Fellow citizens,
Tomorrow the President-elect Mr Hakainde Hichilema will be sworn in as our seventh Republican President.
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.
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.
Zambia, tomorrow you welcome your new President and open a new chapter for the country, and my prayer is that this new chapter will be filled with hope and fulfill the aspirations of all citizens, building on the foundation we laid.
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.
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.
And my heart is filled with a deep sense of gratitude to the Zambian people who entrusted us with the huge and honourable responsibility to administer the affairs of this country. I took this as a God-given mandate and He be the best and fairest judge.
My fellow citizens, thank you and God bless our great nation.
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