The Telegraph has included President Hakainde Hichilema in its World Leaders of 2025 list, praising his administration\u2019s turnaround of Zambia\u2019s economy from near collapse to stability and growth.<\/p>\n
A panel set up by the newspaper to choose the nominees noted that under Hichilema\u2019s leadership, Zambia has shifted from being described as an \u201ceconomic basket case\u201d to a model of reform and fiscal discipline.<\/p>\n
Hichilema, who took office in 2021, inherited a country reeling from debt distress after Zambia became the first African nation to default on repayments during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.<\/p>\n
Recovery efforts were further strained by El Ni\u00f1o\u2011induced drought, which hit agriculture and hydroelectric power generation.<\/p>\n
Despite these setbacks, Hichilema\u2019s government has advanced a complex debt restructuring process, sharply reducing repayments and creating fiscal space for investment.<\/p>\n
Economic growth is forecast at 5.8 percent in 2025 and 6.4 percent in 2026, with the mining sector expected to reach historic production and revenue levels.<\/p>\n
The Telegraph also highlighted Hichilema\u2019s success in restoring investor confidence, strengthening institutions and revitalising Zambia\u2019s mining industry while balancing relations with both eastern and western partners.<\/p>\n
The World Leaders of 2025 list recognizes heads of government who have stood out globally over the past year.<\/p>\n
Alongside Hichilema, other honourees include US President Donald Trump, China\u2019s President Xi Jinping, President John Mahama of Ghana, South Africa\u2019s Cyril Ramaphosa, President Patrice Talon of Benin, France\u2019s President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky, among others.<\/p>\n
The series profiles leaders who have shaped international affairs and invites readers to vote on who had the greatest impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Telegraph has included President Hakainde Hichilema in its World Leaders of 2025 list, praising his administration\u2019s turnaround of Zambia\u2019s economy from near collapse to stability and growth. A panel set up by the newspaper to choose the nominees noted that under Hichilema\u2019s leadership, Zambia has shifted from being described as an \u201ceconomic basket case\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":3,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,30],"tags":[536,394],"class_list":["post-19014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-southern-africa","tag-hakainde-hichilema","tag-zambia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19015,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19014\/revisions\/19015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}