4 September 2008
ACTING President Rupiah Banda says the best way to remember the late Zambian leader, Levy Mwanawasa, is to ensure that all the programmes he initiated are implemented.
Mr Banda also said as Dr Mwanawasa is mourned, Zambians should remain united and show the world that the country loves peace.
He was speaking during a funeral service for the late Dr Mwanawasa on Parliament grounds in Lusaka yesterday.
Twelve heads of State and government, local and international dignitaries including former presidents Kenneth Kaunda and Frederick Chiluba attended the service.
Mr Banda said Dr Mwanawasa distinguished himself as an astute statesman and made outstanding contributions to the activities of international organisations such as the United Nations, African Union and Southern African Development Community.
Mr Banda said Dr Mwanawasa performed well in many areas of national development and helped the country achieve higher levels of development through progressive socio-economic policies.
He said the late president left Zambia in a better economic and social condition than it was when he was elected president in 2001.
Dr Mwanawasa also stressed reconciliation and practised it wherever possible.
He was a strong advocate of good governance, democracy and the rule of law.
The late president responded to the Zambian people's call for a better Constitution by starting the process for a new document now being formulated by the National Constitutional Conference.
Within his first term of office, Dr Mwanawasa re-introduced economic planning as a tool for development by launching a three-year transitional national development plan before launching the on-going Fifth National Development Plan.
Under his leadership, Zambia exercised fiscal and monetary discipline which led to economic stability and witnessed the fall of inflation to single digit figures.
Mr Banda said with the economy now growing, it was possible to achieve Dr Mwanawasa's vision of making Zambia a prosperous middle-income country by the year 2030.
Mr Banda said Dr Mwanawasa worked hard to revamp agriculture, particularly small-scale farming, and assisting vulnerable rural households.
The mining sector saw increased investments, mineral deposits were discovered in almost all the provinces while new mines were opened.
Zambians were now able to acquire mining rights for mineral explorations and mining activities.
"Our late president was equally concerned about gender imbalances in national development and called for involvement of women and youths in national development. He guided the formulation and launch of the national gender policy," Mr Banda said.
And reading Dr Mwanawasa's obituary, Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande said the late president's selfless leadership qualities emerged when he was a vice-president of the University of Zambia Students Union.
He organised students in several demonstrations in support of the liberation struggle in southern Africa.
Mr Pande, who broke down when he was reading the obituary, explained that Dr Mwanawasa was the second child in a family of 10. His father was Patrick Mwanawasa senior and his mother was Mirriam Mokola.
Prior to attending university, he went to various primary schools in Mufulira, Luanshya and Ndola rural.
MMD chairperson, Michael Mabenga said Dr Mwanawasa's death was devastating.
However, Mr Mabenga said the party was committed to ensuring that the principles the late president stood for were maintained.
He paid tribute to the Government for the 21-day mourning period it declared and the chance it gave to many Zambians to view Dr Mwanawasa's body when it was flown to all the provincial centres.
Mr Mabenga, who appealed for love and unity among all the Zambians, said the MMD was determined to lead by example as a way of following in the footsteps of the late president who started the process of reconciliation with other people.
He said the party should find a successor but that it needed unity of purpose to reflect on some available opportunities.
And during intercessory prayers, a Catholic Church clergyman, Father Joe Komakoma prayed for the first family to be strong and to seek God's strength.
Council of Churches in Zambia general secretary, Reverend Suzanne Matale prayed for the nation and the people of Zambia and urged them to continue looking to God for strength.
Bishop Harrison Sakala prayed for unity and calm among political leaders during this period of transition
And Reverend William Chanda from the Baptist Fellowship Zambia advised that the constitutional provision to hold elections within 90 days of a president's death should be revised.
He said Zambia found itself in a situation where some people were campaigning for the presidency before President Mwanawasa was buried.
He also encouraged leaders to love and encourage one another at all times.
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