Nebert Mulenga
28 August 2008
THE day before the body of President Levy Mwanawasa was to arrive in Mongu, life in the provincial headquarters of Western Province literally came to a stand still.
The streets looked deserted. Traffic was at its barest minimum. Scores of cars parked in numbers at various points of the town. The general mood in the town was sombre. And only a handful of people walked about wearing sad faces.
Almost in every direction, people could be spotted in clusters as they listened attentively to the broadcasts on radio. On almost all the radio stations that could be picked in the area, DJs churned out solemn music and recounted the events in Mansa and later in the day, the Ndola body viewing occasions for the late president.
Indeed, the talk of the day both on radio and in the interpersonal conversations of Mongu residents, was all based on the demise of the president and how much of a great leader he was.
Business was generally slow on the day. Only the fast foods dealers somehow managed to cash in heavily on the large numbers of people visiting the town from various parts of the province, as well as from far off places like Lusaka and the Copperbelt.
By 16:00hours, most grocers' shops had started closing. Even some scratch card dealers were seen closing their makeshift shops (Tuntembas) quite early, to take an early break as they prepared to receive the body of their late president the following day.
On an ordinary day, Mongu is one noisy town that does not usually retire to bed with the going down of the sun. Blarring music fills the air, as night clubs become converging points for all sorts of activities. As late as midnight or as early as 02:00 hours, you would meet people walking about freely from one place to another.
But on Tuesday, the scenario was different. The town slept as early as 19:00 hours. No pub could be heard playing the loud music they are renowned for. People looked unusually sober and thoughtful.
"We have all been touched by the president's death. People have really mourned our president. He was a good man. We are very much affected, all of us. It's like it's just a dream. I feel like I will wake up and find it was a dream. Maybe when I see his body tomorrow (Wednesday August 27, 2008 during body viewing) I will be able to accept that he has actually died," explained Meya Nalumino, a resident of Mongu.
President Mwanawasa, who will buried in Lusaka on September 3, died at Percy Military Hospital in Paris, the French capital, on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 after battling the effects of a severe stroke he suffered almost two months ago.
The Government has since declared a 21-day mourning period ending September 9, 2008, during which all national flags are to fly at half-mask, while both state television and radio have replaced normal programming with solemn music and interviews of reflections on the personality of the fallen president.
The late president's body is being flown to all provincial headquarters, which according to the Government, is meant to accord as many citizens as possible, an opportunity to pay the last respects to their president.
Some people have criticised the programme as being a campaign tool aimed at soliciting a sympathy vote in the forthcoming presidential by-election. But ordinary citizens say they see it as the highest honour that the Government has bestowed on them.
"This Government is very considerate of the poor. We would have spent a lot of money on travelling to Lusaka. Certainly, we would have travelled to pay our last respects. We are very grateful that they have brought our president to us," said a middle-aged man, seemingly in his 30s, identifying himself only as a school teacher from Senanga district.
"I have travelled all the way from Senanga just to come and view the body of our father. Even if it was in Lusaka, I would have gone because President Mwanawasa was a man of the people. I didn't agree with him at first on a number of things but I later appreciated his leadership. I personally don't see anything political about this programme (of the body being flown to provincial headquarters)."
As one walked the bare streets of the hilly town on Tuesday, it was so easy to discern the extent of grief at the loss of the president among the people - young, old, women, and men alike.
At Mulamba harbour on the foot of the mighty Zambezi river, which is usually an ever-crowded trading centre, only a handful of people were around. On an ordinary day, there would be hundreds of traders selling fish in all forms, buying second-hand clothes, and taking rounds of boat cruises at the harbour. But on Tuesday, the place looked empty.
A man found selling fresh fish, said the week had been the worst in his whole business life. "This is the last batch I had," said the man, pointing to some 10 pale-looking breams displayed on a sack. "I can give you for K40,000; otherwise I was selling them for K60,000. There is no business. I have been here for three days now. People are not buying. Previously I would sell over 50 kg every day."
Perhaps one is only able to understand best why the entire Mongu town is wreathed in sorrow, and grieved so much at the president's demise by turning the spotlight on a number of developmental projects that have taken place under the Mwanawasa rule.
It was during Dr Mwanawasa's reign that a state-of-the-art hospital, which is expected to be completed soon, was commissioned in Shangombo district of Western Province. It was under the Mwanawasa era that the once "hell-run" Lusaka-Mongu road was tarred, together with the Livingstone-Sesheke, and Lukulu-Katunda roads. The posh Katimamulilo bridge on the border with neighbouring Namibia was also constructed and opened during Dr Mwanawasa's rule.
Furthermore, the Government has earmarked six high schools, one of them a girls only high school at Nakaya, for construction this year, as announced by Finance Minister Ng'andu Magande in his 2008 Budget speech in January.
Little wonder Dr Mwanawasa has been such a popular figure in Western Zambia. During the 2006 presidential ballot, which Dr Mwanawasa won to start his second and final five-year term, which would have ended in 2011, the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) scooped 13 of the 17 parliamentary seats in Western Province.
And even after he won the presidential poll with 42 per cent ahead of Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata's 29 per cent, Dr Mwanawasa did not relent in spearheading development in the West.
Today, Mongu town can boast of having one of the best trunk roads in the country. Almost all the major local roads are tarred in the area: Lyambai, Shoprite Mandanga, and Kambule streets, among others, have all received a fair uplift from the sandy gravel roads they used to be barely a few years ago.
Last year, the Government of Dr Mwanawasa gave Mongu town a bigger-than-life complex of offices for the Auditor General, and constructed a new building for the offices of the Ministry of Health.
Several investments from the private sector have also taken root in Mongu town over the last seven years, with a number of chain stores now registering their presence in the area, including Shoprite and Budget stores.
"We have seen a lot of good things here under President Mwanawasa than any other president. We needed president Mwanawasa. Even after (David) Lewanika General Hospital was gutted, his Government immediately repaired it and we understand they even extended it," said Mubita Nawa, a businessman.
One striking feature on the eve of the arrival of Dr Mwanawasa's body in Western Province, was the soberness of the hospitality industry in the area. Though Mongu town has traditionally been known for inflating rates for the rooms even by up to 1,000 per cent during high-profiled events such as the Kuomboka traditional ceremony, the rooms have not been upped during the mourning period.
All the rooms here, that were being offered for up to K600,000 during the Kuomboka ceremony in March this year, are pegged at around K50,000 with others going for as low as K45,000. The most expensive room for the lodges is about K150,000.
After a peaceful, and event-free night in Mongu, most residents were yesterday spotted trekking to the airport as early as 09:00 hours, though the official programme was only starting at 11:00 hours.
But such is how Mongu town has mourned President Mwanawasa, the man they reckon brought development to the previously 'closed-up' province.
In the words of Western Province Minister, Adamson Mufalali: "Western Province has more to lose out of the death of President Mwanawasa than possibly any other province. This province has benefited a lot under his reign. May His Soul Rest In Peace!"
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