Edgar Lungu was sworn in as Zambia President during an inauguration ceremony at Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on September 13th 2016.
Among the attendees at the ceremony were Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, and Botswana’s President Ian Khama.
Edgar Lungu won the 2016 general elections in Zambia on August 11th 2016 with 50.35% of the vote, securing him a 5-year term.
Lungu was first elected President of Zambia on January 25th 2015 to serve the remainder of former President Sata’s term following his death in October 2014.
Speaking during the inauguration speech, Lungu committed to revamping the country’s economy.
During the electoral campaign, Lungu vowed to arrange a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF); however official discussions have not started yet.
The Zambian President also plans on attracting agricultural investments to the country to decrease its dependency on mining and copper.
Paul Chanda, Zambia’s Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Mines, said: “We need […] to foster a stable investment environment, while simultaneously diversifying our economy so we are not overly dependent on mining.”
According to a recent press release of the World Bank (WB), mining accounts for 12% of Zambia’s GDP and 70% of its total export value.
Continuing to attract investment in the sector is crucial to the country’s growth since it constitutes 62% of foreign direct investment, the press release indicates.
