PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has ordered the new Health Minister to ensure medicines stop sleeping in warehouses while patients in rural clinics suffer without treatment.
The Head of State said it made no sense for drugs and medical equipment to be stored in warehouses while health facilities across the country struggled to access them.
Speaking yesterday during the swearing-in ceremony of Solwezi East lawmaker Dr Alex Katakwe as Minister of Health, Mfuwe lawmaker Mufunelo Malama as Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development and Dr Tuesday Bwalya as Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary at State House, President Hichilema said the health sector must ensure medicines reach the places where patients actually need them.
The President stressed that government buys medicines and equipment to save lives and not to decorate storage facilities.
The Head of State explained that every resource in the health sector, from vehicles to office buildings, must ultimately contribute to helping a sick Zambian somewhere in the country.
“Dr. Katakwe. ZAMMSA must work.
We don’t want medicines, drugs and equipment in the warehouses but a clinic in Kambompo, in Chama doesn’t have. But they’re sitting in the warehouse,” President Hichilema said.
The Head of State further called on the new minister to work closely with officials in the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) to stabilise the supply of medicines across the country.
He said the goal was to ensure that drugs available in the national system could be accessed by patients in every corner of Zambia.
“We need to have medicines where the consumption takes place. Let me use that expression. Everything you do is anchored around ensuring that every corner of Zambia has access to the health services facilities,” the Head of State said.
Meanwhile, President Hichilema reminded the newly sworn-in officials that public office was a privilege that came with the responsibility of serving more than 21 million citizens.
He said leaders must therefore put the interests of the people above their own personal ambitions.
“If your mind is clear that national interests come first and personal interests come second, most likely you will get things right,” the President said.
“Public service is about serving the people 24 hours a day, every week and every month.”
The President also encouraged the new Minister for Small and Medium Enterprise Development to ensure that young entrepreneurs and small businesses access government support fairly.
At the same time, he tasked the new Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary with ensuring development programmes such as classroom construction and maternity wings are properly implemented through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
President Hichilema also warned public officials against corruption, stating that stealing public resources such as medicines was equivalent to stealing directly from the people of Zambia.
By George Musonda
Kalemba, March 14, 2026
