view to gain preferential treatment.

Speaking at the induction workshop of ministers at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka today, President Hichilema said that the constitution provides that a decision or instruction of the President shall be in writing under the President's signature.

President Hakainde Hichilema has finally named his first full cabinet of 24 ministers. This development comes with the getting rid of the Ministry of Gender and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which were introduced under the previous PF government.

Highly notable appointments are Hakainde Hichilema's former defence lawyer and Monze Central MP Jack Mwiimbu as Minister of Home Affairs and former Minister of Finance Felix Mutati as Minister of Science and Technology.

President Hakainde Hichilema assured the investor community that all creditors will be paid via Twitter after Zambia's dollar bonds slightly experienced a sell off when word went round that Zambia’s debt burden is bigger than previously thought. President Hichilema disclosed the fact that the UPND Alliance had inherited an "empty treasury" from the Patriotic Front (PF) government which is why a serious series of intensive audit will be carried in order to know how deep the hole is.