Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Edmore Zvinonzwa
26 October 2009
book review
Harare — Levy Patrick Mwanawasa: An Incentive for Posterity
By Amos Malupenga; Grahamstown
NISC (Pty) Ltd 2009; 280 pages
ISBN: 978-1-920033-09-5 (Paperback)
If you thought you knew the late former Zambian president Levy Patrick Mwanawasa well, you might not have been right until you read through Amos Malupenga's rendition of Mwanawasa's biography.
Amos Malupenga is the managing editor of The Post, a privately-owned newspaper in Zambia. His is a book that has the potential of forcing the reader to cry in the way in which it evokes sympathy
It is for this reason that most people only got to know the real Mwanawasa after he was gone. Some of the most accurate descriptions of Mwanawasa have come from other heads of state and government with whom he interacted largely in official capacities.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, speaking at the late former Zambian leader's burial on September 3, 2008 in Lusaka said of him: "forthright and upstanding, Levy was never afraid to speak his mind. He instilled a culture of transparency in his government and cracked down on corruption, launching the biggest anti-corruption campaign in Zambia. He espoused the values of clean governance as one of the critical requirements for the development and reconstruction of the African continent."
In a condolence message on September 2, 2008 at State House in Lusaka, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe weighed in saying: "I bring to the people of Zambia and family of President Mwanawasa, now deceased, the sympathies and condolences of the brothers and sisterly people of Zimbabwe over the very sad loss of a great man whose work was aimed not only at the development of Zambia but our region as a whole. We shall certainly miss this great colleague who was very frank and courageous in expressing his honest views."
Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa, said of Mwanawasa: "A life of great patriotism and pan-Africanism and a life of service to one's people, turning to development that targets the people, a life of honesty, integrity and service without discrimination. His love of all the citizenry has been unprecedented."
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa: An Incentive to Posterity demands that those who had other opinions on Zambia's former top man read it. It is revealing and candid on one of Africa's greatest leaders, according to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who worked with Mwanawasa in both the Southern African Development Community and the African Union.
All the above comments are a reflection of what type of a man Mwanawasa was. Indeed, he was a champion of regional political and economic integration.
In the foreword, President Kikwete says Mwanawasa "demonstrated exemplary leadership and dedication to promoting economic integration and ensuring that democratic ideals and principals of good governance prevailed in the region". (pix)
The book mirrors the socio-economic context in which most African presidents operate and also illustrates the critical challenges they face as individuals and leaders when fulfilling their responsibilities.
Supported by interviews from people who interacted with Mwanawasa on a daily basis, the book also discusses the reasons why state capacity to deliver in most African countries falls far short of people's needs and expectations.
Building this capacity is singled out as one of the biggest challenges for African leaders. This should be done against the background imposed by problems of governance and corruption. These act as the major obstacles encumbering the realisation of socio-economic development in Zambia and Africa as a whole.
President Kikwete writes in the foreword that the book underscores commitment to good governance, democratic ideals and the fight against corruption is the epitome of Mwanawasa's presidency.
Part of the book is based on interviews that the author had with Levy Mwanawasa while he was on his annual holiday with his family. However, the idea of developing the interview into a book came from the author's reading of Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrop's book Winnie Mandela: A Life, which details Winnie's
difficult childhood.
The writer says that Mwanawasa was excited that his childhood would be discussed in detail since very few people, in his opinion, understood him and knew his background although they knew his convictions, which he lived up to on a day-to-day basis. Malupenga adds that the book is an attempt to show Mwanawasa as he was: "an outstanding human being with good qualities but not without flaws". (pxiii)
Although many people did not appreciate his presidency when he was alive, almost the entire country concluded that Mwanawasa was a deeply principled man whose reign changed the shape of Zambia economically, politically and socially. He evoked feelings of love and respect among the population wherever he went.
The writer remains in the background and allows the main actors to speak thus giving human agency and making them construct and interpret their own realities.
The title of the twelve-chapter book, is taken from a prayer by Mwanawasa "....to correctly and properly record this history because it will serve as an incentive for posterity to aspire for good leadership. We need to show posterity the need to invest in good leadership because good leadership is the solution to most of the problems we are facing as a nation. With good leadership, most of our problems will meaningfully reduce..." (pxiv)
The author contends that although Mwanawasa was largely an introvert, he was engaging when spoken to on a personal level.
Mwanawasa was born on September 3, 1948, at Mufulira in the Copperbelt province. He was the second born in a family of six.
He was not very fortunate in his childhood as he lost two years of learning following a fire accident. Mwanawasa enrolled with the University of Zambia from where he graduated with an LLB in 1973. He then went to the Law Practice Institute.
Mwanawasa did not believe violence could solve issues and he differed with Chiluba when he opposed the detention of former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda on allegations that he had stolen some books from State House.
Mwanawasa was first appointed the first Republican vice president for the Movement for Multiparty Democracy in 1991 and remarked then that "I could see that we had started off worse than the Kaunda political regime, which we had inherited. We embraced corruption and all forms of bad governance." (p153)
He resigned from that post over differences he had with Chiluba's preference of certain ministers ahead of him for official government business.
However, he rejoined politics to fight for the presidency, which he landed following the December 2001 elections.
He was candid about the difficulties associated with the implementation of the rule of law and fight against corruption.
In 2002, Mwanawasa set up the Taskforce on Corruption to investigate what had happened between 1991 and 2001. This is the taskforce that arrested his predecessor Frederick Chiluba.
It took time for Mwanawasa to win investor confidence in Zambia as he was viewed as a Chiluba appointee. Donors were not sure what type of leadership he represented.
Mwanawasa battled with his health for some time and died on August 19, 2008 at Percy Military Hospital (Paris) after suffering a stroke on the eve of the African Union mid-term summit in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt in June of that year.
He was buried in Zambia on September 3, 2008, a date which coincided with his birthday.
When he was elected Sadc chairman in August 2007, taking over from Mr Pakalitha Mosisili of Lesotho, Mwanawasa said he would prioritise a number of focus areas during his term, including regional infrastructure development, the Sadc fund and establishing a Free Trade Area.
Some of his other concerns were jobs, wealth creation peace, need for unity, Aids and poverty, which he viewed as threats to the economy.
As Sadc statesman, Mwanawasa was largely viewed as critical of the Government of Zimbabwe led by President Mugabe.
In an interview recorded on June 14, 2008, he said of his motivation on troubles affecting his southern neighbour: " . . . I am concerned with the situation affecting the people of Zimbabwe as a whole and not the interest of an individual or a few individuals in Zimbabwe".
Contrary to accusations that he was being used by the West towards furthering their regime change agenda in Zimbabwe, Mwanawasa as Sadc chairperson, actually stood by Zimbabwe saying that they would not attend the African/European summit in Portugal in December 2007 if President Mugabe was not attending.
Indeed this is a treasure that will remain the envy of any bookshelf.
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