Select leadership lessons from the life of Dr Levy Mwanawasa

The man and his timesBilly C Sichone

1st Edition, September 2008

Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Copy right: © 2008 Billy C SichoneCell 0977429521, 0966559762, 0955429521

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or


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transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Acknowledgment

I wish to thank all those who contributed towards the refining and publication of this little volume.Many quality enhancing hands and eyes perused through this work to make it what it is although all the errors and opinions remain mine.

Specifically, I salute the following for reviewing the manuscripts and offering valuable suggestions:

Mr Clement ChipokoloMr Gabriel KonayumaMr Paul Mumba

Special thanks go to the financiers of this Projectas well as those that granted permission to reproduce their works in the appendix section.

I hope this book will add to the Leadership body ofknowledge around the world. Thank you


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Dedication

To the memory of a selfless and dedicated valiantsoldier, Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa SC


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Table of contents

INTRODUCTION..........................................................9CONSOLIDATION AND CULTURE SHOCKS.....................................12HIS LEADERSHIP STYLE-UNIQUENESS......................................17CONTROVERSIES, STAND OFFS AND CHALLENGES.............................23HIS UNIQUE STRENGTHS.................................................36HIS SCATHING WEAKNESSES..............................................46HIS VALUES...........................................................54HIS PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LIFE..........................................60HIS MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES.............................64HIS DEATH............................................................77AFTERMATH…PARTY SUCCESSION TUSSLES...................................84LASTING LEGACY AND LESSONS FROM HIS LIFE.............................86SOME PENDING UNANSWERED QUESTIONS…...................................99A FEW PARTING WORDS, MEMORY OF THE JUST.............................102BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................104INDEX...............................................................107


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About the Author....................................................161

Preface

When Levy Patrick Mwanawasa assumed the Zambian Presidency in January 2002, many people seriously doubted his capacity to deliver for mother Zambia. From the beginning, many disdained and loathed him turning out to be his fiercest critics most of his first term in office expecting him to give up and quit anytime. They had several historical reasons for this hostile behaviour and attitude some of which are briefly given below:

Firstly, many felt the man was not medically fit tohold the highest office and at best expected him tolast only three months or less.


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Secondly, the path to his appointment and adoption as MMD party President was seriously questioned within and outside the party.

Thirdly, his 29% election victory as President was seriously contested and widely believed to have been rigged. The 27th December 2001 election raised a lot of heartaches.

Fourthly, it was expected that he would be a mere pawn on a chess board since he had been given the Presidency on a silver platter and thus, rationally, he would feel indebted to his predecessor. Ironically, when he turned against Dr Chiluba, his sponsor, the same people charged him with ingratitude!

Fifthly, he did not appear as a confident serious conventional politician before, during and after the election. He could scarcely speak eloquently and convincingly avoiding public debate due to his frail constitution. Mwanawasa was not an orator buteloquently spoke through his work out put.

Sixthly, upon being sworn in, he suddenly turned against his facilitator and embarked on a serious indiscriminate graft campaign.

Lastly, his leadership style was radically different from the expected which many found hard to come to terms with.

These and many other apparently “objective” reasonswere trumpeted by his opponents at the beginning Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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and during his term of office. They focused more onhis weak, dark side rather than his achievements orlong term vision.

As the months rolled into years, many initial critics’ view begun to change so much that by the time of the second term, his popularity had considerably improved to about 43%. Later months proved even better for him as some of his sternest critics and rivals turned to be his admirers and ardent supporters. At the time of his death on August 19, 2008, Levy had reached his peak and leftserious momentum for others to pick up from where he left off.

Thus, this book is about a President who distinguished himself in public and private life ensuring that he professionally acquitted himself well, with integrity and objectivity. We pick a fewgems for our learning and application demonstratingthat no matter what the odds, if God has determinedthat you achieve something, you will no matter what.

Billy C Sichone

September 6th 2008

Mpika-Zambia

An example is letter by a Mr Edwin Sikataitwa in The Post of 3rd September 2008, pp 19 entitled “Levy proved us wrong” Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Acronyms

ACC Anti Corruption CommissionANC African National CongressAU African UnionBP Blood PressureBRE Barotse Royal EstablishmentCEC Copper belt Energy CorporationCEO Chief Executive OfficerDA District AdministratorDC District CommissionerDEC Drug Enforcement CommissionDFI Direct Foreign InvestmentDPP Director of Public ProsecutionFTA Free Trade AreaGMO Genetically Modified Organisms IG Inspector General (of Police)IMF International Monetary FundKCM Konkola Copper MineLAZ Law Association of ZambiaMMD Movement for Multiparty DemocracyMP Member of ParliamentNCC National Constitutional ConferenceNEC National Executive CommitteeOAU Organisation of African Unity


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PALU Pan African Law UnionPF Patriotic FrontSADC Southern African Development CommunitySC State CounselTIZ Transparency International ZambiaULP United Liberal PartyUN United NationsUNIP United National Independence PartyUNZASU University of Zambia Students UnionUPND United Party for National DevelopmentWFP World Food ProgramZANACO Zambian National Commercial BankZCCM Zambia Consolidated Copper MinesZESCO Zambia Electricity Supply CorporationZSIC Zambia State Insurance Corporation

Chapter 1“The morning star is brightest at dawn”

Introduction

Around 1999 dropping into the new millennium, things were clearly not easy for Zambia, nearly eight years after transforming from a command to market economy. Many things were spiralling out of control as corruption, mismanagement and political acrimony increasingly took centre stage rather than Incidentally, the morning and evening stars are planets Mercury and Venus, the brightest objects in the sky after the sun & moonMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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the anticipated development agenda that comes with opening up the economy to global influences. The macro and micro economic indicators were on a serious decline and Zambia was showing signs of a failed or failing state. As 2001 came about, the incumbent President, Dr Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba, laid ground for another political engineering manoeuvre which would allow him to ruleanother third term because “He still had to complete some ‘unfinished projects’ he begun”. The Zambian people were tired of the “game gone sour” and wanted change at any cost. Institutions and individuals publicly and defiantly vented their displeasure and disdain of their ruler of ten years. The man however did not idly sit by but allowed, yea, facilitated debate surrounding his third term bid but it fell through. The Zambian demanded a clean break with the past and commencement of a new slate with a totally new person, better still from a different party that would be distinct from the corruption infested MMD.Thus, the MMD guys were forced to go back to the drawing board and eventually nominated retired accomplished State Counsel, Levy Mwanawasa to arisefrom the obscure fringes of private to public life.It would appear he reluctantly agreed and came to the fore. This selection of a “Retired General” didnot please everyone and thus brought some fireworksfrom people like Mr Michael Sata who left the MMD to form his own Party, The Patriotic Front (PF). Others were later to be hounded out in the likes ofGodfrey Miyanda and colleagues. Thus, the centre stage for the December 27th 2001 elections was set. Over ten candidates contested those elections whichMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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included towering figures like Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda, Mr Anderson Kambela Mazoka, Dr Nervous Mumba, Mr Levy Mwanawasa (though an unlikely winner), Ms Gwendoline Konnie (only lady) and underdog Mr Michael Sata among others. After vigorous campaign by all Presidential hopefuls, Zambians voted and anxiously waited for the results.

As the figures started pouring in from different constituencies, it was abundantly clear that Mr Anderson Kambela Mazoka was the in-coming Presidentthough different contestants had strengths in different sections of Zambia. For instance, Brigadier General Miyanda commanded the Copper belt, General Christon Tembo the Eastern while Mr Mazoka clearly swept the Southern and Western provinces as well as other parts of the country. DrMumba and Mr Sata clinched less than 2% of the votes. Thus, Mr Mazoka was clearly the man of the moment but just before people settled to celebrate their preferred candidate, Mazoka’s victory, Mr Vernon Mwaanga gave his characteristic caution thatresults were still to pour in from some outlying areas beyond Western, Southern and Central Provinces. That was the turning point and Mr Mwanawasa suddenly came on top and eventually triumphed with a paltry 29% simple majority win against Mr Mazoka’s 27%. Hearts sunk in disbelief as petitions and injunctions were lodged before thein-coming President was sworn in early 2002. The swearing in went ahead amidst bitterness, anger, acrimony, protest and an apparently clearly rigged election. Even some sections of the independent Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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international electoral observers were shocked at the turn of events. A similar trick seems to have worked in the 2006 Presidential and General elections.

Thus, Mr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was sworn in as thethird Republican President and assumed Government control almost immediately issuing threats to demonstrators, lashing out at international observers and asserting that he was the legally elected President, regardless of what people felt or thought. His legal mind was already at work at that time! But the apparent sweet in Mwanawasa’s lap was shortlived and turned to sweat because he found a completely vandalised, dysfunctional and confused house! Most of the Government systems had collapsed, corruption was normal, accepted and applauded, drought was setting in, donor goodwill had plummeted, Investor confidence wilted, privatisation proceeds unaccounted for, an extremely loathed party, his legitimacy questioned, his health question barrage and a wholehost of other problems. The mountain urgently needed to be quickly sorted out where possible. Several bulldozers would be needed to clear the mess but most of them were either broken down or not fit for use. None the less, Levy assembled a cabinet with Mr Enoch Kavindele as his first Vice President. The team immediately got to work with little external support but armed with hope and vision as their only momentum boosters.


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During the early days of his Presidency, Levy Mwanawasa did not appear very confident probably because of the deep feeling of the 70% rejection from the Zambian people as well as the Presidentialpetition in the courts of law. He probably was not sure who was on his side and what the turn of events would be at the end of the petition. But with time, he begun to gain composure and made fewer mistakes in public, struggled along but to some extent controlled his temper as well as struckthe right code within his party ranks so that they could jointly face the troubles ahead.

In a few words, we can say that Patrick Mwanawasa had to find answers to the following if he were to ever win the hearts of Zambians:

Endemic corruption, including his questionable ascendance to power.

High unemployment. Weak and withering copper mining sector with

less than 350,000 tonnes pa. Agriculture mess. Drought. MMD unpopularity. Deep loathing from the general citizenry

worsened by health related questions. Macro and micro economic instability (i.e.

inflation, monetary & fiscal discipline)

All these needed serious and prudent thinking though set the ground for endless squabbles and battles that lay ahead. In the next chapter then, we venture to briefly explore those earlier Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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formative years which led to a second term and eventual death of the first sitting President in 2008.

Chapter 2“Every new innovation and practice encounters some form of

inertia”

Consolidation and culture shocks

Levy Mwanawasa’s early years in office (2002-2004) were certainly rather rough and turbulent because people from all walks of life both in Zambia and abroad (Zambians in Diaspora) continued to seriously question his legitimacy as President. A number of common reasons quickly come to mind as earlier highlighted in the preface are here brieflystated:

a. Many felt he never truly won the elections and thus speedily proceeded to be sworn in as the next President succeeding Dr Chiluba.

b. Although he was certified medically fit to run for office, many Zambians were sceptical and


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harboured hang ups about his capacity to efficiently run the nation.

c. Sentiments from other leaders who expressed fears for him in relation to the excruciatingly demanding State House job raised further alarm. They dreaded how it would wreck his perceived fragile health and questioned whether he had objectively weighed options.

d. Still others felt he would turn out to be his predecessors’ puppet having ascended to power with his aid. They would however change their views in afew months and years ahead.

These and many other challenges faced Levy Mwanawasa when he stepped into State House in early2002 to take up the most demanding job in the land and yet graduate with distinction.

Given the background above, Mwanawasa spent the first few months and years consolidating his base and preparing ground for what he would implement insubsequent years. Sadly for the new government, the2001 drought made things worse throwing most government programs into disarray though the “New Deal” government did all they could to appropriately respond to the situation. Despite alltheir good works, the nation did not appreciate their efforts and thus continued the power base

Phrase perhaps derived from the 1930s and later governments of USA (run by Herbert Hoover & Roosevelt) following epoch economic periods. Refer to The Independent Institutes’ “Federal Government Growth Before the New Deal” article by Randall G Holcombe, September 1, 1997Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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consolidation deep into the final months of the first term. We briefly highlight some of the challenges encountered in the first term of office.

I. False/sometimes factual but damaging allegations and betrayalThe first challenge faced by the new and third Republican President included a lot of false allegations and betrayal from people he trusted or expected to support him. Mwanawasa, being a minority and unpopular President tried all he couldbut lashes kept coming accusing him of being grossly incompetent, slow, unfit, clumsy, indecisive and out of touch with reality. He was viewed as a frightened man dreading his own shadow.This was confirmed by his insistence on maximum security whenever he travelled around the country, causing traffic jams in cities like Lusaka. Some ofthe notable accusations included some farms believed to have been acquired and electrified using the Presidents’ influence. Mr Michael Chilufya Sata bravely championed this cause. A few tussles around his incorrectly acquired UNZA land and the Teka farms also boiled at some point. The President was also accused of having suffered too serious head injuries effectively knocking him out to run for Presidency. A dossier was written to that effect but quickly quashed by State Agents. The nick name “The Cabbage” took root at this stagethough Mwanawasa kept disputing that he was not a cabbage but “steak”! On the other hand, corruption in Government ranks continued unabated despite the President’s declaration of a zero tolerance for corruption. Then there was the establishment of the


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Task force on corruption whose mandate was seriously questioned. At a later stage, the family tree saga raged hot in and off the press.

ii. Task force set upAs mentioned earlier, the Task force setting up raised quite a stir as regards to its relevance, legitimacy, where the funding was going to be sourced as well as its undermining the already existing government organs such as the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) among many others. Many raised these concerns although the alleged plunderers saw far more than what the average eye did. A cat and mouse game ensued which proved to be a long, protracted and winded path making people lose confidence in the said force. A brief back ground to this corruption fight is perhaps handy at this point. In 2001, the Post and others had accused Dr Chiluba of serious wanton corruption during his tenure of office. Ms Nawakwi and others openly spoke about the thieving issues at a rally which evidently infuriated the Chiluba camp. To tame his foes, Dr Chiluba took the Post to court but this was to turn round putting him on defence. When levycame on the scene, he probably noted that the Zambian public was calling for the plunderer’s blood and thus, he swiftly strategically got on theband wagon, instituting a Task force to that effect. His copy cat strategy had already begun functioning as early as 2002. The Task force is still with us today (2008) although endangered by Mwanawasa’s demise.


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iii. Loss of friendsAs a result of his tough stance on corruption, the late President claims to have lost a lot of friendsand colleagues because some of them were directly or by proxy caught up in the corruption fight web. As the long arm of the law begun to creep all over the Zambian landscape, a lot of drama commenced that brought about threats, separations or divisions within and outside the MMD party ranks. Mwanawasa claims to have been a lonely man most of his tenure as President for his uncompromising stance. Thus, it became increasingly difficult to trust anyone, perhaps explaining why he turned to his trusted kinsfolk and colleagues.

iv. Frustrations and disappointmentsThe Task force on corruption swiftly swung to action as early as August 2002 taking on very high profile cases around the country. This momentum andfire went on for several years but after a lengthy period of time, the President expressed frustrationat the conviction rate of suspects. Corruption still reigned high and most of the evidence was hard to come by. As though that were not bad enough, the Transparency International corruption index ranked Zambia the 11th most corrupt nation (2005) in their sample! This infuriated Mwanawasa as he expected immediate accolades but instead got a blow in the face. Incessant press attacks continued to daily mount in the private media. The court case delays in the Zambian judicial system continuously bugged the helpless President while tussles raged on in the Task force itself between the Private Prosecutor and the DPP leading to the Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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latter being relieved of his position. All these undermined the graft fight in those earlier days.

v. Pursuit of alleged plunderersAs the fight continued, it had its different effects on different people. There were days to celebrate but there were also days to wonder why the fight still went on compared to what was yielded. Three dramatic fugitive cases considerablyeroded some of the Task force’s hard earned credibility:

a. The first involved a Mr Shansonga who fled the country in very spurious circumstances. The Task force tried to explain but their explanation did not and still does not hold water. The story behindhis dramatic escape is that he was allowed to travel to the UK to collect some information critical to nailing Dr Chiluba and other accused but instead bolted never to be seen!

b. The second case was even more dramatic which involved Mr Xavier Chungu, former Intelligence Chief. The man just vanished in thin air, though many believe he was actually assisted to bolt by state agents. There is no clear explanation as to how or why Mr Chungu remains at large. Others believe that the man possessed incriminating evidence that would have put the late President into deep weeds as well. Thus, it was imperative that he was let loose appearing as though he had fled.


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c. But still a third case involved the overly dramatised fugitive pursuit of Dr Katele Kalumba who fled to the mountains and was later captured after much search. According to Press reports (ZNBC), the man was using charms to eluded police until another more sophisticated fellow showed up on the scene to detect and capture the Doctor! Surprisingly, when the man rolled in the dust and pleaded for forgiveness, the President forgave the man! He (Kalumba) went on to become a senior MMD party official, completely untouched!

But there were other high profile cases that involved Mr Samuel Musonda (former ZANACO CEO), Mr Richard Sakala and a host of others.

Although the earlier corruption fight attempts by the Mwanawasa regime were weak and little regarded by the public, the momentous occasion arrived in 2002 when the President himself addressed Parliament urging them to lift the former Presidents’ (Chiluba) immunity so that he could stand trial and prove himself innocent. The President raised a number of allegations that involved a lot of money swindling and corrupt practices hitherto unknown to the Zambian public. The force of this stand sent shivers across the country and eventually pleased a lot of well meaning Zambians. Dr Chiluba’s immunity was lifted followed by endless appearances in court which continues today. “If Dr Frederick Chiluba could be tried, what more the common person on the road?” went the thoughts around the country and abroad. From that time, people generally begun to give Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Mwanawasa the benefit of doubt as to his genuineness. Others of course were disgusted with this perceived “unethical and unprecedented” move by the President. How could he subject his own sponsor to trial? How ungrateful he must have been!But then, Mwanawasa had a point to prove that he was his own man. He also needed to gain some political clout having entered office in questionable circumstances. Thus we can see that the first few months in State House were really tough for Mwanawasa and team perhaps causing a lot of anxiety on his part but a job had to be done to correct past wrongs committedagainst the Zambian people. It was a hard and protracted struggle to convince and win over a critical mass of the Zambian citizenry many of themrecovering from the previous regime’s mismanagementand perceived heartless policies. The MMD was the most loathed and disdained party alongside its minority (29%) President. Only a genius could turn the tide and thus required drastic thinking outsidethe box buttressed by consistency, honesty and diligence. Mwanawasa was in the driving seat and had no option but to be that man. In the next chapter, we consider his completely different leadership culture which sent shivers and eventually attempted to win the day for Zambia.


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Chapter 3“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to” Kahlil Gibran

His unique leadership style

Levy Patrick Mwanawasa seems to have been a leaderin his own right, though of a unique breed. He seems to have come up just in the nick of time, after having been in semi political retirement for several years. As leadership scholars would theorize, he appears to have fitted into the law oftiming as a situational leader. But a closer analysis reopens the age old debate as to whether leaders are born or made. Clearly and from theoretical point of view, Mwanawasa fits the latter case but wait a minute, he was more than that, he was a natural leader! We say this


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considering his rough background and yet distinctlysucceeded naturally taking various respectable leadership positions in different spheres of life. For instance, he acquitted well himself as SADC chairperson, senior UNZASU leadership, Mwanawasa and company associates, senior member of LAZ, significantly contributed to legal development and cases in Zambia (trial within a trial), Solicitor General, Vice President of Zambia and successful defence of high profile cases (e.g. Issa Galedou, alleged coup plotters etc) among many. These are nomean achievements by all standards. Therefore, by the time Dr Mwanawasa was taking on Presidential office, he was a seasoned and fully baked leader ofdistinguishable character although his profile had been over shadowed by events surrounding his lethalcar crash of December 1991 and thanks to the quick action of the Chiluba team to fly him abroad for urgent treatment. This horrendous episode haunted the man throughout the rest of his life and thus was perceived as a weakness though they were badly mistaken, the man was as bold & brave as a lion, ready to die for mother Zambia! Thus, we can safelyconclude that Levy was a naturally born leader who over time perfected his skills. But then we need todelve into the details and highlight some of his unique leadership attributes that made him stand out from the crowd. I. DirectThe early years of his tenure were times of sizing each other up with the people. The State Counsel surprised many because of his directness on issues rather than beating about the bush wasting people’sMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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time when he actually meant something else. There were no surprises with him. When it was business time, he dealt with it and moved on to other things. Zambians generally feel uncomfortable with the direct approach. This chaos stage proved longerthan anticipated though.

ii. CandidIn addition to being direct, the man was exceptionally blunt and called a spade a spade. He did not mince or miss his words. This candidness offended many pompous people feel who avoided him in the process, to their own detriment. He was deadfrank regardless of the forum and gave you a piece of his mind, though was misunderstood many times tobe bigoted, egocentric or pompous. Probably none ofthat was true except that his style was radically different.

iii. Goal and action orientedMwanawasa was a man of action and believed in achieving goals rather than going round circles when the answer was plain for all to see. He believed in results and thus felt uneasy if one didnot respond to his queries over something. Mr Kavindele tells of how impatient and upset he wouldget if someone did not respond to any of his mails because he needed to make urgent national decisionsbased on the given feedback. He was all fire, life,energy, aflame with action and zealous to turn the tide. Levy can rightly be called an action man!

Iv. In a hurry to develop


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As pointed out in the point above, when Levy stepped into State House in 2002, he entered with the sole determination to turn Zambia into a bread basket, admired by all countries in the world. Due to his prior disputed ascendancy problems, he spentthe first few years consolidating his base as demonstrated in chapter 2 but often lamented that he was forced to spend time on unimportant issues rather than development. He expressed impatience atthe slothful development pace and wanted to do all he could to ensure the nation quickly got on the development highway. He never lost focus of this goal to the very end of his days on earth.

v. People centredDr Kaunda’s humanism philosophy seems to have touched Mwanawasa earlier on in life and as a result, he endeavoured to put people at the centre of development wishing that their quality of life could be improved. He tried his best but failed to completely convince many circles that he was peoplecentred. And yet those that mingled closely with him claim that he always radiated hope and a strongdesire to see a change in people’s lives.

vi. ObjectiveLevy demonstrated his objectivity on issues in manyways than one. Where people expected him to react in a negative way, he sometimes did the opposite totheir amazement and confusion. His public foes and friends, if honest can attest to this fact that theman, though not perfect, did whatever was humanly possible to maintain a level headedness to issues.


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He on many occasions kept his head in all situations unlike most of us. He gave a fair assessment and judgement of issues sometimes to his own detriment.

vii. Respect for the law, “Government of laws not men”When Mwanawasa announced that his government would be of laws not men, most of us dismissed his statement as empty legal and political rhetoric. Asthe years rolled on, people woke up to the reality that the man meant business! The President swore tostick to the law, defend the constitution and ensure there were no sacred cows in the kraal. The latter bit was sometimes difficult to fully executebut he had no choice except to be consistent. This brought a lot of hatred, discontent and raffled many feathers in the process. To the day he died, Levy Mwanawasa stood for the law to the letter as far as he saw best.

viii. No sacred cowsAs mentioned above, there was no special treatment for any one, whether party cadre, ally, relative orfriend, all had to be subjected to the same laws regardless. He tried his level best but more still needed to be done because he was at times reluctantto sanction the prosecution of some of his loyal comrades. None the less, he performed far much better than any of his predecessors. There is a price to be paid for being consistent and true leaders are up to it. ix. Zero tolerance for corruption


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With a burning zeal to flush out corruption and change the work culture, Levy publicly and repeatedly declared his disgust of graft and eventually went on to strengthen government investigative wings allowing them to be independent. He also appointed the controversial Task force whose scope was limited to investigate the ten years of Dr Chiluba’s tenure in office. This was unprecedented and gave impetus to the righteous to rise to the occasion to rid the state of this vice. Try as he might, he never completely succeeded disinfecting the civil service because some are simply steeped in evil vices akin to fish under water. None the less, he ensured that corruption was minimised in public life as well as sanity brought back to the nation. For the first time in many years, a transaction could be done relatively straight and ethically. It often broke his heart when he discovered that some of his ministers were guilty of corruption and did not hesitate to part with them, handing them over to correct investigative arms. Sometimes, his campaignwas made difficult when some close allies and relations were accused of malpractice. He dilly-dallied a little but eventually gave them up. This gave further credence to his detractors to bullet riddle the crusade. They identified a sun spot and this apparent reluctance robbed the noble task of some of its initial impetus and clout.

Transparency International observed that the Private sector remained untouched by graft fight leaving a weakness -2005 report. However, therehave been recent indications that this sector would also be covered in the press.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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x. Cost effectiveness and accountability for/by public officersThe early signs which showed that Levy was serious about stewardship were when he directed Permanent Secretaries (PS) to meticulously watch their expenditures. Often times, expenditure in government is unregulated and porous. Mwanawasa demanded that the culture should change forthwith. Further, he always looked for the cheapest way of doing something but still maintaining superior quality. The constitution making process is one such example although he was accused of hiding behind cost to further his clandestine agenda. The point none the less is that he was serious about public expenditure discipline and thought to be tight fisted by civil servants and party cadres as well. Previously, ‘the party and its government’ were inseparable but Levy insisted that these should be separate and thus generate their own funds. In the Chiluba era, the monetary and fiscal policies appear not to have been strictly adhered to and thus caused an uncontrollable spiral. Mwanawasa drastically put a stop to this and thus, things eventually changed for the better.

xii. Inspirational and optimistic Levy scattered light and hope where ever he went once you understood and accepted him. His vision and desire was to have every Zambian empowered to live a productive and self dignified life. In the midst of pressing poverty all around Zambia, the State counsel saw an opportunity to better our lot and thus did not hesitate to bring about latent developmental projects that included mines,


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agriculture and a general self esteem among Zambians. The “Welcome to Zambia” campaign was one such inspirational point that made Zambia outward looking. True leaders motivate, inspire, influence and bring about a ‘can do’ attitude where ever theypass. Levy was such an individual. xiii. Ability to take tough decisions even at personal costLeaders are ready to make tough decisions and take responsibility for it. They do not cower away or bolt when the going gets tough. A myriad decision had to be made to ensure mother Zambia was on the map. Some of those decisions were not popular but the New Deal government bravely took them. We have in mind the African Parks and ZANACO sale sagas. Those were tough ones but decisions were taken at the risk of losing popularity or fame. Others were wage freezes as well as salary reductions for the President. Leaders are bold and brave enough to take a stand and run with it. xiv. Not singing to the gallery-Independent thinker, own manPerhaps one of the notable features about Levy’s person was his ability to independently make decisions that did not sometimes sit well with the general populace. Once he was convinced about something, he went ahead and did it. He never feared the eye of man nor was he a bootlicker like most politicians are. Most of them have ascended tohigh positions not on merit but boot sucking! When you are independent, you will certainly not be popular with subjective people, but will be pelted left, right and centre! That is why Chiluba was shocked when Mwanawasa turned the corruption fight


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machine gun against him as he had underestimated Patrick’s independent thinking.

xv. Went the extra mile, workaholic, perfectionist tendenciesLevy was a workaholic that often burned the midnight candle to get things done. He refused to settle for less and thus exerted himself to the limit and many times beyond what his constitution could bear. It is said he would sometimes run the extra mile to get things done to the extent of doing some of his incompetent ministers’ job! His perfectionist tendencies many times got the better of him but paid dividends later on though this wrecked his already fragile health.

Xvi. Daring & Risk takerLeaders challenge the status quo and dare venture into areas where everyone else is fleeing. Since they know where they are going and what they want to achieve, they usually come up at the right time,staring potential fatal hazard in the face. Levy Mwanwasa was a distinctly fearless man, going by the things he took up both in his legal professional and Presidential life. For instance, in 1989 when every lawyer was dreading to defend coup suspects against the then President Kaunda, Levy stepped forward and successfully took it up, at the risk of paying with his life. Again, when heput up the graft fight flag, the alleged plundererswith their cohorts threatened him in various ways but the man did not move an inch in fear.

xvii. Direction


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Although in the first term, Mwanawasa seemed disorganised and going round circles, he actually knew where he wanted to go and where to take the Zambian people. His disputed ascendance to power bugged him a lot and thus spent a lot of time trying to consolidate his position as well as provea point. Leaders have a direction before they startout and thus throw themselves into the arena and immediately start heading towards their goal. They know where the organisation is headed as well, having got a bigger mental picture of ‘what could be’. I trust we have now demonstrated some of the salient points that characterised the leader that got to State House in 2002, very different from hispredecessors with a unique style and approach to issues. We next consider some of the challenges andcontroversies his leadership evoked and had to contend with over the years.

Refer to Choolwe Mweetwa’s pithy and accurate article in Appendix 2 on“The Short term mindset’Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Chapter 4“Schisms rent asunder and by heresies distressed”

Controversies, stand offs and challenges

The previous chapter in a sense scratched a bit ofthe challenges that the New Deal government encountered and contended with in those early years. In this chapter however, our focus shifts tothe controversies that surrounded Levy Patrick Mwanawasa as a person or as leader of the MMD throughout his tenure. The President fought many running battles with individuals and the potent press that disfigured of somewhat built him in his last days. Our observations are that President Mwanawasa generated more controversies than both his predecessors combined. He almost always had a controversy running along with him with every decision he made and most of them were never concluded before another fresh one popped up. This confused the Zambian public causing them to be exhausted or not knowing which cause to follow through to its logical conclusion. He was a tightlymarked man. But perhaps that was part of his strategy to raise a storm while he works away in the back ground to achieve something as time went on. Before people realised, the first term was over


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and he was headed for victory for his second and final term. Could it have been his legal backgroundat play viewing every controversy as a debate or court case? We have no telling but let us quickly highlight some of the outstanding cases we capturedfrom the press: GMO saga of 2002As soon as the New Deal administration came to power, they encountered a serious drought challenge. People all over the country were hungry,starving and desperately calling for help and immediate action needed to be undertaken by the incoming Government. The international community (including WFP) came in to offer help to the ailingcountry and brought about relief food from different sources across the world. However, some sources offer Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) food which Mwanawasa blatantly refused to accept onhis turf. Try as they might, the President refused and thus protected Zambia from going the GMO way. This refusal did not sit well with some quarters ofthe international community especially so that the surrounding countries like Malawi and Zimbabwe readily accepted GMOs. They were baffled how a beggar would have the audacity to refuse free food aid in the face of eminent death by starvation. This saga raged on for a season and eventually dieddown only to discover in 2008 that in fact, some GMO was imported into the country in the same period by the FRA against the Presidential decree! None the less, Mwanawasa gave the necessary leadership.


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ZANACO sale (2003-2004)Perhaps one of the most difficult decisions Mwanawasa had to make was to finally let the Zambian National Commercial Bank (ZANACO), Zambia’sonly wholly owned commercial bank, into foreign private hands. After initially refusing that he would not be party to the privatisation of/ sale ofZANACO in 2003, Mwanawasa suddenly turned and flogged the said bank in some mysterious and unexplained circumstances. By the time it was quickly sold, the civil society and trade unions had lowered their guard after the 2003 assurances by the President. This sudden U-turn deeply dented the President’s image and from that time many nevertrusted the man especially when it came to light that other local indigenous bidders had even offered more money to buy the bank! Once again, theZambian people were betrayed and raised people’s blood pressure (BP) crying for the MMD’s blood. Some of this acrimony and anger still manifested inthe 2006 general elections and continues to date. People were bitter and will only change mind when they see the promised benefits. But still, the bulkof the profits will still be externalised and not benefit Zambians! It later came to light that the IMF and World Bank were behind this transaction.

The Sokoni letter/Dr Kawisha Bulaya Nolle 2005About 2004, the Government proposed to enter a nolle prosqui in favour of Dr Kawisha Bulaya. Instructions were issued by the DPP probably

The IMF’s insistence on the privatization of the ZANACO was reported as early as 2001. Refer to the story in the Sunday Daily mail of December 8th 2002Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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indirectly from State House to enter the said questionable nolle. The Private prosecutor, Mr Mutembo Nchito did not oblige as he thought the case was valid and could stand in court. Hence, thebattle between the DPP and lawyer ensued which received wide publicity ending up in the LAZ questioning Mr Mutembo Nchito with a view to establish any of his wrong doing. The man was cleared in 2005. The sad thing is that President Mwanawasa consented to the flawed nolle and only yielded after much press tussle with the Post. Reluctantly, the President (through the Solicitor General) allowed the man to be re-tried and eventually convicted. The other tragedy tied to this case was the President’s willingness to crucify the private prosecutor whom he had zealously hired to foster graft fight. That was a serious blot on the Presidents’ integrity and judgement. But the Government did not budge on one thing, a classified letter written by one Ms Caroline Sokoni. Try as they might (Press) to have the letter released, the state refused to oblige ordivulge the contents of that “classified” letter. We will never know what was contained in that letter except to speculate. Some believe the letterwas self incriminating on Mwanawasa while others think the President and his Justice Minister lied when they stated that the prosecutor was not obedient to instructions to withdraw the case. The letter never got out of the bag but its author was either relieved of her duties or moved to another job. This ‘Sokoni letter’ saga raged on for weeks and months on end, terribly denting the


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Governments’ image while raising the Posts’, Sokoniand Nchitos profile. The Family tree 2005, 2007As soon as Patrick Mwanawasa assumed office, a lot of things changed since he came with his own principles and priorities. To achieve his goal, he had to make many sweeping changes both at home and in the Foreign Service. By the time 2004 was arriving, many of the changes had effectively been done and naturally raised silent protests and concerns. The major problem that people noticed is that the President advertently or inadvertently wasplacing his kinsfolk & personal friends in strategic positions claiming that ‘they were qualified for the jobs’. This did not sit well for the inquisitive Zambian public and ultimately manifested in one of Zambia’s papers other than thePost. This was about the serious nepotism that had crept into about every organ of government. The paper explained how that nearly everyone in strategic positions was either directly or indirectly related to the President himself or the first lady. The paper went onto illustrate their point by drawing an elaborate family tree showing who was who and how they were related to the first family. This revelation was stunning and damning for the President. The man retorted as well as responded refuting all allegations of any wrong doing. Somehow the story died down in the public domain but simmered in the back ground further claiming that most of the Presidents’ relatives were actually posted in Foreign Service away from public view and scrutiny. This latter claim is yet Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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to be proved though by this writer. After all had apparently settled, a prominent MMD person in 2007 erupted and directly accused the President of publicly practicing nepotism. This story was carried by the Post showing how the lady was silenced and eventually hounded out of the party altogether. Although she was deposed, she was not vanquished and thus effectively proved a point. Dr Mwanawasa amazingly was blind to all this considering that he was a high class lawyer of international repute. Perhaps someone took advantage of his busy schedules and planted the “weeds”! But who could that have been? Surely he should have known better that conflict of interest was imminent. But viewed from another angle, how could he have appointed people he did not trust or know to powerful positions? He was merely doing what he thought best and thus he settled for close allies and kinsfolk. I do not think we can fault Mwanawasa on tribalism though.

Differences with the Church and civil society Perhaps Mwanawasa will go down in the history booksas the man who fought battles and quarrelled with about everyone he sought to lead. He unconsciously brought the court to the public domain and wanted to use the same court rules to govern the nation. He quarrelled with the Church, the Oasis forum, thecivil society, individuals, political parties, his own party and even his own government! His style was all about evidence and facts the absence of which there would result in running battles. One classic case was when he denounced the local Roman Catholic Church and later bolted to Rome to make Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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peace with the Pope. This disarmed the Zambian Catholic Church. At another time he quarrelled withthe Oasis forum over the Sokoni letter and at othertimes, he denounced ministers from Luapula Provinceas “stinking thieves”. His avowed enemy for many years was clearly Mr Michael Sata who seems to havevexed the man from his earlier years as Republican Vice President. Thankfully, these two patched up shortly before Mwanawasa died though from public view, Mr Mazoka never made peace with Mwanawasa. The former (Mazoka) went to the grave a broken and sad man as he probably clearly won the 2001 election only to be dribbled at the last minute.

Bitter word exchanges between State House and various parties became the order of the day as either side matured and accepted the other. Lawyersneed more coaching in public relations skills before they step into the public domain to lead people. They need to learn not to respond to every allegation against their person. Chiluba excelled on the ‘ignoring’ score. Constitutional making process (Mungomba Commission) 2002-2005 As soon as Levy got into office, he noticed a gap in the Zambian constitution and immediately appointed a constitutional making process amidst much protest from nearly all quarters of society. His worst enemies were the civil society, the Church and the Oasis forum (which includes the church mother bodies). The commissioners were giventheir mandate to go round the country collecting submissions and eventually write a report for


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onward submission to the President. After they completed the task and handed the report to the Head of State, it would appear that some of their recommendations did not please the President and thus sought to find a way to tilt things his way. Instead of adopting and implementing the commissionfindings before the 2006 general elections, the President deliberately delayed and put off this to a later date in his second term, probably sensing that he could not pull through to the next term. Two bones of contention dominated that bitter debate. The first was the mode of constitution adoption while the second was the 50 + 1 % or simple majority vote to determine the winner of thePresidential election. Levy was on one opposite extreme end while the civil society and oasis forumwere on the other end. Daggers flew to and from fora long time with each side claiming that they were duly representing the people of Zambia. No conclusion was ever reached until Mwanawasa forcefully pushed in a National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to adopt the constitution, almost repeating what the Mungomba Commission had done. This was viewed as yet another waste of public resources.

NCC formation v/s constituent assembly (2007/08)Connected to the earlier point above, the NCC generated a lot of dust in the nation because it was a top down decision more or less set up. Many potential stake holders protested and absconded this conference which was set up to debate the constitution and later adopt. Some political parties and some section of the Church boycotted Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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the NCC with some organisations or parties expelling members who went against party directives. The country was deeply divided on the adoption mode and viewed the NCC as a mere waste ofpublic resources and a reinventing the wheel when all had been done in the previous commissions. The interesting thing about this debate is that people changed positions as soon as some appetising carrots (money) were dangled before their eyes. They claimed to be present on the NCC in national spirit and patriotism when many of them could not simply resist the money. When Mwanawasa died, therewere concerns as to whether the NCC would continue in its current mode. This was a bitter debate with both sides flexing their influence muscles.

To strengthen this argument further, some summoned the previous “indaba” of 2002 which came to nothingbut billions were wasted. Whatever the case, the President was looking for something which he badly needed to get regardless of the cost or waste incurred. Presidential petition (2002-2005)Up until towards the end of the first term, Levy’s legitimacy was in serious question. Apart from widespread belief in Zambia that the 2001 electionshad been rigged, there was a long and complicated Presidential petition in court that ran from 2002 to about 2005 in which the petitioners contended that President Mwanawasa was not the duly elected President and that a lot of malpractices had characterised the elections. Leading this petition were Mr Anderson Kambela Mazoka and Brigadier Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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General Godfrey Miyanda. These valiantly contested the elections but lost in the end. It was a bitter loss and many concluded that it was difficult to dislodge a sitting President especially if he was sworn in. These two gentlemen lost a lot of time inthe courts while Mwanawasa was consolidating himself. Mr Michael Sata on the other hand seems tohave discerned from afar and straight went into campaign mode only to appear as a serious contenderin 2006 while the other two sunk into oblivion, oneby death and the other by probably exhaustion. Land sagasWhile the President was dealing with other serious controversies, the nation was greeted with yet another shocker at the Mulungushi House where a Minister was accused and promptly dismissed from office. The Mulungushi House was quarantined and combed for evidence incriminating any one accused of corruption. While the President was applauded for such quick action, some questioned his consistency and whether it was a genuine exercise if not to destroy vital evidence. While the Minister was fired, a more junior officer was spared and put on suspension pending investigations. Another saga involved large tracts of land offered to an investor in Mpika, Chief Kopa’s area. The fire flared up when the PF Member of Parliament (MP) raised an objection which the President quickly picked up and gave a position. Yet another controversy surrounded the Baobab area land, near Chilanga. Many people were mentioned in that controversy including one of the Presidents’ relations. He refused to comment or involve himselfMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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publicly and it eventually died a natural death. Obviously, who could have dared touch the first family’s apple of the eye? This was yet another letdown of a family member to the well meaning President. Capacity/incapacity to lead nation after strokeFor some time after the terrible accident and shortly before the 2001 elections and well into hisPresidency, Dr Mwanawasa had a tough time convincing the Zambian citizenry that he was in perfect shape and could ably and competently lead the nation Zambia. This debate was even worse when he suffered the first stroke between March and May 2006 but bounced back shortly before the elections which he eventually won, amidst protests from certain quarters. For a while, the man looked in higher and better spirits but many privately fearedfor his health especially after the first stroke back ground. His frequent temper flares, tantrums and moods all made one worried that the man would one day trip and die. It became worse when he entangled himself with the Zimbabwe saga which probably contributed to his second and final stroke. That said Levy Patrick Mwanawas’a health was always in question even when he portrayed a different picture. This affected his public image and took away part of his quality time as he spent it parrying away accusations.

Controversial victory to second term In September 2006, the General elections were held in what appeared to be a clear defeat of the MMD closer to what happened to UNIP in the 1990/1991


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election. Surprisingly, the New Deal government bounced back despite having suffered heavy casualties in the urban centres as well as in some provinces. The day the final Presidential results were announced, confusion for a while reigned as people refused to accept defeat while others felt they had escaped the devil through the skin of their teeth. While people were debating and still recovering, the Chief Justice went ahead and swore in Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa for a second and finalterm. Tension reigned all around but the man once again reclaimed the mantle with a slightly increased vote margin at 43% compared to the 2001’spaltry 29%. Somehow things calmed down and people went back to their daily chores. Surprisingly this time round, no one lodged in a Presidential petition perhaps viewing it as futile academic exercise having learnt from the first term. All sorts of words were thrown against the President accusing him of being the leader of only the rural poor and not the people among whom he lived. Unconfirmed reports have it that serious reshufflesand transfers happened in the Police service and other government wings targeting all those that opposed Levy. One wonders whether this is true but if it was, that is unfortunate for a man who claimed to respect the law and human beings. Tussles with the Press continued throughout his tenure.

Task force on CorruptionAt some point people begun to question the legitimacy and relevance of the Task force. They also wanted to know who funded the force as well asMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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how long it would remain active. Debates took theirrounds with some calling for its dissolution while others arguing for its continuity claiming that legal cases were not as simple and straight forward as many imagined. When the prosecutor’s emoluments were made public, there was a divided public outcry with some calling it a broad day robbery in the name of fight graft while others (especially lawyers) calling it modest and acceptable given the risk, time and importance of the cases. Some quarters even went to the extent ofclaiming that the Task force was funded by a foreign government and hence no cost to the pauper Zambian government. This was never resolved at the time of Levy’s demise. The greatest attack the Taskforce has received is that its cases take too long,there is insufficient evidence or no tangible results whatsoever. The ones behind bars or convicted are not the perceived “big fish” caught or convicted but let loose on ‘technicality’ inconsistent with President Mwanawasa’s claims in the 2002 Parliamentary address. African Parks saga (Sioma Ngwezi & Liuwa National Parks)Mwanawasa’s reforms did not spare any section of society. When the African Parks/Government deal came up to privatise the Sioma Ngwezi and Liuwa National Parks in Western Province of Zambia, people protested to this deal because land is an extremely touchy issue in Western Province given their historical background. Protracted debates raged on for some times with some Members of Refer to Muna Ndulo’s book, “Mining rights in Zambia” for more insightinto the land sagas in the pastMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Parliament openly differing with the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE). But the President was determined and this privatisation went ahead.

Chiluba immunity lifting, 2002Although earlier alluded to, it is no trouble to mention once again that Mwanawasa proved himself a man of his own stature when he addressed Parliamenturging them to lift the former President Chiluba’s immunity. This was unprecedented in the commonwealth but it eventually took place. While the Parliamentarians were debating the way forward,citizens kept vigil outside parliament tracking every event and ready to attack anyone who went against their wishes. Chiluba lost his immunity andstarted the long road to court cases which he stillfaces today (2008). For weeks on end, most people celebrated the Parliamentary move while others questioned the motives and manner of effecting the lift. Citing some irregularities in the process as well as claiming that the former Presidents’ dignity was brought into disrepute. Thus ended another controversy though overtaken by yet anotherpublic issue. Impeachment attempts 2003Mwanawasa faced a near obvious impeachment motion some time in 2003. The opposition were seemingly agreed and clearly in the majority if combined but when voting came, some among their number (opposition) sided with the MMD and that is how Mwanawasa survived that close shave. It appears that many MPs were not that principled and easily moved by the attractive money carrot. Similar


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happenings occurred in 2005/6 when the choosing of a speaker was due, some sold their birth right for a farthing enabling the MMD to swing the pendulum to their advantage. China/Taiwan rift 2006The China/Taiwan controversy was largely stirred bythe opposition PF who viewed Taiwan as a separate state from Main land China while the Government position was that of ‘one China’. Mr Michael Sata fought running battles with the Press, the Chinese Ambassador and His Excellency Mwanawasa. No solution was arrived at and one thinks that the PF would stick to their position if they got into power. That said this debate generated considerableeuphoria and heat evoking emotions from all concerned.

Task force chairmen/DPP The Task force has generally run well but it had its own hiccups along the line. First the DPP (Mukelabai) had issues with some Task force prosecutors which ended up in his being relieved ofhis job only to die later in South Africa in mysterious circumstances. The other problem the Task force had is when Mr Chona was shown the door by Mwanawasa for unclear reasons, perhaps to protect Mr Chona’s integrity. He was replaced by MrNkole who appears to have had some problems in his private life but still functions well.

DEC issuesThen there was the saga at the DEC offices where abuse of office and framing was reported. For


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weeks, stories kept going in the press but the President would not respond probably because a close ally was at the centre of all this mess untilthe press became unashamedly stronger in their denunciation only then did the President reluctantly send the DEC commissioner on forced leave pending investigations. The case is now before the courts of law and outcome awaited. Appointment of opposition leaders to Government portfolios 2003, 04The President nearly tore the country apart by applying the “divide and rule” tactic. He appointedsome opposition members of parliament to Ministerial positions and justified his move because no where would the law prohibit him. Some MPs were ejected from their parties while other parties counted it a privilege to be taken on. But Mwanawasa had a higher motive, to attract and laterdiscard these ministers shortly before the elections of 2006 came around. Some committed political suicide and are heard no more while others swung to prominence and still pose around asgood men and women. Bloated CabinetAt one time, the issue of the government being blotted and unnecessarily top heavy took the centrestage with one side charging that most of the Ministers were needless, incompetent and a high cost centre while the President and his henchmen contended that the Cabinet size was alright, in fact insufficient for the mammoth work at hand. That Government reply infuriated people even more


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and wished that elections would come soon to eject the apparently egocentric regime. Occasionally arguments erupted around this but were quickly quelled or overtaken by events. Looking back and from what we have gathered, it seems the President had a crisis in getting the right competent people to do a good job, hence his appointing or allowing too many portfolios as he did. The trigger to thisdebate probably emanated from the establishment andappointment of another Ministry, that of Gender. Inhis zeal to show commitment to the SADC gender standards, Mwanawasa unilaterally decided to set upthis ministry which did not sit well with the general citizenry. Again, when the Agriculture Minister Kapita fell ill, Levy appointed another Minister while maintaining the incumbent. Many fireworks came his way but he ignored all that and soldiered on.

Office of DC, relevance whether political or civil servant?Dr Frederick Chiluba left a lot of legacy that Mwanawasa would grapple with for some time to come.One of such was the office of District Administrator (DA but later District Commissioner [DC]). Before seriously analysing their strategic nature, Mwanawasa once declared that he would phaseout this position but later appears to have u turned when given the bigger picture. People wondered the relevance of such a position, whether it was political or civil servant position. Others had problems to place where the Town clerk stood inrelation to the DC since the former is the head of the local government structure. With time, the DC position has evolved to be the head of all Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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government business at district level even toweringthat of the Town clerk. This office was and to someextent still is viewed as political, wasteful and irrelevant.

Dismissals Mwanawasa was let down many times by his team matesforcing him to reluctantly bow down to public pressure especially from the Post. For instance, hewas forced to fire some ministers (e.g. Mr Mulyata,VJ) due to public demand or deposed some from one job and either reassigned them to foreign mission or gave them another job (e.g. Mr George Mpombo). This annoyed a lot of people who repeatedly word pelted the State Counsel. In other cases, he acted swiftly and on time (e.g. Chitala, Mumba or Nyirongo) while in others he refused to act (e.g. Shakafuswe) perhaps buying time to bury the problems. There were cases that involved party members and close associates like Mr Koyi, Chitoba,Mr Mwamba popularly known as “GBM” and Mr Mabenga which he for some reason distanced himself from. Levy was an interesting man who would not be easilyforced to do something he did not believe in or seesense. Here also lay his weakness. On the other hand, the vigilant press often persevered in their demands and triumphed in many cases.

Finance bank dealings…Shortly before the 2006 elections, the President issaid to have received large sums of money into his personal account from unknown sources. Some people blew the whistle but the State Counsel explained himself away. A similar situation landed FTJ into Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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deep weeds although Mr Sata seems to have escaped unscathed. The named bank apologised for allowing personal private information to be leaked to the public and mysteriously it ended there.

KCM and BGRIMM sagasIn 2005 and 2006, the BIGRIMM and KCM both international investors were at the centre of serious controversies. The one case involved a deadly explosion that resulted in the death of overfifty Zambians while the other (KCM) involved the accidental pollution of the Kafue river that left many copper belt residents ill, with some yet to develop ultimate side effects. These cases were so clear warranting swift Government action to clamp down on these negligent corporations. The expected litigation or action did not come as expected so another feud ensued between the Zambian public and the Government. Words flowed apace from either sidebut nothing was resolved. Amazingly, Levy’s government by their silence, sided with the investors in clear disregard of their citizens. This was not the only case where the government gave preference treatment to investors while leaving Zambians to languish. This bitter word tirade still haunts many Zambians today and indirectly explains some of the latent xenophobia.

Copper belt Energy Corporation (CEC) saga 2007This controversy surrounded the people who bought shares in the Copper belt Energy Corporation, a former energy distribution company of the now Mr Sata once had a case involving several thousands of US Dollars froman unknown source. This was headlines for several weeks. Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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defunct ZCCM. It would appear that the President issued clear instructions as to how this corporation was to be commercialised stating that it should be a clean transaction without any conflict of interest or corruption. Some people went against this rule and bought shares. When exposed, the culprits denied the allegations and claimed to have genuinely bought the shares long before the Presidential decree was issued. The Private media pressed the President to make a statement but the man remained mute. Nothing came out of it. This schism raged on for a while and surprisingly died away with the culprits going Scot-free. Some concluded that it was because the people at the centre of the scandal were either related to the president or were close allies to the system. This was a potentially nasty scandal but well veiled and quashed.

2001 campaign motor vehicle: for state or party? In 2001, the MMD bought and used vehicles from public resources. This matter was taken to court and found to be true. Despite the judgement meaningthat the vehicles would be handed back to Government, the MMD would not budge and continued to hold on to the said vehicles. This controversy raged the hotter as the years went on and occasionally died before being exhumed and reburied! This court decision proved that the partywas guilty but still Mwanawasa escaped unscathed from being labelled corrupt.

K 3 trillion or 3 billion stolen?


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In one of his famous and frequent outbursts, the President lashed out at some civil servants who were believed to have swindled or stolen a lot of money from state coffers. The State Counsel blurtedout that 3 trillion had been misappropriated and when the press made an issue, his damage control experts claimed that the President meant K 3 billion, or is it 36 billion!? The government from that report appeared to have become worse in corruption terms clearly discrediting the graft fight. In addition, it made the President look unstable whose word could not be fully relied on. The scathing audit reports did much damage exposingthe reeking MMD government pores.

VJ’s controversial visit to the CongoAt some point, Government Information minister undertook a rather clandestine and controversial visit to the Congo to meet Mr Katoto where a numberof agreements and deals were agreed upon. The Post captured the development and raised a storm. At first, Mr Vernon Mwaanga denied any wrong doing andinstead accused the private media of distorting facts. The said press retorted by proving beyond doubt that Mr Mwaanga had lied over his visit and therefore was not a correct trustworthy presidential emissary. Dr Mwanawasa was caught in the cross fire and in the end had no option but to relieve Mwaanga of his post because his continued serving was not tenable. The legendary politician quietly went away, hopefully for ever since his useful political lifespan was far spent.


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The cases thus far retrieved from the “archives” are but a tip in the iceberg, Levy Mwanawasa championed many more at home and abroad, the last being the Zimbabwe leadership saga in which Dr Mugabe emerged victor amidst controversy.

It is truly amazing that one person would generate so much acrimony, debate, emotion, anger and yet remain successful in his quest to better his country’s lot. He could have easily side tracked orcowed away from challenges but gallantly soldiered on whilst keeping the eye on the ball.

He will definitely go into the annals of history asa controversial yet focused leader. We now considerhis strengths that made him tick despite the battles that surrounded him.

Chapter 5“Possess the eye of an eagle and strength of a horse”

His unique strengths


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If one met Mwanawasa for the first time, they certainly would not immediately be impressed at first glance. They would most probably despise him and wonder how on earth he got to the Country’s topjob. But the man had some very peculiarly latent unique strength that many of us refused to take note of. He showed occasional flashes of his potency but we were too preoccupied with his overlymagnified negatives. Yet as an individual, he was highly organised though a bit slower than expected of a Head of State. We have listed some of the strengths we think he had before considering his scathing weaknesses in the ensuing chapter. I. Clear mindedFor one thing, Levy Mwanawasa had a very clear mindon many issues as well as had settled convictions on them. Many tended to think that his accident hadimpaired his judgement but were shocked to realise that the man’s brain was perfect save his slurred speech. In fact, he was clearer minded than many able bodied lawyers. With the passage of time, the State Counsel demonstrated that everyone was badly mistaken on this point and only realised when he outsmarted them at their game! Many realised that the man was no push over around 2004 when they analysed his judgements, decisions and consistency on many policy issues.

ii. Consistency on many thingsFor another thing, the President was extremely consistent on the convictions he held as well as onpolicy matters. Although he had a verbal challenge


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expressing himself, the man nonetheless was very meticulously consistent on many matters. He was notmoved by emotions or by the crowd but objectively arrived at his decision consistent with the rest ofhis past positions. Others easily sing to the gallery leaving you to speculate where exactly theystand on an issue, not Levy.

iii. LogicalHe was not only consistent but logical as well. He looked at things from different angles and perspectives before making a decision. He added 1 +1 to get a reasonable answer which he relentlessly pursued achieving his goal.

iv. SincerityHis candidness at first was not well received but when people realised that the man was sincere unlike the average politician, they slowly begun not only to accept but also support him. Dr Robert Mugabe attested to this following Mwanawasa’s demise. v. VisionaryThe learned counsel was a unique visionary with serious long range thinking which many people failed to pick until much later. At first, he seemed erratic and appeared to be taking the country round in circles but when he got to grips with the issues, there was no turning back. The first few years were spent on defending and consolidating his turf and thus did not appear focused but still, a lot was happening in the back ground which later blossomed for all to see.


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Visionaries sometimes appear out of step with the times but they see what others do not immediately perceive. They see the big picture, as it were, akin to the sharp eyed fish eagle.

vi. DeterminationDr Mwanawasa was a serious iron man with a strong determination to achieve and get things done. He was not the pessimistic sort who concentrated on the negative side but rather planned in advance andunreservedly went full throttle to get what he aimed for. His determination can be seen in his resilience after some failures and frustrations such as his accident or loss to Dr Chiluba in 1996 for the Party President bid.

Vii. Bold, brave and daringOf the many things that the legal fraternity will remember this man for is his daring spirit to confront evil in its various colours. When no one else dared show up on the podium for dangerous case(s), the man simply weighed the facts and came out to represent his client and win. But that was not all, he demonstrated his courage when he took the alleged plunderers, as dangerous as they were, head on. He was indeed a bold and brave warrior. viii. CandidIn addition to his bravery, the man was seriously candid and to the point regardless of who he was dealing with. What mattered to him were facts and the reasonableness of issues at hand. If something did not sit well with him or he disagreed, he


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answered point blank and moved on to something elseworthwhile.

ix. Strategic and forward looking knowing where the country was headedAs a visionary, Levy did not incubate and keep things to himself but ensured that people bought into his ideas in a participative fashion. The drafting of the FNDP and Vision 2030, imperfect as those documents are, was a demonstration of his seriousness and foresightedness. x. HonestSome have tried to bundle him with some of his corrupt ministers and party members but have not succeeded thus far. Every scrutiny and check by theoutside world has drawn a blank because the man dreaded stealing and its implications unlike othersin this corruption infested nation, unless he covered his tracks really well. He was honest and sincere in his dealings both with individuals and as a President on behalf of the Zambian citizenry. Levy was not the sort to short change any one. He loved clean deals. xi. PassionateThe President had a burning passion to liberate hiscountry from poverty clutches that had gripped the nation. He refused to accept that Zambia was a poorcountry and thus justify the poverty in the countryside because, according to him, the nation had abundant natural resources. His dream was to exploit all the wealth we have to better the lot ofhis people and transform the country into an


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economic giant. He also believed that a change in mind set and attitude would drastically help the nation towards prosperity.

xii. ObjectiveNo matter how complex or self pain inflicting, the Doctor always weighed the issues at hand as well asthe evidence before him prior to making an objective decision. He did not succeed in all casesbut the will to go in that direction was clearly evident. Keeping one’s head in all situations is vital for development. xii. Exemplary statesman and morally uprightThe President was clearly a high quality Statesman not only abroad but at home as well. He endeavouredto be issue based and thus remained objective as far as humanly possible. Among African leaders, he stood head and shoulders high above peers because of his virtues. He was also morally upright as we have not received any scandalous stories about his activities in relation to the opposite sex. There was however an alarming story early in his Presidency by a now defunct private newspaper, “TheSeer” which nearly published a damaging tale about a sex scandal in State House. Before it published the said story, the paper suddenly went under or sothe world never got to really know what the case was about and who was at the centre of that scandal. There is no evidence to that effect eitherto prove that the President himself was involved. Thus, we can safely say that he was a morally upright man with modest habits.


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ix. Left a classic will and vision for the countryHis videotaped Will really melted all of us as it was really classic and in a world of its own. The man was clear, logical, earnest and strategic in his thinking and presentation, showing that he knewwhere he was going and the direction the nation would take. The fact that he recorded that will in 2005, three years before his death shows that the man never lost sight of his mortality as well as how to leave his house in order. That act alone taught all of us to make wills and deposit them in the right places when we are very well not on the death bed leaving others to debate your mental soundness when you drafted the Will after you have become food for worms. Succession planning was clearly demonstrated.

x. Considerate to his political opponents and friends when unwell Mwanawasa was an amazing man. Amazing in the sense that he acted in ways you least expected some times. Whenever his political opponent either died or fell ill, he always extended a helping hand if it would be accepted. The average person would havegloated over the calamity of their foes and laughedall the way home. Instead, he came into render any help if it was needed. One of his greatest acts shortly before he went to glory was the unconditional urgent help granted to Mr Michael Sata when he suffered a heart attack in 2008. Legion other good acts come to mind at this stage.

Broad cast on ZNBC TV on 4th September, 2008Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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xi. Extra ordinary courage even in the face of self annihilation and personal costIn the face of many troubles and dangers, the man marched on to his desired haven. He had extra ordinary courage and took calculated risks that earned him world acclaim.

xii. Ability to make decisions and take responsibilityLevy could stand his ground no matter what the pressure was. As a result, he was labelled stubborn, bigoted, insensitive and opinionated. Examples of this are the wage freeze for civil servants, parting with his close colleagues, sale of ZANACO and the two national parks in Western province to a foreign investor. These were hard decisions but he courageously took them and accepted responsibilities regardless of the personal image cost.

Tough decision making is not for the flippant or faint hearted. It demands resolution, clear thinking and bravery to take positions which might sometimes be hazardous or even unpopular. Our late President made numerous such decisions during his Presidency which many of us would have walked or run away from! That is a classic mark of strong leadership.

xiii. Simple man and escaped the trappings of powerAs is mentioned elsewhere, Levy remained simple throughout life regardless of what he acquired or became. This is a rare virtue to come across in these degenerate days. Power did not corrupt or


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change him in any way but rather he harnessed it tohelp many other people.

xiv. Excellent negotiator on behalf of ZambiaThe mining sector was on a fast decline, the Anglo America Corporation had or was just pulling out andinvestor confidence had seriously slackened when the New Deal government came on the podium. From a human perspective, there was no chance for their success or at best they were expected to eventuallyfail and pack their bags and go home. But no, they persevered on to turn the tide which they successfully did. What was the secret? I think the Levy-led team were excellent negotiators who used all arguments and wooed new mine owners eventually opening up the flood gates that we now see in 2008 and probably hereafter…if the right person succeedsLevy. xv. Emphasized quality, perfectionist tendenciesThe President would not trade anything for quality.He seems to have emphasized doing a good job the first time rather than repeat jobs as is so common in our days. His perfectionist tendencies showed upoften and somewhat surprised some quarters! Do a good job and it will speak for you, no wonder he was repeatedly requested to do daunting tasks from retirement succeeded. xvi. Notorious meticulous attention to detailEvery lawyer worth their salt is particular about detail. They make much of facts, evidence as well as how their records are kept, under lock and key. Before they go for a court session, they ensure


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they adequately prepare themselves with their arguments buttressed by facts in various forms. Doctor Mwanawasa was such an individual whose attention to detail baffled many non legal minds because he seemed to cross examine what ever came into his tray demanding his attention. Good leaderspay special attention to detail so that they can properly make proper and accurate timely decisions. xvii. Mentor and team builderLeadership is all about cordial influence not only formal position given by some organisation or even acquired by reason of age. True lasting leadership is influence and the ability to reproduce itself while preparing ground to move on to higher ground.Leaders are more than team players but play makers that energise the team to move to the next level. The late President qualified on all those counts and deposited a piece of their mantle into our souls which shall live on for many years to come. His style may have been different from others but he did certainly effectively leave some of his values into peoples’ lives.

xviii. Humane and humbleDespite the trappings of fame, power and influence,Levy Patrick Mwanawasa remained the same simple oldself. He never pumped airs as is common among learned counsels or those in the corridors of power. Levy maintained an approachable demeanour and was ready to give a hearing to his colleagues, old and new. Pomp and splendour was conspicuously absent in the man. In addition, he never forgot hisroots or background. Many of us have seen and heard


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of people that get big headed and pompous once theyhave power, cash, education and influence to the extent of ignoring their old friends, not Levy. He was humble and full of gratitude which he expressedin various ways. For instance, he was always grateful to Dr Kaunda for his policies of free education of the Seventies that enabled him to complete University education. His sense of debt went with him to the grave.

xix. PersistentDespite many setbacks in his career as a lawyer andpolitician, Levy never for a moment gave up but continued to try new ways of doing the same thing until it eventually materialised. No one ever achieved any tangible thing half hearted. To succeed, one does not have to be faint hearted but determined, consistent, resilient and persevering, which the Doctor was.

xx. OptimisticEven in the most dark and adverse situation economically, the late President remained optimistic that something could be done that could turn the situation right round. It would mean arduous hard work, resilience and determination, with some abandoning ship in the process but eventually the plans would one day see the light ofday. Levy spoke hope and radiated light to his colleagues and their faith in him energised them. It appears he always entered into any situation with a view to win or bring about hope. The lonely dark days of post 2001 election must have been hardfor him as an individual with 70% having rejected Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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him but he nonetheless soldiered on without succumbing to despair or resorting to dictatorial tendencies. xxi. EnergeticAkin to an athlete, the President was a surprisingly very strong and energetic man equal tohis monumental task of President. He seems to have progressively grown stronger as he matured in office and had the first stroke when most of the general public least expected. Not only was he physically energetic but his moral and spiritual energy infected all those that would work with him.He was not the sort to back off or cower away when the going went tough but persevered on until the task was done. The person to succeed him as President must have similar or better stamina and energy to succeed or else they will be wasting the nations’ time and resources in the top job. xxii. Selfless dedication to duty and Zambian peopleThe first generation of post independence citizens were a unique breed and fearlessly fought for theirmother land. Most of them remain patriotic and selflessly dedicated to their country and thus either died poor or were destitute as a result. Levy appears to have acquired some of that spirit although he was only 16 years at independence time.Thus, he was a minor and not part of the initial freedom fighter generation. Instead, he captured their spirit and ran with it throughout his life tothe end of his days. He never allowed anything to obscure or take away that passion for his country. It also appears that it grieved him when he saw the


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country disintegrate due to poor policies or clear mismanagement. Thus, when he ascended to the corridors of power, he left no stone unturned untilhis dream was realised to a certain degree. Though not fully satisfied, we are sure he died a happier person than in 2002 when he first stepped into State House. xxiii. Learning Although alluded to elsewhere, the new dealers excelled in learning from others and improving on the same lessons. When the opposition loudly proclaimed their world class alternative strategies, the State counsel and team quickly sucked in the best ideas and immediately implemented. Akin to General Electric Corporation, it does not matter what the source of ideas could be, all you do is learn and implement! xxiv. Global thinkerTo excel in this ferociously competitive global world, one has to be a broad thinker, quick, technologically apt, responsive and well connected to various entities around the world. Global thinkers are cognizant of the fact that this is an interdependent world where the big picture of things and a sharp eagles’ eye is key for success. The late President had a large network of critical global connections that would help him and Zambia in later years. xxv. FactualThe man was not afraid of the truth but stood by itno matter what it cost him. He preferred dealing


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with facts rather than opinions or speculation in the absence of documentary evidence. Zambians thrive on rumours and spend endless hours analysingand chopping down other people. Rarely do they produce documentary evidence for their assertions but always quote another third person who is usually out of reach! As a seasoned advocate and lawyer, the late President acquitted himself well whilst in the corridors of power. xxvi. Administration and management skillsThis appears to have been one of his strong competencies, knowing where to place what and when.In addition, he knew who to do what and when, akin to a seasoned soccer team coach. Many are extremelyweak in this area and cannot logically keep their minds in one piece but are “scatter brains” as it were. Often, they are eloquent speakers but uselessat management and administration. Others are the opposite but Levy in a measure balanced these two very well and thus could personally respond to someaccusations by producing a copy of his personally written mail. Remember the Mpika land saga of 2007?The man reproduced his mail to that effect! Still others are very weak in financial management. All they know is spending without thinking of the effects of their wanton life style. For a long time, the government was guilty of misapplication and misappropriation of resources which went unchallenged. Levy brought another dimension, emphasizing order, accountability and prudent management of resources. xxvii. Challenging the status quo


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Leaders always challenge age old traditions and ways of doing things. They also think outside the box aiming to get things done in the best way possible. Levy was a person that always looked at alternatives and gave direction on many things thatappeared impossible to the regular average mind. Henever sat content in State House munching away chicken and chips while his people were languishingin abject poverty but earnestly looked for different ways to get things done in a civilised sane way. xxviii. DisciplineHe was both self disciplined and imparted that to others throughout his tenure. If one was not serious, laissez faire and unfocused, Levy appearedvery tough and incorrigible but if one diligently applied themselves in the right things, Patrick wasextremely supportive.He brought some sanity in the Party, Government andprobably his home. xxix. Acknowledged the contribution of others including his predecessorsThe legacy of KK seems not to have left him when hestepped into office in 2002 and thus in the fullness of time, he acknowledged their contributions by publicly honouring or using their experience in ways that would advance the country. For instance, he used KK as a peace envoy as well as advocate for Dr Inonge Lewanika at another time during her bid at a senior African body.

xxx. Drew on the past experience, consulted others


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An ever learning posture is a great prerequisite tosuccess because the person or entity in question does not repeat the same pitfall that tripped them in the past. Levy made it a point to learn from anyone regardless of their status or position life, yea, even from his avowed enemies that seriously criticised him. Before they realised, the MMD adopted their positive comments and implemented rendering the noise makers irrelevant in the long run. His was an excellent copy cat strategy. We canfurther say that he was open to learn from older people that had gone before him, no wonder he consulted KK, called back retired officers to active service and landed with Rupiah Banda as his Vice President in the end. The President was conscious that he owed a great debt to them and stood on the shoulders of past giants. xxxi. Expert knowledge and application of the Zambian lawPatrick was a lawyer par excellence and had mastered the Zambian law like the back of his hand.He could quote legal Acts and sections of the law which others had either overlooked or not known to argue his case. His application of the law was mostof the time accurate, sound and relevant. Presidents do themselves great service if they master the law so that they rule well and objectively.

xxxii. Moral rather than position power/leadershipLevy had a natural commanding presence that attracted people to him and thus, very few could ignore him. Consider his profile a little, why was he repeatedly “sought after” by Government to Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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perform tasks even when he had voluntarily retired or resigned? Consider also his career history and student days, the man was a natural leader. That iswhat true leadership is, not wealth or status granted by virtue of one’s job which many people mistake for leadership. Leadership is influence notposition alone. As someone has said, leaders do theright things while managers do things right. Further, leaders call the shots, motivate and evokeloyalty out of people unlike the coercive type generated from wealth or status.

Thus, we have clearly demonstrated that the late President had strengths that were visible to the public but sometimes veiled in his sometimes misunderstood character and unique leadership style. We now proceed to consider his scathing weaknesses, brace for an objective analysis there as well!


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Chapter 6

His scathing weaknesses

Like any mortal, Patrick Mwanawasa had his own clay feet which several times made him a target of public attack and ridicule. Many things done or said in good faith were often times misconstrued ormisunderstood leading to serious damage control panic quakes. His greatest enemy a greater part of his tenure was the nagging press that often paintedhim black leaving the man demoralised, breathless and perhaps confused. Levy was not a man who would leave any allegation raised against his person unchallenged but fearlessly gave his side of the story and position. This many times did not sit well with the Zambian public as he appeared obstinate, bigoted and at times detached from reality. Yet the man knew what he was talking aboutand as a seasoned lawyer endeavoured to correct or nip error in the bud before it grew to titanic levels. This double edged sword forced him to walk a tight rope and thin line between unpopularity andbeing objectively factual. His legal background could have come into play perhaps. Like any of us,


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Levy was flesh and blood and therefore subject to misjudgement, error or miscalculate and therefore deserved more tolerance and sympathy than he received. In this chapter therefore, we objectivelyconsider his weaknesses as best as we know how during the time he was President from what we observed. These are personal opinions expressed andare subject to challenge by those that knew him better than we did. It is also a very delicate chapter because none of us loves our weaknesses to be publicly unveiled as we feel undressed. Washing dirty linen in public, especially of the indefensible dead is not plausible but again, if weare going to learn life lessons from a valiant being like Levy, there is need to objectively evaluate the man. I am sure the previous chapter onhis strengths was soothing but this one threatens to be hair raising and insulting to some readers. Interestingly, early in his Presidency, Dr Mwanawasa once protested at the way the press overly praised him, almost portraying him as faultless. He advised them to be objective and spare him from being intoxicated with the trappingsof power. That was a good sign of a mature and sanctified man. Thus, let us look the facts in the face and come away positively having grasped a lesson or two from our beloved late President, Dr Levy Mwanawasa.

In dealing with this important and delicate subjecttherefore, I suggest that we consider his down sidein various points which we leave you to expand upon, discard or appropriate as a life lesson. We


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commence our examination in point form as given below:

I. UnpredictableIt appears that from the time Levy Mwanawasa suffered from a near fatal accident in December 1991, things never remained the same. His miraculous survival and eventual return to active politics amazed many though one could tell the telling effects on his public perception and competencies. He is reported to have become moody, short tempered, clumsily slow and at times suddenlychanged his mind about issues. For instance, he suddenly quit the republican vice Presidency position in 1994 but attempted to stand as party presidency in 1996 losing badly to Dr Chiluba. Up to the time he died, very few people exactly understood him fully nor how he would react in a given situation. Granted, we are all unpredictable and mutable to some degree but his seemed a bit exaggerated. ii. Strong willed and sometimes inflexibleAnother pitfall which qualifies both strength as well as a weakness is his strong willed-ness. Once the man made up his mind on something or took a position, he could not easily move an inch, hence the nick name “Ichibumba” meaning a “Wall”. This strong opinionated stand and inflexibility tended to work against him several times especially if he was on the wrong end of a point. To get things done, one needs some measure of a strong will, firmness and resolution to some extent and yet there need to have a healthy flexibility balance


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giving others the benefit of doubt and space to be heard. A delicate balance is important. iii. Unstable healthFrom the beginning of his Presidency to the end, President Mwanawasa was perceived to be of fragile health especially following the accident he suffered earlier on. The fatal accident was so nasty that his aid died but he was evacuated in a coma to South Africa for emergency treatment. Afterhis return, he appeared slow, clumsy, easily tired,frail and rather shaky unlike in the past. Furthermore, his speech slurred and made many mistakes whenever he was upset or dealing with a sensitive matter. At other times, he seemed to be in a world of his own, disappeared from public viewor simply was in a bad mood. The man was afflicted with many illnesses and conditions that included high blood pressure, Diabetes, mild epilepsy (although not confirmed by writer) and prostate cancer, all in one mortal! It is simply amazing that the man could have so much on him and yet tick.In fact, many people thought the man was not fit tohave taken up the Presidency in the first place because of his poor health. The BBC obituary says something like this: “Questions about Mr Mwanawasa’s health dominated his Presidency” signifying that even the outside world knew about this amazing man’s questionable health. Others evengo to the extent of claiming that the man was advised to lay aside his presidency after the firststroke, warning of a more fatal one to return if he Refer to The Weekly Angel of 16-22nd October 2006 pp 12 to confirm thisMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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did not heed, but the man is said to have ignored this and went ahead to stand and win the elections of 2006.

Generally, his unclear health status was a huge contributor to his unpopularity, questioning of hiseligibility to hold the highest office in the land.To deride him for this, his detractors called him a“cabbage” that would soon collapse and die within amatter of months into his first term. Amazingly, hepulled through and grew stronger with the passage of time.

iv. Weak charismaClosely connected to the preceding point, Mwanawasasuffered from serious charisma deficit compared to his predecessor, Fredrick Titus Chiluba who was a world class orator. He could scarcely complete a sentence without stammering or making a mistake in the process. This was worse in the earlier years but as he grew confident, the man made statistically fewer mistakes although when he was unwell, he did. Those who knew him well say they detected upcoming illness by the increased mistakesand immediately recommended treatment or rest. Dr Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba could pull crowds with his refined melodious voice and convince multitudes but Mwanwasa was the exact opposite, failing to say something confidently unless he was reading from a written speech. Whenever he deviatedand got upset, he said something wild sending damage control experts into serious hard work to correct issues! While Chiluba had smooth words, Mwanawasa had tough talk, was factual and issue Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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based leading to solutions. Perhaps he spoke eloquently through actions rather than words. But then, charisma is a serious factor in a democratic society. v. Emotionally UnstableAh, this was one of Mwanawasa’s major flaws, the man had a short bad temper! Although he tried to work on it over time, he never seems to have completely got over it. He would turn into fits of rage within a short time, say tough things and later cool down. The Zambian public was often confused and wondered where the issues lay. Only later would they understand what the old man meant.Whenever he removed his eyes from the written speech, everyone braced for any bombshell and breathed a sigh of relief after the session was over. Dr Kaunda used to have similar tantrums but Mwanawasa was worse, sometimes undressing people inpublic without any qualms. For instance, the once famed evangelist and pastor, Dr Nervous Mumba was publicly lambasted and ejected from the VP positionbecause of his perceived immaturity and ambition. From that time, Levy turned to the older more mature and mute folk to deputize him, although initially he wanted to empower the younger generation. A private paper even published a series of articles on what they termed Mwanawasa’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) flaw to explain his instability. The News paper soon closed after that perhaps viewed as a state security threat. If permission was granted, we would have reproduced that write up. That said, the paper argued that Mwanawasa’s emotional instability emanated from theMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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1991 accident affecting part of his brain, particularly the speech and emotional centres otherwise the rest of the brain was okay. This Dossier raised further questions bordering on his fitness to hold office.

At other times, the man flung into outbursts that attacked former Presidents whom he later used for some international assignments. He was at daggers drawn with about every one, the civil society, Oasis forum (including LAZ), the church and even some of his own party members! One time he even called People from the Luapula Province as ‘stinking thieves!!’ Vi. Perceived selective in Corruption fightAlthough well meant and to a large extent sincere in his corruption fight, some serious gaps and inconsistencies eroded some of his confidence levelconstituency. The reason is that the corruption fight scope was limited to ten years (Chiluba’s tenure), sometimes appeared targeted at his political opponents contrary to his proclamations of a “government of laws” with no sacred cows. However, he seemed to have protected some of his allies or dealt with them with kids’ gloves. For instance, Dr Katele Kalumba (in court for allegations), Mr Michael Mabenga (Judgement from Supreme Court delivered), Mr VJ Mwaanga (mentioned in Zamtrop transactions), some relatives and selected party cadres enjoyed unexplained “immunity” or tolerance. This made many people consider the graft fight as a mere political opponent strategic tool to cow people into silence.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Several cases come to the fore such as the controversial Bulaya Nolle, DEC saga, Mulyata issueand Baobab land saga (where his daughter was mentioned), just to mention a few. vii. NepotismAnother dark spot that marred Mwanawasa’s credence to fairness is the whole issue of relatives and friends. He seemed not to have had any qualms aboutplanting his kinsfolk and friends in key positions of influence as long as they had the correct academic credentials rather than competence. It is difficult to substantiate all the allegations but one thing is clear that many people from his clan got high profile jobs largely because they were either related to the first family or in good bookswith the big man. A local paper had running battleswith the first family about what came to be known as the “family tree”, an elaborate structure that traced all those in government due to their connections to State House. Others say that the majority of his relations and friends were shunted in diplomatic service, far away from home so that they could not easily be spotted. Thus, whenever the man fell ill, not a few people got sick as wellbecause their jobs hinged on his continuing in office. That is why some think he opted to continuein office after the first stroke because the “Baobab tree” would have been in trouble if he suddenly left office. The President vehemently denied this charge challenging people to substantiate why he could not offer ANY of his relations a job since they were Zambians deserving equal chance to the national cake. This issue Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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remained unresolved to the day he died and simmeredin the back ground none the less. Viewed from another angle though, is it truly possible to avoidone’s relatives and friends in public life? For in Zambia today, being a small population, we are almost all related by inter marriage or by proxy. This is confirmed in church, business, government and NGOs circles, where sometimes biological relatives work in the same firm though reporting todifferent supervisors. That said Mwanawasa’s enemies threw boulders not small stones on this point. Mr Vernon Mwaanga has confirmed this in his book, “The Long sunset: My personal reflections”.

Viii. MMD LegacyOne of the characteristic marks of a leader is thatthey reproduce themselves and leave the motor running efficiently long after they have left the centre stage or handed over the mantle. In other words, legacy tests ones’ leadership quality. Mwanawasa left the MMD orphaned without a Party President or vice. In fact, the acting Republican Vice President, Mr Rupiah Banda still belonged to the now frail UNIP, akin to raising a zombie party in a different garb back to prominence. The reason for this problem is not exactly clear but it could be that the late President feared opposition and thus settled for an old frail deputy regardless of their roots? At the last party convention before the 2006 elections, there were serious conflicts about who would occupy this sensitive position forcing the President “freeze” the position (vice As narrated by Jokotoe Edem, “VJ’s last hurrah?” The Post, September 12, 2008Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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President) until further notice. Unfortunately, at the time of his death, the party remained headless leading to a serious leadership vacuum. Apart from that, Mwanawasa does not seem to have succeeded in winning a critical mass of the MMD members and cadres who identified with his values, especially the separation of state and party as well as the graft fight. He tolerated alleged plunderers to hold influential positions in the party positioningthemselves for greater things in future thus potentially killing his integrity legacy. Mwanawasaneeded more time to change things or should he havebelonged to another cleaner party? But where on earth can one get such? In short, Mwanawasa portrayed weakness in party succession planning, although dicey in itself, perhaps explaining why heleft it alone.

ix. Too particular and some times over reacted to little thingsMwanawasa was too particular about little, little things to which he sometimes reacted more than he should have. Perhaps his legal back ground played arole where meticulous attention to detail is not only a hall mark but a necessity. Many mediocre people often found themselves on the left foot or the wrong end of the stick, only realising when they were on the ground! For instance, some people he fired wondered what they had done and to date donot fully understand what went wrong. The State counsel was not only particular about what was donebut how it was done. Careless Zambians found him too tough on this one.


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x. Uncalculated careless utterancesBeing a candid and direct man, Mwanawasa was uniquein his own right but in terms of correctness of howhe said things, he did badly many times. He would easily flare into anger resulting in his point being either misunderstood or misconstrued with damaging effects. At times he seemed to say things which he had not fully processed and properly packaged for his audience which did not sit well. He spoke either rashly or too early before its timebefore people resonated with what he meant. His enemies made political mileage out of these episodes at great cost to the Government in managing damage control. At times, his directness helped matters nonetheless. For instance, his description of Zimbabwe as a ‘sinking Titanic’ in apparent reference to Mugabe’s bad rule was on the dot and earned him international acclaim.

Xii. Selective in disciplining Ministers, friends and MMD cadresPatrick was a serious disciplinarian of high rank. E violently reacted to all wrong and greatly encouraged the good out of some one. Not even his colleagues or family members were spared from his wrath once they crossed his path. However, Levy appears to have had some people he treated special for various reasons, especially if they were critical to his political survival and agenda. In one case, he reacted immediately with furry but in the next similar case, he glossed over and defendedthem until both sides of the tussle got tired and gave up. For instance, the lands minister was firedimmediately without clear evidence while the


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Southern Province Minister was preserved until a serious battle with the press ensued. In one case some alleged corrupt people were allowed to contestelections while in another others were barred. In one case a perceived party traitor is punished and ejected, in another, the Presidents’ nephew raises storms in the party but is spared or treated with kids’ gloves. In one case, graft enforcement wings speedily clamp down on someone while the Presidents’ allies or relative go scot-free for similar misdemeanours or felonies until the press intervenes in the fight. These all showed partiality and undermined the Presidents’ quest fora just and fair society. xiii. Workaholic and at times weak delegator/team playerAlthough this point could equally be a huge strength as well but I feel the President over worked himself to the point of death. That he couldnot detect that he was over working is not the question but that he realised that he was shortening his life span is quite another thing. Heseemed absorbed and deeply in love with his work that he threw all caution to the wind to the detriment of his own soul. For instance, the punishing itinerant he took to Milanzi before flying out to Egypt on June 28 was had a telling effect on him though he probably ignored the tale tell signs from his body. He was too absorbed with his work that he eventually “killed the horse God gave him” Some sources say that even when the man was unwell, he still got papers by his side and laboured on! If half the Zambians worked as hard, Zambia would be radically transformed in a short Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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time! But care must be taken to preserve that horse(body)!

xiv. Weak diplomacyLevy could be rough and undiplomatic at times. If something did not make sense to him, he would reactthere and then embarrassing his colleagues and friends sometimes. Mr Martin Kalunga-Banda though brings along another dimension previously unknown to the world. He claims that the man was actually calm, collected, courteous and approachable in private but in public he was more of a lion than a lamb. He called spade a spade and meant it.

Xv. Impatient at timesThe last weakness of Dr Mwanawasa is that he was generally an impatient man and quickly went into fits of rage or frustration if he did not get what he feedback necessary to make a critical decision. He wanted instant responses and was impatient to see results in what he did. Planning meticulously well in the back ground, when he laid his case on the table, he always expected to succeed the first time without much ado. Lazy and scandalous people feared to cross paths with him on that and thus fled from his towering figure.

Xvi. Poor Public Relations (PR)The State Counsel had a seriously defective public relation handicap throughout his tenure. He provoked a lot of situations that led to controversies that infuriated many people ending infrustration and pariah for him. Even where he meantwell, things turned sour, backfiring in his face. Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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The private press taunted him as one who left one fearing for what he would say next, only he lifted his eyes off the written speech. Privately, he is said to have been a warm courteous and reasonable gentleman but somehow things went wrong in public especially when he was annoyed over something. These and many other weaknesses played a serious role in weakening his leadership and influence as long as he was alive. The best is that he learnt how to handle most of them although some went with him to the grave.

Having looked at both his peculiar strengths and weaknesses, we now proceed to consider his values that guided him as he led the country (Zambia).

Chapter 7“What you are in public and private is what you believe”

His values

What a man cherishes, believes, espouses and values as important defines who they really are. Their values thus ultimately influence the way theyreact or portray themselves both in private and


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public life. As is often said in theological circles, “What one believes influences their behaviour and practice”. Values are either acquiredor automatically adopted from our environment or back ground. As such, they eventually define our world view. These principles and convictions differfrom person to person and to a large extent regulate the will in whatever decisions taken. Whatone perceives as important may not necessarily be so for the next person and what is worth dying for may not be so for the other. Levy Mwanawasa had firm convictions that came out during his tenure and have been passed on to us, whether we like it or not. What he considered important may have been disdained by others because value systems and convictions differ. Happily, most of his convictions were sound and worth emulating. In thisdiscussion, we synthesise some of his salient convictions that we observed during his Presidency which most of us do well to emulate where necessary- the “softer” virtues. As earlier stated, what one values as important ultimately influences the way they behave as well as their world view. We commence by considering his values one after the other:

I. EquityFairness is a hard virtue to harness and maintain in all circumstance. Either we are biased, lopsidedor simply favour someone without due regard to the proper key indicators. Levy endeavoured to view allmen the same, valuable in God’s sight deserving dignified treatment. Although sometimes appeared tofavour some people, he was generally a fair man. HeMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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helped to build rather than tear down some one as had been the case in the previous regimes before him. Further, he endeavoured to create a public awareness and facilitate equity in our judicial system by building capacity in various ways. ii. JusticeClosely connected to the first point, Dr Mwanawasa tried to do his level best to build a society wherejustice for all was practiced and guaranteed. Emanating from his conviction, he viewed all men equal before the law and even changed the ‘Ministryof Legal affairs’ to the ‘Justice Ministry’ to reflect his convictions. Having been steeped in serious corruption, the country was difficult to manage and inculcate a sense of responsibility and justice in its citizenry but with time, that begun to trickle down to the lower operatives. Mwanawasa passionately felt some the country’s woes lay around injustice and thus needed urgent attention.

iii. HonestyHonesty has to do with being sincere and down to earth about issues. It implies being truthful, reliable and trust worthy. All these virtues were resident in levy because was convinced that peace and progress would only thrive in an atmosphere where honesty was the medium. Further, honesty entailed purity and transparency in ones’ dealings meaning what they said or did. Dr Robert Mugabe marvelled at Dr Mwanawasa’ sincerity and honesty about issues which probably other leaders in the region were not.


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iv. IntegrityThe learned Counsel passionately believed that consistency, orderliness and determination were essential ingredients to success and leaving a lasting legacy. When he assumed office, he straightaway put his values into practice, which were of course opposed by his opponents at times. Because of his consistency, he came to be nick named ‘Mr Integrity’ which also was once said of Brigadier-General Godfrey Miyanda. Integrity also carries theconnotation of being cohesive and well orbed able to withstand whatever external and internal pressure. Mwanawasa maintained his integrity throughout his public life and did not mutate into a demon as often is the case once one is intoxicated with the trappings of power and wealth. v. Respect for the law and policyThe Doctor had a deep reverence and veneration for the law. Although an eminent person of his times, he never for a moment considered himself above the law. I would imagine that whenever he was tempted to act ultra vires, he always reminded himself thatthe long arms of the law would one day visit him. Thus, he promised and endeavoured to strengthen thelegal system as well as submit as well as protect the republican constitution. This State counsel acquitted himself well in this regard.

When he got to the corridors of power, he never once exhibited signs of coming up with surprises such as expropriation or any other such funny moves. In the quest to empower the natives, many have wrecked foreign investment confidence leading


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to capital flight. He did not dictate or manipulateproduct prices leaving everything to be determined by market forces.

vi. Discipline and dedication to dutyDevotion to duty emanates from ones values and resolution. This resolve shows up in one’s actions and they way they do things. Levy was a serious disciplinarian akin to what KK was when he was in power. He expected order, symmetry, direction and focus once engaged in something. That explains why people found him ‘difficult’ when he took over a disorderly government in 2002. But more than that, Levy is believed to have been a stern disciplinarian even in his home, not entertaining nonsense and yet fair. Perhaps that explains why weheard very little about his family misbehaving! This discipline also pervaded his work culture as well to the extent people viewed him as a workaholic! vii. Hard work and determinationAs mentioned in the previous point, Levy Strongly believed in extreme hard work and determination to the end of his life. No wonder he achieved so much both in his private and public life, remaining a shining beacon for generations to come.

viii. ObjectivityA good Lawyer weighs the facts and based on the findings takes a position. Levy was as objective ashe could be and viewed things in a balanced way. Weare yet to see a President who is as objective as


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he was. KK tried as well but I am not sure about DrChiluba. ix. Improved quality of life for all ZambiansThroughout his life, Levy’s cry was the improved welfare of people around him, whether in his family, village, town or country and for this he struggled to the very end. He died trying and has bequeathed us this powerful legacy of aiming for the best, never resting on our laurels or being absolutely content in a mediocre situation.

x. Order in private and public lifeOrderliness and cleanliness is one mark of the godly person some saying says. The reason is that they fully understand themselves and can do far much more than the clouded mind can do. His privateand public life were intimately integrated and wellmanaged. He was generally the same person whether in public or private life. What you saw him do in public is what he would do in private unlike some people who lead double, yea, triple lives! A saint in public but a demon in private and vice versa!

xi. Accountability and transparencyWhenever Levy was entrusted with something, he tookit as a sacred trust, keeping it well in readiness for the day of reckoning. He was transparent in hisdealings as well as made sure that he left no iota of doubt about his intentions and aims. If he was not in agreement, he immediately made it clear and remained consistent with his convictions. For instance, during the 2001 election campaign, he made several statements about being transparent,


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accountable and disdaining corruption but very few of paid attention to his words but got shocked in 2002 when he begun to implement his promises accusing him of having changed! While in office, legend has it that the man dreaded touching public resources unless what was rightfully his. This value radiated in his Government style which would eventually win accolades for the party and country as a whole over the years.

xii. TruthfulnessThere is some beauty about truthfulness because if one is wise, they are built up by it. Dr Mwanawasa gloried in truthfulness, no matter how painful it was and regardless of its source. The scriptural saying ‘Speaking the truth in love’ may not be pleasant at times but if spoken with the right motive and correct aim, it mutually builds you. There is also another saying that in the midst of the fools’ ranting, there might be some truth and lesson for life. Mwanawasa always absorbed a barrage of attacks but wisely deciphered the helpful things which he applied for his own personal good. Truth was non negotiable for him andfrowned at lies. Although sometimes accused of being a liar, in the main, the man was truthful in all his dealings, emanating from his inner disposition and conviction.

xiii. Candidness and freedom of expressionMwanawasa was a very blunt man and never evaded questions or talked in riddles. He was very direct and thus expected other people to freely express Ephesians 4:15Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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themselves too. If they differed from his opinion, he respected them for it but still needed to satisfy his mind before he veered over to the otherside. With a high standard legal mind, Levy expected people’s freedoms to be guaranteed and protected. That explains why he could tolerate the Press call him all sorts of names and yet be friendwith them, provided what they said was correct and helpful. Comparatively, Levy was the most tolerantof the three Presidents that have so fat graced thetop job. If the next President does not have the same value, s/he will turn tyrant against his criticisers.

xiv. Sanctity of life He strongly believed in the right to life and no mortal had the right to execute another except God.He probably interpreted Exodus 20:13 to mean any kind of execution including murder or even capital punishment but a consideration of Genesis 9: 5 suggests that life is too sacred and the only appropriate remedy is payment by another life as God requires. Different views are held on this point but as for Levy, he lived what he believed thus refusing to sanction the death penalty leavingit to God to avenge. That explains why he exercisedhis prerogative of mercy and released some convictsduring his tenure. At his death, many expressed concern that many convicts would now be slaughteredbecause their champion had moved onto the next life. xv. Family life (Nuclear & extended)


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The President had a way of demonstrating that he valued family life a great deal. Unlike most of us who ascend to top corporate positions of influence,our family life and values tend to whither with time and are adversely affected. In levy’s case, heseems to have balanced work and family life so wellthat he was available for his children to motivate,encourage and build up. Often, when I read the newspaper (especially the Post), I would once in a while be taken into the inner life of this couple who, despite the common struggles common to humans sought to pull along together as one unit along life’s journey. But Levy had a larger than average heart, he was more than a ‘nuclear family’ man. He had an extended family to which he felt duty bound not only to help out but to guide as well.

xvi. Existence of God and a saint This aspect of Levy Mwanawasa perhaps played a pivotal role in his life and world view in his latter years after turning to Christ perhaps around2001/02. Levy is said to have repented from sin andtrusted in the living saviour and publicly was baptised at some Baptist Church in Lusaka. Althoughthe press scorned at him making him appear to be a clown, I think it took great courage for a man of his stature, influence and status to publicly profess Christ through water baptism. He could haveeasily shied away or been baptised privately in hisbackyard swimming pool to the exclusion of all other witnesses but he came to the fore. His baptism was in obedience to Christ’s command in Matthew 28 as ‘an outward sign of inward grace’ meaning that water baptism did not make him a Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Christian but a consequence of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) making him a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). His was not a mere lip service Christianity that is so common in Zambia today (2008) which has no bearing on ones’ life, practice or world view (Ephesians 3:1). It appears that from the early days of his conversion, he was instructed in the ways of the Lord and made progressive strides despite his extremely busy schedules as national President. Whenever he had time, he worshiped with the children of God and sought to reflect his Christianvalues in his work. I would submit then that the public levy Mwanawasa of 2002-2008 was different inspirit from the pre-2001 Levy who lived for himselfand ego aggrandizement, although he appears to havebeen a man of sober habits even before his salvation. Unlike his predecessor who himself laid claim to the faith, Levy appears to have been a genuine article in safe mature pastoral hands and guidance throughout his Presidency. We have no telling about his other nuclear family members as to whether they too trusted the Saviour as Patrick Mwanawasa did.

These and many other values dictated and guided theman throughout his Presidency. Had he embraced other values, he probably would have turned out differently. This teaches us to ensure that we impart the right values to our children right from infancy and when they grow up, they will not departfrom those sound principles. Chances are that they will be guided by those values long after the parents have been gathered to their fathers. They Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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probably will also pass on those good virtues to the next generation who themselves will be qualified to teach others. We expand a little on his private life in the ensuing chapter before we hurtle along to other aspects of this man.

Chapter 8“ What you are in private is who you really are”

His private and public life

In the previous chapter, we ended by briefly stating that Dr Mwanawasa placed a high price tag on proper family life and thus succeeded in maintaining a relatively happy family life despite busy schedules in State house, which some of his predecessors or successors have or may fail. This is a unique attribute in a post modern society where family life, particularly marriage is ridiculed, bullet riddled, hounded out or dreaded as an effective inhibitor of personal progress or


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happiness. This could be true in some cases but it largely depends on how one views marriage as relates to interpersonal resolutions or conflict management. Conflicts will always be there for all of us but it is HOW we manage things that matters. In this session therefore, we consider the man bothin private and public life.

I. Married twice.Not much is known about the man’s private life marriage wise except what was in the public domain.For one thing, Levy is said to have married twice bearing six children with both his wives. The firsttwo were with his first wife while the rest were with Maureen. Not much is said about his first wifeor what led to their divorce but he appears to havebeen happily married to his second wife for seventeen years at his death. iii. GenealogyGenealogically, Levy hailed from the Lenje tribe ofcentral Zambia although he appears to have receivedgreat influence and shaping from the Lamba people of copper belt rural. The explanation for this is very simple. His mother was probably Lamba while his father was Lenje. Having been born (Mufulira, September 3, 1948) and raised on the copper belt, the man naturally had a lot of Bemba influence as well and thus understood the Bemba psychology whichwould later help him greatly in his Presidency. Although the Lenje are a minority tribe in Zambia, Levy believed and demonstrated that anyone could effectively lead regardless of their back ground.


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iv. Disciplinarian Mr ‘Teka’ was a very tough man as far as disciplineand hard work was concerned. He did not condone foolishness or disorderliness ensuring that everything was done in a fitting manner. At home and abroad, he exercised this discipline on himselfand others under his influence ambit. In Political circles, he was known as “Ichibumba’ in apparent reference to his tough disciplinarian stance as well as his inflexible firmness once he took a stand on something. I am sure his children got a dosage of his iron hand and dared not misbehave in public. v. Caring father, mentor and motivatorAlthough very firm and tough, Levy was tender and caring not only to his wife, children and relativesbut also to his colleagues in the professional and political ranks. He seemed to radiate hope, confidence and character to all those that circled around him whether in state house or not. His stylewas definitely different and uniquely his because he seemed to mentor and motivate from a distance sothat his students learnt from him while he was in action. vi. A great uncleAs an African Father, Levy had it right on the mark, exhibiting classic African leadership. It would appear that he was a great uncle, father and perhaps grandfather who never forgot his roots. Several times, he publicly referred to his family responsibilities which weighed heavily on his shoulders after demise of some of his relations.


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One would have thought the man would forsake his extended family but not so with levy, his values were far different, knowing that he was what he wasbecause of some relative who had sacrificed for himin his youth. vii. A sociable manAlthough he appeared grave and extremely serious inthe public eye, Mwanawasa was a very approachable and sociable person who could laugh, joke and spendsome light moments with colleagues and friends. He could mingle and socialise easily without much ado.The only difference with him and the rest of his friends is that he always had time for everything, not leisuring all the way to the grave as is so common among Zambians in these degenerate days.

viii. Respecter of the marriage bond with fidelityBoth in private and in public, the President demonstrated his respect for the family and marriage union as a whole. He was strictly committed to his wife and would not entertain another by the side as is the case with many men and women these days. Marriage is not to be enteredlightly or ill advised as it invites the displeasure of God once it is trifled with or desecrated. Only at death is the marriage dissolvedor else one should remain chaste maintaining high fidelity to their spouse.

ix. A FarmerApart from big an accomplished lawyer on not mean record, the President was an exacting serious farmer who publicly demonstrated that food security


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was a possibility if only we put our heads to it. His farms produced much and substantially contributed to economic development.

xi. A devoted ChristianAs highlighted in the previous chapter, Levy Mwanawasa was probably a saint in whom the Spirit of God dwelt. He may not have been the flashy kind of believer but he certainly held on to sound Biblical doctrines and principles. Although he at some point congregated with the Jehovah’s sect, he was forced to leave the cult after entering the political arena. Just before taking over the Zambian Presidency, someone led Levy to the Lord and thus started his tenure on a clean slate of a regenerate soul. Buttressed by his fine legal principles, his world view frame work was somewhat set on fine footing and thus aligned himself to a local Baptist church located at Twin Palms, East ofLusaka.

ix. A serious workerLevy valued hard work as the only way to genuinely generate wealth as well as build character. He probably believed that work was not only good but honoured God as well. When Adam was put in the Garden of Eden, he was to tend and work it, long before the fall but alas, after the transgression in Genesis 3, work turned out to be a tedious laborious drag. Thus, Levy did not look favourably on any lazy bones and spoke out his mind on this matter. To his dying day, he placed a high premium on arduous, genuine hard work as the only remedy to


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Zambia’s economic woes. Without it, poverty would remain a perpetual colleague and common feature.

x. An orderly manTo achieve so much, a person has to be meticulouslyorderly in thinking, action and desire resulting ina well ordered and directed life style. Chaos bespeaks confusion in the mind. Levy was careful with what he did, held or handled ensuring that he could easily ‘retrieve’ whatever he needed with minimal inconvenience on his part.

xi. A genuine ‘Mr Clean’Although public opinions vary as to his genuinenessand integrity, I feel that it was his utmost desireto live an upright righteous life where no one would pelt his character in any way. He tried his best though he sometimes grazed his rough edges with people who did not see eye to eye with him on some issues. That said his genuine heart could be seen both in the home and in public. xii. A candid and resolute man to the endIt did not matter who you were, for Levy, what mattered was whether some thing was right and necessary. If it was not, he would clearly state his mind startling many in the process. Zambians are not very comfortable with candid and blunt people but Patrick was such an individual and people had to learn to accept him as such. I am sure his family knew exactly how to handle him. xiii. Family tragedies and challenges


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Like any family, Patrick had his high and sad moments during his busy life at the helm of the Zambian Republic. He faced several challenges that included heart breaking family tragedies (e.g. the loss of his mother to an inferno), deaths of his close kinsfolk (including his brothers and sisters), illnesses and betrayals from supposed allies. He was not immune to problems common to man.

xiv. Vice President and loss as Presidential candidate in 1996 party electionsIn 1991, he survived a near fatal accident and later suffered two strokes, one of them sending himto an early grave. In his youth, he is said to haveescaped and inferno and suffered other serious illnesses and problems. One is reminded of the great Reformer, John Calvin who simultaneously had over 40 diseases and yet slaved away leaving a monumental legacy in Switzerland at his passing in the 1500s. Apart from his trials, Mwanawasa, achieved much ending up as Republican Vice President before failing his Party Presidency bid in 1996. He resurrected in 2001 to become the 3rd Zambian Republican President, what a life!

That said, we can admirably admit that the man led an eminently exemplary life which most of us shouldaspire to learn from. In the 9th chapter, we focus on his achievements and failures. It will be an interesting section as we evaluate the man.


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Chapter 9“We are immortal till our work is done”-George Whitefield,

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His monumental achievements and failures

What is the true measure and worth of a man? Does it lie in the number of people who attend their funeral, or the post humus accolades, or popularity? Could it be in their last words, numberof foreign dignitaries attending their burial, standing ovations received, 21 gun salute by military or funeral length? Is it in the Press reports to their credit or the places they have been to? For one thing, Zambians are generally empathetic and get emotional at someone’s passing and will almost always something good at the burialside. Therefore, the question still begs an answer.What indicators can we objectively use to really quantify ones’ accomplishments when the sum total of their life is evaluated? It is difficult to arrive at such universally accepted and agreed indicators but a persons’ legacy is what counts from the time they entered public life (baseline) to the time they exit life cycle. In other words, legacy indicates the true worth of one’s impact andcontribution to the welfare of mankind. Dr Mwanawasa definitely distinguished himself long before he entered public life as we know for he overcame many challenges to end up a legend which many of us cannot possibly dream to achieve even a fraction of. In this brief chapter, we collate someMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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of his distinct achievements which clearly show that a unique man lived among us and left the worlda better place than he found it the first time he arrived here. I. A world class lawyerFirst and fore most Levy was a world class lawyer who executed himself with distinction and integrity. He took on and won many legal cases before and after the accident, the notable one being the 1989 successful defence of alleged coup plotters at a very delicate and dangerous time. He served in various capacities founding his own successful law practice firm within the early yearsof graduation. He became State Counsel in 1991, wasone of the first Zambian lawyers to be admitted to the UK supreme court as solicitor, was a member of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) as well as solicitor general of Zambia for a short time. He was indeed an eminent lawyer of true worth. Often he took on cases which other lawyers dared not contemplate proving his fearlessness. The legal fraternity lost a great legal mind in Levy on August 19th 2008. ii. Accomplished lawyer in private practiceAs mentioned above, he set up and successfully ran his own legal practice, Mwanawasa and company Associates. The firm did extremely well whether he was there or not meaning that he had not only trained his team well but managed brilliantly. He was meticulous on detail and believed in written rather than spoken things alone. That probably


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explains why he excelled as President having built his management skills over many years at the firm.

iii. Solicitor General (1985)Few lawyers get to hold this office unless they aredistinctly and exceptionally good at their trade. To be picked from private practice into that position is even more remote and yet this man was spotted and brought to the limelight to serve his nation in a limited way. Though he eventually left,he still contributed and learnt life lessons that he would apply later in his Presidential career.

iv. A regional shinning giant among fellow states menBy the time Mwanawasa was laying down his mantle atdeaths’ call, he was a dignified shinning giant among African Presidents for his uniqueness in leadership style, vision and boldness which is rarein African politics. For the first time after a long while, Zambians felt proud to have a leader that spoke their language and ably represented themboth at home and abroad. Not everything he said wasin sync with his people but it felt good to have a leader stand up for righteousness and equity of allhuman beings regardless of their creed, religion, party affiliation or nationality. Usually and tragically so, once African leaders get to power, they forget everything and occupy themselves in consolidating their base as well as plundering national resources. Others are not as bad but they rarely reach their full potential and settle for mediocre standards. v. Economic turnaround genius


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One of the things Levy will be remembered for even if we were to forget all else is just how during his tenure, the Zambian economy made a strong and steady turn to positive economic growth. From a negative GDP to a sustained 6%+ growth in a space of six years is phenomenal. The micro and micro indicators were relatively good at the end of his life with inflation having once reached a record single digit of 8%, the first in nearly 30+ years. Mwanawasa assembled a pack of management gurus around him as well as employed the copy cat strategy which sucked all the ideas that his foes brought to the fore and implemented. This made him succeed as well as made some of them look loud for nothing. But that was not all, he placed his priorities in the right place such as Agriculture, Mining, Tourism and indigenous people empowerment. In short, his policies fell in pleasant places whenthe copper prices sky rocketed. There is a legion of other things that his leadership brought about that made Zambia become a shining example of a budding economy, attracting all sorts of investors from across the world. His policies suffered from one flaw though, the tax regime for the investor, especially the mining companies remained scandalously too low to benefit the nation. This was corrected in 2008, nearly five years of reapingoff the country. As he slept in death, the nation had begun reaping from the new royalty tax regime which hopefully will transform the nation in a few years time, long after Levy has been gathered to his fathers. vi. Sanity to public life


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Prior to Levy’s ascendance to power, the public service was scandalously corrupt and disintegrated.Nearly all systems that KK had set up had collapsed, vanished and everything flew in “auto pilot”. Resources were misappropriated, unaccountedfor and endemic corruption of various forms reignedsupreme, unrivalled by anyone. When “Mr Clean” cameon the scene, these vices continued for a while butwhen he strengthened the investigative wings expressing his utter disgust of graft, people sat up though some still dared him until he cracked hiswhip! With time, public fiscal and monetary policy recovered and became at least visibly functional. Lose money was sucked out of circulation and hard work was emphasised in its place. It was a tough job mutating heavily corrupted and lazy minds to change long held and loved practices. The man insisted and held on to his position, showing the door to whoever was not ready to budge. Thus, donorconfidence slowly returned and government related or run projects begun to deliver as expected. At the time of his death, a lot of things were taking place all over the country which had become pipe dreams in the previous regime. Sadly, graft was never completely eradicated but it was certainly significantly reduced, if it didn’t change into itsmore subtle form.

vii. Offered unique leadership for MMDRaised from sleep to become MMD leader and Presidential candidate, Levy was definitely a serious underdog with no roots or teeth to bite anyone. Starting from a weak position, he wormed his way into people’s hearts and eventually offeredMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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effective leadership which very few will out do. The MMD implanted him on MMD after the unsuccessfulthird term bid which backfired on FTJ. People demanded a cleaner government which only Levy couldhave provided at the time only to turn against him once in power. As at June 2008, MMD had restored a great amount of its lost credibility all because ofMwanawasa’s leadership. In general, Mwanawasa was agood leader although often accused of being distantfrom his Ministers whom he should have groomed better.

vii. State counsel (SC)Levy was coined State Counsel (SC) in 1991 in recognition for his mammoth contribution to the legal fraternity, having distinguished himself in legal practice. To acquire such a status is no easything but the man did and showed flashes of his mastery and genius whilst in office. Not all lawyers reach this high stage.

Viii. Honorary Doctorate (PhD) 2006/7In recognition of his contribution, an American University conferred on him a Doctorate which he later dedicated to the Zambian youths. This was a high honour not only for Zambia but for himself as well. From an undergraduate degree to a doctorate is rare and far between only offered to outstandingindividuals across the world. Indeed, his class room was the real world where the action took place!

Vernon Mwaanga, The Long sunset: My personal reflections, as quoted byEdem Kodjoe in that article “VJ’s Hurrah?” Post, September 12, 2008Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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ix. Free man of many towns and citiesBoth before and after his death, several towns in Zambia bestowed upon him the honour of freeman in recognition of his great contributions those particular towns. Towns like Livingstone had reasonto rejoice at offering him this honour albeit posthumously. x. Unprecedented graft fightLet’s face it, Levy Mwanawasa’s fight against corruption was unprecedented and deserves several rounds of applaud by all well meaning Zambians and citizens all over the world. Every time people visit his grave at Embassy Park, they will not failto recall his resolute fight against this vice for many generations to come. In future, children will be told of a man who gave his all to bring about a cleaner Zambia via the law not force. xi. Candidness even challenging senior great states menPatrick demonstrated that it is not age, position or rank but principle that ultimately matters. His challenging of the status quo and bickering with seasoned states men like Dr Mugabe showed that a new generation of objective leaders had arisen overthe eastern horizon and the older folk needed to take note. He was a candid and yet largely objective man in his perceptions and actions.

xii. Macro & micro economic stabilityThe macro and micro economic stability Zambia has know the past few years (2002-2008) can safely be attributed to the prudent economic policies employed by Levy’s team. Consider the single digit


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inflation of 2006-2008, the stable exchange and interest rates coupled with the resurgence of mortgages, personal loans and a whole host of good things that disappeared from the Zambian scene manydecades ago. That is a clear sign of good fiscal and monetary policy application. Further, the economy is able to absorb far bigger and greater shocks and resiliently bounce back in good time.

xiii. Revival of mining sectorThe mining sector, Zambia’s economic life line lay dying when Levy came around as President in 2002. The Anglo American Corporation and a few other investors withdrew leaving a yawning gap. The President and team quickly galvanised and got otherinvestors that have proved uniquely helpful to the country in providing both tax and jobs. Although the tax issue still remains thorny, almost costing levy his Presidency, the contribution of the miningsector is simply amazing compared to what it was inearly 2002. To date, over three major mines are in serious production while prospecting and new mines are constantly popping up all the time. Solwezi forinstance is a completely different place from what it was a few years ago now popularly referred to asthe “New Copper belt” and rightly so.

xiv. Increased DFI and donor confidenceAt the time of his death, investor confidence had soared far above what it had ever been at any Zambian history. Progressively, Zambia has become afavoured investor destination because of its uniquestability and sound leadership. The years following1991 showed signs of this but dried up only to Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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return after 2002 when the New Deal administration demonstrated their soundness and seriousness.

x. Debt relief (HIPC completion point, from $ 7 Billion to less than $500 million)As at 2001, Zambia’s debt stood at a staggering $ 7billion which in self was unsustainable. The government continued on the HIPC initiative begun by the previous regime but now on a more serious and resolute path to achieve the completion points.This was successfully reached in 2005 and Zambia’s debt progressively reduced after cancellations to about $ 500 million and hoping further as more donor countries honour their pledges. The road to this end was long winded and painful for the Zambians but worth it nonetheless.

xi. Economic diversification to Construction, FTA, mineral exploration and tourismZambia’s economy has also been in transition from relying only on Copper to other areas where Zambia has comparative advantage such as tourism. The construction industry has seen a significant boom lately as well as the slow but sure revival of the manufacturing industry. With the planned Chambishi Free Trade Area (FTA) as well as the SADC FTA, Zambia is poised to be an even better investment centre with a higher quality of life. The Government has correctly positioned Zambia in the global setting so that it can easily catch the ropes and economically take off to prosperity.

xii. Agriculture revival leading to surplus for the first time in many years


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Without debate, Zambia is a show piece in the region that has transformed from a net importer of food to an exporter and to some extent self sufficient nation food wise. The aggressive agriculture policies pursued by the Government haveso far paid dividends especially in the rural areaswhere the Chiluba regime neglected. In fact that iswhere Mwanawasa’s vote came from unlike in the cities where he was largely rejected as leader. Whether for political reasons or not, the agriculture policy has done wonders.

xiii. One of unique State Counsels in AfricaAs earlier intimated, Levy was part of PALU having been identified as a seasoned and unique lawyer. Itis not easy to have one’s name in the PALU registerand I assume one has to be exceptionally good at plying their trade which Levy did very well.

xiv. UNZASU leadershipWhile a student at UNZA, his leadership clout manifested itself when he held a senior position inthe UNZASU of the Seventies. He was later to returnto the University as President and recite his role at UNZASU. He connected and resonated with the students after that. To be a UNZASU leader is not only risky but difficult to assume as you have to have what it takes.

xv. One of the wealthiest men on the Zambian turfWhen leaders publicly declared their assets in 2001, Mwanawasa emerged as one of the wealthiest men alive in Zambia at the time. The man built his wealth long before he stepped into State House


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unlike others that went there near paupers and cameout stinking rich, attracting government investigative wings hot on their trail. Levy generated his wealth through consistent hard work over many years. xvi. Won over a critical mass of Zambians including outspoken and critical pressOne of the greatest challenges Mwanawasa faced was the untameable free private press. While he tried to befriend them as well as fought running battles,their relationship grew worse by the day. Just whenhe was about to give up on one of his greatest foes, the Post begun to yield and see his point of view. Some thought he had compromised the paper or “bought” it off but even Levy himself was surprisedby the unpredictable papers’ favourable attitude after exchanging various bitter verbiage scuffles. When he eventually died, the Post extolled the man greatly for his nobility.

xvii. Publicly proved viability of “winter maize”Despite the public ridicule and scorn, the Doctor proved that winter maize rather than rain fed maizewas viable and would contribute to national food security. While others said it was a waste of resources and time, the man went ahead and practically demonstrated that it could be done nonethe less. xviii. One of the founding members of the MMD in 1990When the MMD was being formed, he was present and took on the leadership of the legal wing and went on to represent the party very well ending up its


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Vice President in government. This man seems to have begun from small beginnings rising to prominence in more than one instance!

xiv. 3rd Republican PresidentTo set foot in State house is the private preserve of a few but to live, work and occupy State House as Country President is extremely rare. Levy achieved it through a combination of events and factors. That in itself was a monumental achievement despite not completing his second term.

Xv. Reconciliation with Mr Michael Sata & the ChurchAlthough highly criticised and ridiculed, Levy reconciled with his long time foe shortly before hefell ill and subsequently died. Levy seems to have drawn immense pleasure and peace from this reconciliation as evidenced by his changed tone andwords towards Mr Michael Sata. That was a great achievement in itself because it significantly reduced tension between them and the country at large though they remained political rivals. It takes courage to forgive your avowed enemy. xvi. FNDP & Vision 2030: Re-introduction of Development planningPlanning effectively died at the return of the country to multiparty politics and subsequent economic liberalisation. The country went into a serious spiral as deregulation took effect and it was Mwanawasa’s task to stabilise things. What Dr Chiluba and team did in 1992 was in principle correct and good but the after math was not well managed as done too hurriedly with devastating


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effects on the nationals. Mwanawasa picked up the broken pieces and commenced the great work of stabilising the economy. He reintroduced National Development Planning that succeeded the Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan (PRSP) of 2002-04. This gave impetus and direction to the country once again rather than continuing in “auto pilot” mode as one prominent Economics academic don once irritably quipped. But that was not enough, Levy scored another first by facilitating the drafting of the Vision 2030 document, where Zambia wants to be in several years’ time. This was classic progressive thinking rather than rolling like a stone down a cliff. xvii. Global thinking and connectionsTo make world class decisions in this fast paced ferociously competitive world, one needs to have a big mind that not only thinks outside the box but is strategic in outlook. Global events are identified and used for ones’ own advantage. Levy ticked in that area because he could appropriately read the times and knew what ought to be done. WhenZimbabwe went aflame for instance, Levy worked on Livingstone town so that all those fleeing touriststhronged to Zambia to view the mighty Victoria Falls. By the same token, persecuted farmers found refuge in Zambia and contributed to the Zambian food basket. While some were deriding China, Patrick saw far much more and thus attracted them over to Zambia. Whereas others disdained and despised the Indians, Levy focused at their potential side and invited them over. He helped strengthen the Zambian hospitality brand name whichMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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attracted thousands, yea millions to tour our greatcountry contributing a significant part of the national treasury. This could not have been possible if he was myopic, small thinking and closed in while the world marched on to success. xviii. Reverse attraction to Zambians living in Diaspora, esteem restoredAnother interesting phenomenon that occurred duringMwanawasa’s tenure is the reversing of magnetic forces with regards to Zambians living abroad. Whereas in the past, once one went abroad to work as an economic refugee or global worker, they neverlooked back to mother Zambia nor did they entertaininvesting back home but the picture changed in Mwanawasa’s reign. With time, some of them trooped back home and were amazed at what they found. Others invested back home knowing that their assetswere secure and would grow. One hopes the next President will not be a scare crow undoing the gains thus far achieved. xix. Democracy championWorld over, when they heard about his passing mourned that a democracy champion has left the centre stage. Zambia being a relatively young and model democracy, the late President consolidated onthe previous gains which again lifted the country’sprofile of being democratic, tolerant and a peace haven. The State Counsel strongly held on to the democratic tenets having been one of the founding fathers of the MMD back in 1990.

xx. Freedom of expression


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If Chiluba allowed some kind of freedom of expression, Levy guaranteed the same. He graciously, though painfully, allowed people to hold on to what they believed and express it freelyas long as they did not breach the law. For instance, the electronic Media largely had a hey-day in his tenure because they could say about anything against him, his ministers and family. He was pelted and bullet riddled all over and yet reluctantly struck anyone down for holding on to a position. At times, people wondered whether the manreally saw or heard what was said or printed in thepaper because he took in far too much without seriously retaliating. In the previous two regimes before him, one would have paid dearly for expressing themselves as what was witnessed in Levy’s day.One way the older leaders silenced their critics was by crippling them financially or wrecking theirinvestments. One hopes this wicked mindset does notreturn to the now largely liberated Zambia.

xxi. Unfinished businessLevy started a lot of initiatives some of which he did not live to see to fruition. For instance, he set up the Task force on corruption, the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) as well as the Chambishi Free Trade Area (FTA), Chembe (now Levy Mwanawasa) Bridge among many which are yet to flower posthumously. His vision hopefully will outlive him in a very real way-Only if another visionary comes to the throne and runs with the ball. He put the country on the fine rails towards


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economic prosperity with immense potential and momentum. The die is therefore cast! xxii. Independence of JudiciaryIn both the first, second republic and to some extent the third, the three organs of Government were not independent but manipulated or controlled by the Executive. What the guy at the top of the executive wanted is what carried the day whether inParliament or court. Patrick came along and to a large extent changed all this. The Judiciary by andlarge comparatively functioned independently of executive with minimal interference. Parliament also worked independently to a large extent unlike in the past when only one political Party nearly filled all the 150 sits to deliver what the executive wanted. Complaints and arguments still continue about this point but Dr Mwanawasa tried his level best and brought about some professionalism although the chief Justice still reports to the President, which in itself is a serious compromise. xxiii. Lasting eloquence resting in his practical outputComparatively, Mwanawasa could hardly speak a logical enticing sentence to the day he died but hewas pre-eminently a man who waxed eloquent with hisactions. He said little to promise paradise on earth but in action he spoke volumes. Kaunda and Chiluba were far better orators and used their tongues well getting away with a lot of things but Levy had to compensate in another way which is whatpeople really look for in a leader. He was a man ofaction, action, action throughout than mere empty


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rhetoric which is so common from many politicians. Levy never promised to bring a meteorite to the earth while others promised to bring planet Jupiterto be earth’s satellite!

xxiv. Recognition of women contributionWhen the at least 30%1 call of women representationin decision making came from the SADC region, Levy’s administration heeded the advice and worked round the clock to get somewhere near there. He didall sorts of things including setting up a specificministry to that effect although many seriously bullet holed this move on over head cost basis. xxv. Integrity in public and private lifeMr Clean was truly impeccable in this regard, He proved that someone could excel in public life and yet remain clean. His clean and clear image toweredabove many of his contemporary peers and predecessors. The nation is yet to hear about any proven scandal attached to his person as an individual as was the case with his sponsor to the throne, whether morally or financially. KK was alsoaccused by FTJ but no proof was found for this. That was good but the mere accusation or rumour wasbad enough to knock off some kilos from some one’s image weight. Some people surrounding Mwanawasa were admittedly long fingered and drenched in corruption but as an individual, he maintained his integrity and graduated with flying colours. As a result, he passed on this value to some that had ears and eyes to learn from him. Privately, the manwas a great family man, responsible, available, of 1 Although the SADC standard is now around 50%Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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sober habits and given to God. Many people that hold on to power have so many ugly green flies circling their images. If it’s not immorality, thenit is pilferage!

xxvi. Care for former Presidents KK and ChilubaWhen Chiluba went on the throne, he punished Kaundainto becoming a near vagabond denying the man all his retirement benefits, ransacking his house as well as subjecting the old man to public shame. Mwanawasa took a different route by providing for the respectable former heads of state. KK received his benefits as well as his house is now complete. KK enjoys a status befitting his profile. But even Dr Chiluba, despite his court cases and allegationsenjoys a good respectable life. This has been a bigplus on the late President. It’s only humane to treat others well.

xxvii. Recognition and appreciation of outstanding individualsIn addition to the aforementioned point, the Doctorremembered those that had sacrificed for mother Zambia upon which foundation we continue to build. He honoured distinguished individuals, athletes, freedom fighters both living and posthumously. Thiswas a great initiative of recognizing others that have changed the face of Zambia to what it is today. The previous regime had no time for such butwas busy doing other things, sometimes destroying what predecessors had laboured to establish.

xxviii. Replication of local indigenous entrepreneurs


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During the seven years tenure, we saw the rapid proliferation and replication of entrepreneurs sprout, flourish and expand unlike any time in the past. The older companies were strengthened, supported and encouraged to grow from strength to strength. From about 1992 to date has been a time of opportunity and the business eye has reaped muchwhere others have gone away empty handed. In the command economy, the private sector was suppressed and went to sleep. In the third republic (1991-2001) the private sector revived but was very weak due to a fragile enabling environment. The New Dealgovernment opened the flood gates for the wise and discerning. They specialised in propping up and building native Zambians rather that tearing them down as in the past. Of course, the Foreign Investor still enjoys a better deal than the local but the point is that a plat form has been laid. One prays that Mwanawasa’s successor will not kill this good seed by engaging in selfish vindictive machinations.

But then, people argue that Mwanawasa succeeded notbecause of his genius but his lot fell in pleasant places. They point to the higher global metal prices and relatively lower oil prices as favourable factors why he succeeded. But we have some difficulties entirely resting only on that argument because even those favourable factors needed prudent management! I would say that the manwas simply a strategic thinker, resolute and assembled a genuinely great team who put their eggsin the right place. It was not easy but worth the risk and sacrifice. Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Before we close of this chapter, let us briefly highlight some of Mwanawasa’s failures as contrasted with his great achievements. For one thing, Dr Mwanawasa failed to completely disinfect,alter or uproot the corrupt mindset and practices of people in his Party and Government. Try as he did, many remained essentially the same, waiting for his departure to spring back to action. For another thing, Levy failed to connect with most people in the lower brackets especially those in the urban settings that felt the deep pinch of his radical reforms. He was very unpopular among civilservants, call boys and the general Zambian citizenry that did not buy into his leadership style. Mr Michael Sata & Hakainde Hichilema had more clout along the line of rail unlike the Republican President. He was very popular with the International finance institutions (IMF & World Bank) and among the minority elite Zambian probablybecause they felt his reforms impact. Still anotherfailure is that he appears to have been distant from his party and colleagues and thus spoke into their lives from a distance. Mr Vernon Johnson Mwaanga suggests this view. Dr Mwanawasa seems to have failed noting and identifying his nepotistic tendencies and seems to have been heavily influenced by the first lady. In one sense, the first lady’s prominence shows that they were indeed‘one flesh’ in mind, purpose and aim but in

See attached in appendix 1 of a write up by a frustrated Zambian in 2006. An interesting letter appeared in the BBC focus on Africa magazine (July-September 2008). See the letter reprinted in Appendix 1 Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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another, it sent a totally wrong message to the Zambian citizenry. Some of his kinsfolk and allies let him down on many occasions and one would conclude that he failed to control them. The New Deal government failed to take advantage of the high global metal prices and only took action aftermuch pressure in 2008, almost five years after the boom begun. Zambia lost a golden opportunity. Granted, delicate legal agreements stood in the waybut how was this changed in 2008? Another failure of Dr Mwanawasa’s was to control his outburst and fits of rage whilst in public office. He generally had poor public relations skills or did not assess or read his audience well before speaking. Lastly, Levy seemed to have lived in his own orbit, detached from reality. He appears to have been seriously afraid of his own shadow (Perhaps becauseof the 1991 accident) as well as not correctly advised about the actual situation on the ground.

As earlier mentioned, Levy had failures, some very serious, which must have weighed heavily on him. Hefailed to change the world as he would have loved but made a significant contribution none the less. The reaction at his funeral of Zambians is not an accurate representation of his popularity because Zambians are culturally and naturally easily emotionally moved when death visits a locality. They have an inconsistent habit to praising someoneposthumously. Levy also failed to win a critical mass of his party members to his values and ambition. After his death, their true colours manifested. The other failure we high light is his failure to revitalise some weak but critical areas Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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such as the health and to some extent education sectors although he tried on the latter. Finally, the Health system remained totally collapsed duringhis tenure. One would have thought that he would have paid particular attention given his fragile health. Could it be that he did not know the actualstate on the ground because he received all his medical attention abroad.

Thus we have objectively evaluated the man and his achievements and stand afar to wonder what really drove him to such heights. When does another of similar or greater virtue arise?

Chapter 10“People only realise a well’s importance after it runs dry”

anonymous

His death


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Many years ago, I read a book by Florence Nyondo narrating her struggle against Cancer. I felt devastated when the book ended with her eventual death at the grisly cold hand of death. From that time, this author has evaded reading or writing about death, though now it is so common round aboutus. When he was growing up in Rhodes Park, it was rare to hear about some one’s death and when it didoccur, the whole community would be drenched in fear and sorrow, dreading who would be the next to go. For many weeks and months after that event, we kept thinking about the severity of death, just howunpredictable and when it would eventually strike next. With the recent health challenges brought about by the HIV and AIDS pandemic, things have drastically changed, death is lurking at every turnand one has to literary choose which funeral to visit lest they attend funerals everyday of the week! But Levy Mwanawasa’s death was different. Different in the sense that none of us expected himto die being the Head of State. This was the first time a sitting/serving President died and what shock waves it sent! Furthermore, when the second stroke hit, very few thought he would die because he received the best treatment in the world both inEgypt and France.

The author was in Kasama conducting a Channels of Hope (CoH, an HIV sensitisation meeting tailored for religious leaders) meeting at the time when oneparticipant broke the news of Dr Mwanawasa’s strokein Egypt. At first we were in denial and thought itwas a false alarm but when the facts begun to Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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officially trickle down, our denial turned to fear and sorrow leading to prayer and intercession for the man. Most of his critics were suddenly stunned,sobered and for the first time sat up to track the ailing President’s health progress.

But before we go into the details of the lethal stroke, it would be good for us to backtrack and retrace our subjects’ health history from about 2006. The year was a busy election period and the MMD had worked extremely hard in the quest to guarantee another term in power. Things were not too good politically and so every nerve was strained to turn the tide. Much had been achieved economically, the HIPC completion point had been reached and debt significantly reduced but little trickledown effect visible to the common man. Mining had revived all over the country and the macroeconomic indicators were far much better than any point in recent Zambian history. Yet deepening poverty (although statistically reduced from around80 % to about 68%) remained a major challenge. Favourable and preferential tax holidays given to investors infuriated many Zambians giving politicalmileage to opposition political parties, the PF in particular. The President devoted himself to punishing schedules in a bid to turn the tide by travelling around the world and domestically, in the process seriously stressing himself.

And so, between March and May 2006, the President suffered a stroke and was expeditiously evacuated to the UK for specialist treatment. Naturally, the nation was shaken, shocked and confused. What Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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raised the anxiety levels were the incomplete, sometimes conflicting and inaccurate statements from Government officials. The Press, Forums and opposition parties exerted pressure on Mr Lupando Mwape, the then Vice President, to issue clearer statements about the President’s health. It was notan easy time but Zambians were empathetic, supportive and understanding looking forward to their ailing leaders’ return in time for the elections. Schools of thought and story tellers differ on what exactly transpired whilst in London recuperating but the President eventually recovered, was declared fit and returned to lead the MMD to electoral victory. It was a hard won victory considering that Presidents’ fragile health. Unconfirmed sources say that the President was advised by medical experts to consider steppingdown on health grounds but his vision for Zambia was far from realisation and thus resolved to step back into the political arena at the risk of his life. That was unprecedented dedication to one’s country. Another source claims that the President went rightagainst specialist medical advice and chose to put his life in danger hence his being airlifted to France not UK (as they (UK) refused to take him in because he had disobeyed clear medical advice) after the second stroke, but this view is questionable because the President used to regularly go to UK for medical review prior to the second stroke. In addition, some specialists from the UK are reported to have flown to France and Egypt to attend to the late President. Whatever theMwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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case, the President quickly galvanised and bounced back into active public life showing remarkable progress and recovery. In fact, he appeared in muchbetter spirits, shape and health than the period shortly prior to the stroke. This naturally did notsit well with the opposition because they probably had banked on Levy’s illness to rout the MMD. As Levy was recovering, Mr Mazoka, a very fierce Mwanawasa critic and strong challenger died a few months before the general elections. Succession battles ensued in the UPND leading to the party splitting into UPND and ULP headed by Mr Hichilema and Mr Sikota respectively. Thus, before the opposition could sufficiently recover, Mwanawasa swiftly announced an earlier election date throwingthe opposition into disarray. The PF thus came on strong and nearly dislodged Mwanawasa’s MMD on several critical points bordering on tax and human face. It was simply amazing to observe the President pull through that strenuous campaign trail without any publicly observable health break down or any ill effects. Thus, the election storm earlier elaborated on passed into the next Presidential term, though the threatening stroke return lingered at the back of many minds. Mwanawasa continued on his path breaking route of transforming the nation, although the inflation andexchange rate momentarily wavered for a season but this was quickly rectified. The economy was generally on a sound footing in 2007 as more DFI poured into the country creating more jobs in the process. Significant things happened that begun to endear Mwanawasa to a lot more people, especially the elite though the poorer lower bracket of Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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society disdained him still as they could not feel the immediate benefits of an improving economy. The man soldiered on nonetheless and in the 2008 budget increased the corporate taxes and royalties on investors, especially the mines. This move pleased the Zambian public and won him a lot more political clout and thus many more people crossed over to his side from the opposition as evidenced by the by-election victories in formerly oppositionstrong holds. These were high points for the MMD. The man continued to slave away for mother Zambia, knowing that his time was short.

Having assumed the SADC chairmanship, the job took him into the international scenario and thus took tough decisions and stands on certain issues in thesub region whilst standing out as a shining exampleof a good states man. By all standards and evidence, as 2008 opened up, the President looked in good health and set to run through another taxing year in State House when disaster suddenly struck on 29th June, far away in Egypt.

It is said that prior to travelling to Egypt the week of the fateful 29th June, the President undertook a rather hectic itinerary to Milanzi to drum up support for the MMD’s Reuben Chisanga Banda(23-25 June). Banda eventually won a landslide victory while Levy was away in Egypt. The President For observable benefits to trickle down to the lower brackets, it takes many years of high sustainable GDP growth. South Korea has had an 8% GDP for the last 30 + years and benefits are only becoming visible tothe common man today. Perhaps the problem in our country is that our politicians have trumpeted the positive growth too much thus raising people’s expectations for immediate benefit.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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is said to have returned to Lusaka, addressed the AMECEA Roman Catholic Bishops on 28th June (reconciling with them) and then flown off to Egypt(Sham-el-Sheik) for the AU heads of state summit after some delay.

He arrived safely at his destination and immediately got busy meeting other dignitaries prior to the main meeting slated for later that week. For instance, he held some private discussions with one Zambian Minister lamenting about the laid back Zambian attitude towards hard work wishing that the Egyptian spirit could be emulated. After one such discussion, the President is said to have suddenly collapsed, was resuscitated and rushed to hospital for an emergency operation to stem brain haemorrhage.

From press reports and the State House website, theoperation tremendously helped in mitigating the diagnosed stroke effects despite the President remaining in a coma. A day or two later, the ailingman was evacuated to France’s Percy Military hospital where Yasser Arafat before him had been hospitalised. The said hospital is famed to be of world class standard and seems to have worked tirelessly to save the Presidents’ life. Upon arrival, another operation was performed to improvehis breathing so that he could be more comfortable.The patient remained in a deep coma for some time

AMECEA= Association of Member Episcopal Conference in Eastern Africa, a regional body Kalaluka Mwala, “Levy’s Address to AMECEA Bishops” The Post, Friday August 22, 2008, pp11Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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and scanty information was made available on the State House website. Unanswered questions as to what could have triggered the second stroke took their rounds both at home and abroad. Some speculated that his high stress levels led to a break down suggesting that his cabinet had let the man do most of the work. Credence to this view was later given by Mr Tetamashimba’s statement when he suggested succession plan “because the President was overworked”. The second possible stroke cause could have been the Zimbabwe standoff which disturbed him a lot and to know that stubborn defiant Dr Mugabe was to be in attendance probably must have raised his blood pressure leading to the fateful stroke. Others even went further to speculate that he could have had some domestic or ethical brawl shortly before departure that bugged him all the way to Egypt. All these reasons do not really give us the true root cause that triggered the lethal stroke.

The illness and ‘information blackout’ made the anxious Zambian public uncomfortable as not much information or access to the President was allowed.This fuelled speculation and discontent from different quarters, not only politicians who were subtly trying to gain political mileage through thePresidents’ indisposition but genuinely concerned Zambians too. Others expressed worry about leadership vacuum at different levels and what would eventually happen. Still others were deep in prayer interceding for the President. It was at onesuch prayer session that the Acting President publicly broke down and wept for the ailing Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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President. Surprisingly, this did not sit well withsome quarters and there on wrote off RB as a leader! The persistent information black out lastedfor some time and then from nowhere, one radio station announced Mwanawasa’s death to the world onJuly 3, 2008. The Government swiftly dispelled these rumours but insisted that the President was alive and responding well to treatment. The public was not convinced because during the first stroke, similar untrue statements were perpetrated. Many still believe the President actually died at this stage, though opinions vary.

The nation continued to intercede and anxiously wait for the President expressing concerns about the economic effects this would have on the nation and investor confidence. Government gave assurancesto that effect. It was during that long wait that Mr Tetamashimba suggested a leadership succession plan which infuriated many party cadres as well as the Zambian populace at large.

On the morning of 18th August, news leaked that the Presidents’ health had taken a sharp deep and was literary on life support and deteriorating leading to his death on August 19th, about 50 days after falling ill.

The nation wailed, coming to a standstill, in deep shock and disbelief.

A South African Channel first sounded out this alarm but see also an attached report in appendix 1 downloaded from the internet on 4th July 2008.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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The Vice President announced this tragic news on national radio and television on the same 19th August advising the nation to stay calm as Nationalmourning took effect.

Scores of people openly expressed their emotion, wept and were in confused states for many hours anddays on end.

The body was flown to Zambia on Saturday 23rd Augustto a heroic though sorrowful welcome by broken hearts. The first lady alighted with some relations and then the body was received giving dignified honour befitting a commander in chief. Speeches, ceremonies and various procedures were performed before the body was majestically driven along the streets to the Mulungushi International conference centre where the body lay in state. Throngs of people stood along the road to catch a glimpse of their gallant hero. The following day, public body viewing took place before the body was taken across the country in all the nine provincialcapitals. Finally, the remains arrived back in Lusaka on 30th August, lay in state and allowed one more opportunity for body viewing before the final procedures were performed to lay the President to rest. In the background, a debate had been going onas to the final resting place of Dr Mwanawasa’s body but the Embassy Park was finally agreed upon, and for a good reason, Mwanawasa was public property.


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On the material burial day, the body went to Parliament and Supreme Court before majestically proceeding to the burial site.

Many dignitaries close family members and allies were invited to the burial site while the majority of Zambians watched from Televisions or large screens mounted across the country. This helped to control congestion. A number of activities took place which includes singing solemn songs, preaching (Baptist) speeches and laying of wreaths.

At the end of the day, people trooped out to rest, having laid to rest, him whom they loved and cherished so much.

Briefly, that is how Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was gathered to his fathers, after many struggles to better human kind at the cost of his very life. The occasion clearly demonstrated the greatness of the man and what his legacy was. Many pledged to continue in his footsteps especially the fight on corruption among many things.

The funeral was great and inspirational though sorrowful, on 4th September, the late President further surprised the world by his classic Will where he stated his wish for Zambia and his family.This encouraged many because the video clearly showed that the man was conscious of his imminent death and made the necessary preparation, long before even the first stroke struck. What a


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visionary! Indeed, that was a fitting close to a life well lived.

I wonder whether I would have thought in the way hedid.


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Chapter 11“You tell who really is genuine friend and on your side

after your demise or when in deep weeds”Aftermath…party succession tussles

Human nature is really interesting. Earlier on when the President fell ill, Mr Tetamashimba provoked a cross section of Zambia when he suggested that the party needed to start thinking of someone to succeed the President so that his work load be reduced enabling the President to focus on other functions as he wound up his illustrious Presidency. All hell broke loosewith some calling for his blood while others wantedhim expelled from the party all together! For some time, accusations flew from one end of the country to the next. It appears that some preliminary disciplinary proceedings commenced but strangely died a natural death before both Dr Katele Kalumba and Tetamashimba ended up on the side of the coin! Teta’s naïve perhaps innocent comment brought fire on him as well as those around him.

As the President lay in a deep coma, there were signs of succession tussles simmering in the back ground though publicly, everyone appeared to be truly and genuinely mourning the late president andpledging to continue with his legacy. Pockets of outburst, suggestions and comments were heard all over the electronic and print media appearing to Refer to Dr Munsanje’s write up in Appendix 1 showing the success struggles during the Late President’s illness. Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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canvas for select individuals. With the NEC MMD presidential candidate selection date slated for 5th

September (and in view of the fast approaching Presidential by-election date), candidates filed intheir applications with several candidates tipped to win. From press reports, it appears the battle lay among Mr Magande, the incumbent Finance Minister and Mr Rupiah Banda, the acting President and General Shikapwasha, the foreign affairs Minister. Other lesser candidates were Dr Nervous Mumba (Reform Party President?), Dr Ludwic Sondashi, Mr Magande, Mr Rupiah Banda (RB), Brigadier General Dr Brian Chituwo, Mr Wila Mungomba, Mr Enoch Kavindele, Mr Cain Mweemba, Mr Max Mwamba, Pastor Nyirongo, Mr Sebastian Kopulande, Mr Charles Ngesa, Mr Billy Phiri and Mr Martin Chama.

In total, about 18 candidates filed in their application, which in itself suggested a serious power struggle within the party threatening to build into a serious rift there by reducing successchances.

As 5th September 2008 arrived, the battle lines weredrawn and accordingly on that day, people turned upat the Mulungushi International conference where atleast 54 people voted in a stiff and tense atmosphere. After the internal election procedures which included manifestos, the people went ahead and voted.

It must have even more tense before the results were eventually released with Mr Rupiah Banda Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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emerging as the victor while Mr Magande trailing far behind. Rupiah scored 43 votes while Magande scored 11. There was jubilation RB’s supporters andsadness for losing candidates. Magande conceded defeat while others walked away feeling unjustly treated, claiming the polls were undemocratic.

There was a general feeling among the rank and filethat the late Presidents’ unwritten wish had been ignored while others argued that it was a democratic society in which anyone had the right tocontest. Others felt RB was weak, malleable and easily manipulated by people as evidenced in his approving unjustified salary increase for constitutional staff (ministers etc) in the short time the President was laid aside. They further argued that given his back ground, RB was weak administratively in apparent reference to his tenure in UNIP and other executive positions. Others still argued that RB was a “stranger” to MMDand fit to retire rather than run for Presidency onan MMD ticket. But such an argument is strange because even some of the aspirants had different back grounds other than MMD.

That said, the election result apparently settled the MMD power struggle and it was time to change gear to campaign for the national Presidency.

At national level, RB would face the likes of Sata,Hichilema and a few other candidates. The die was cast. The concern for most citizens at this stage was whether the next National President would deliver as much or better than late Levy Mwanawasa.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Whatever the case, one prayed that a passionate leader would arise akin to Levy and not a “rabid dog” that would eventually tear down the little gains that had been recorded in the recent past.


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Chapter 12“And I will make every effort to see that after my departureyou will always be able to remember these things” 2 Peter 1:15

Lasting Legacy and lessons from his life

Hardly had the great warriors’ body grown cold in the grave than people begun to evaluate his legacy and lessons drawn from his illustrious life. It is amazing that a mortal could achieve so much in a short space of seven years which others had failed to achieve in the same time frame or more. Accoladeafter accolade continues to flow to this day towards the now venerable Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. To best document this man’s’ legacy, I have brieflylisted some of what he bequeathed us, a piece of his mantle, as it were. This is by no means an exhaustive treatment but a tip of what the eminent man was and firmly stood for.


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Graft fightThe first thing that Levy resolutely and clearly stood for was a transparent, accountable and corruption free society. He could not countenance any malpractice and did all he could to reduce evilvice where ever it reared its ugly green head. His was a first, unprecedented anywhere on African soil, perhaps world over. He taught us to hate and loath graft as it had ugly ramifications.

Equity and JusticeLevy stood for a just society where individuals were free to express themselves without fear as well as fair treatment by everyone. With all his faults and failures, the man did his utmost to ensure all people, including his perceived enemies received fair treatment before the law, as far as he knew.

Sanctity of lifeThe President strove to have every life preserved and protected where ever possible. That explains why he placed a high tag on food security and vehemently opposed the death penalty. His conviction was that life was sacred, made in the image of God and thus only God had the right to terminate life. Not everyone agreed with him on thedeath penalty but his conscience would not permit him to sanction the death of another.

As earlier intimated, the Doctor strongly believed in the universal freedom of all human beings beforeGod and thus deeply espoused the right to life of


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all men. He most probably held that conviction because of his belief in people being made in the image of God. As such, no one has the right to takeaway life except God himself. That explains why he refused to sanction the death of some convicts. To the contrary, he opted to pardon some. That also explains why very few were assassinated by secret state agents in his term compared to the past.

Accountability and straight dealingUnlike his predecessor, Mwanawasa strove to lead a clean life both in public and private. Very little,if anything has been raised against his person in relation to public resources. Being ‘Mr Clean’ himself, he ensured that those that would work withhim or entrusted with public resources were as clean as could be, although a few rotten nuts stilllingered in the basket.

Objective but tough decision makingAlthough many of us often felt offended by Levy Mwanawasa’s style, we none the less appreciated what he stood for. He made very tough decisions which would make many of us crumble at the prospects and ramifications of our action, not Levy. He was of another breed and taught us to be courageous and take tough decisions, ready to bear the consequences. Happily, most of his decisions were in favour of mother Zambia.

Cheek and convictionHe was sometimes accused of being cheeky and stubborn but soon, many realised that the man meantnothing else apart from expressing his conviction


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over some thing. When he held a position, one needed to convince him before he shifted position. The Press often fought endless battles with him over this and finally realised that the man was sincere, genuine and objective (from his perspective). Thus, in later years, many would respect his position on many matters. To achieve anything, one must be firm and not gullible or easily moved by the wind. Jelly fish backboned people never achieved anything except by sheer luckor chance. Some amount of cheek and stubborn is key if going to rule over a stiff necked people especially those steeped in corruption and Mwanawasa was such a person, tight fisted, firm butfair. Perhaps Zambia needed a person like that to shake it from its slumber and laissez faire attitude.

FocusMwanawasa was a single minded gentleman who faced heavy criticism from almost everyone in the country. Despite his efforts to bring about rapid change in the country, his detractor’s bullet riddled him so much that any positive stride he achieved was over shadowed or viewed with suspicion. That notwithstanding, Levy never lost sight while he was in State House to the very end when he collapsed in Egypt. A minister reports thatup to a few minutes prior to his collapsing, the man compassionately talked about hard work and progress. Focus is key if one is to remain on trackand escape the trappings of fame, power or wealth. Many fail on this score.


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PersistenceIf there is a person who exhibited persistence in the face of extreme discouragement, Levy was the man. It appears he had a lot of frustrating points and perhaps could have contemplated quitting but heheld on and won in many cases. Hard won success is sweet and exhilarating in the end, but it comes with a price. The man paid with his life but left abetter Zambia than he first found it when he entered State House, way back in 2002.

OptimismIf one scans the Zambian political and economic climate at the end of 2001, Zambia seemed headed for disaster. Majority of Zambians detested the MMD, its candidate and economic policies. A droughthad set in, the mining sector was on its knees and agriculture practically non-existent. The macro andmicro economic indicators were not good and investor confidence was low. Corruption was endemicand poverty had worsened. With the human eye, therewas no worse time to assume Presidency than that time but the man optimistically took over the mantle and immediately got to work. Within a few years, the huge titanic begun to change course for the better despite the relentless attacks of detractors. The Levy Mwanawasa team persevered through terrible controversies keeping an eye on the final destiny. Had he focused on the negative side, he would have definitely given up.

DeterminationClosely connected to optimism, The New Deal government was determined to turn the tide and


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arrest the ailing economy. After many years of arduous hard work, the economic indicators begun toshow signs of improvement, although the immediate bread and butter issues remain a menacing problem today. Poverty steadily reduced from about 80% to 68%. A firm resolution to apply correct governance,fiscal and monetary policies bore fruit in later years. This brought Mwanawasa into firing line which he absorbed while focusing on the future benefit. Determination is what fired him all the way to his death. ObjectivityVery few leaders maintain their objectivity when they suddenly realise they have power on their side. Many easily get intoxicated and spend most oftheir lives threatening and tearing other people down instead of building. Levy was different. Though he occasionally flexed his constitutional powers, most of his energies were focused on developing mother Zambia. Thus, he strove to treat people fairly and looked at issues as objectively as he knew best. For instance, when Mr Michael Satefell ill, the last person to render help would havebeen the President but the man put aside his personal differences and helped a fellow Zambian only to lead to their reconciliation later. The reconciliation, although attacked by man, was just in the nick of time before the President went to bewith the Lord. SelflessnessFrom what I have read and gathered, Levy Mwanawasa was not only industrious but a man of purpose and


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dedication to his work. He put in his best even at the cost of his own health. For Mwanawasa, Zambia came first regardless of what happened to him in the process. Perhaps taking a leaf from Dr Kaunda of old, the man flung himself to the deep end and swam despite the horrifying tidal wave heading his direction. Whether ill or well, the man resilientlymarched on if only he could leave Zambia a better place. That explains why the man never for a momententertained stealing from government coffers. He viewed himself as a steward entrusted with a sacredtrust. Not everyone in the corridors of power has such a view and that is why he parted with some of them.

Pragmatic despite his high credentialsLevy was a man of action in all he did. He believedin action not mere empty rhetoric as is often the case in Zambia. Many of us end at wishing and not acting towards achieving our goals. Levy believed that Zambia could be made a better place and practically did all he could to impart this cultureto us. For instance, he demonstrated some of this practicality when he tried out winter maize. He wasa laughing stock in some circles but the man proveda point! Similarly, he ensured new mines were opened in some parts of the country where people had for years known that minerals existed. Leaders are catalysts and facilitators. Although some stillclaimed credit for this but the man was the drivingforce behind all their exploitation! We do not havetime to write about agriculture, tourism, international connections with China and a whole


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host of other practical steps he took, sometimes risking his Presidency or popularity. Diligence and hard workThe Bible in Proverbs 22: 29 talks about a highly skilled man standing before kings and not obscure men. Levy distinguished himself not only with the high quality of his work but his persevering hard work throughout his tenure. Mr Kavindele tells of how many times the President would take over and dosome of his minister’s job because he was not satisfied. He also talks about how the man worked extremely hard even when he was unwell so that he would push the country a little further. In due season, many of his dreams hatched into reality teaching us to unreservedly apply our selves in whatever we do as Ecclesiastes 9:10 teaches us. Thomas Boston, a famous Scottish preacher of the eighteen century comes to mind. The man worked so hard that he could not stop preaching even from a wheel chair or bed! No wonder he left us lasting spiritual treasures! Devotion to something worth dying forNot only was Mr ‘Teka” a workaholic, he also was wholly committed to what he believed and stood for and was ready to die for it. The man detested corruption so much that he was ready to put his neck on the chopping board of the alleged plunders that he was willing to come out of retirement to return fighting it once more. The 2006 stroke wouldhave been enough for most of us to give up on the top job but not the man! He soldiered on and daily faced the risk of being struck by a second and


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often lethal stroke. He hung on primarily because his work was not done and not even death would havecowed him.

IntegrityAh, this was his singular hall mark! The man literally lived a clean life both in public and private comparatively. If he was one that loved power, fame and was acquisitive he could have easily gone on rampage, amassing wealth of questionable source. We are yet to hear any allegation levelled against his person on that score then we can make an objective and final conclusion. But from what we saw, not even the Postcould raise tangible issues that would have broughthim into disrepute. Very few who walk the corridorsof power come out clean both morally, ethically andphysically. Its either they get trapped in immorality or snatch some resources from state coffers in one way or the other. MultitaskingIn a global world like ours, it is essential for one to be able to handle more than one issue at thesame time given the life pace. He could handle morethan one thing simultaneously. Despite all these many competing issues, one has to maintain a proactive focus on what they want to achieve. President Mwanawasa was such a man who simultaneously did too many things and yet remainedon top of things. It is said of him that he personally answered all the mail that reached his office and delegated as appropriate. To handle both


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national and international matters requires extra ordinary abilities which Levy excelled in. Relatives and friendsThis point is a rather tricky one because it is neither fair nor possible to completely side line one’s relatives and friends once you have the powerto help them. Unfortunately, some of these relatives and friends may not share the same valuesthat you hold and thus end up messing up your name.Levy paid heavily for this because some of his kinsfolk and colleagues did amazing things which negatively impacted on his image and intention. While it is good to help people close to ones’ heart, care must be taken to ensure they do not endup contributing to discrediting your good, sincere intentions. By all means, let’s help them if they genuinely qualify and are objectively recommended by others but take care lest you dig your own grave. The cost of taking a strong stanceWhenever someone takes a position on an issue, there is always a cost attached to it which they must be ready to bear. In Dr Mwanawasa’s case, he resolutely stood for several things which cost him a lot in terms of friends, popularity and eventually had a telling effect on his health. Takea position and be ready for the backlash.

Iron DisciplineWhen an athlete goes into strict training aiming for a crown or prize, they do this with a prepared and ready mind having done so in the past. Levy was


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a man that was endowed with strong discipline and most character. To be in State House and yet remainsober requires a lot of self control and firm resolve. The man was not only self disciplined but made sure he beat his body to subject to the will and thus graduated from State House with distinction. Others went there and messed up comingout with a lot of wicked baggage tied to their names. Iron discipline helps to achieve much in life. Global thinking The State Counsel was a man of many parts, with a very developed mind and wide knowledge campus. He had insight into the local scenario as well as the general global trends as relates to Zambia. For instance, in 2002, he refused to accept GMO food for a number of reasons. The naïve mind would have gladly accepted everything without thinking of the implications on international business. Another classic example of his global awareness was his resolute attachment to China. He saw the bigger picture that no country can ignore China today, noteven the most powerful nations. He stood almost alone on that matter but I suppose he is slowly being vindicated today. Big picture thinking is keyto good decision making and success in today’s global economy. Being myopic may look plausible fora season but ruins nations in the long run. No wonder Mwanawasa had serious issues with Mugabe because he saw the bigger picture. Decision making including tough ones


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Although alluded to in an earlier point, true leaders are not afraid to make tough decisions evenwhen it hurts or personally costs them. They would rather make a wrong decision than not make one. Patrick Mwanawasa stood tall on this point because during his Presidency, the man took many tough and unpopular decisions. For instance, the African Parks and ZANACO sale controversies made him extremely unpopular even in the face of the on coming elections of 2006. He boldly none the less took the decision and lived with the consequences.

Seriousness at workMany of us viewed Levy as a very serious faced man and indeed, in public he appeared as a no non-senseman. That was true in one sense because the man took his position so seriously and would not for a moment trifle with serious matters. He approached work with the seriousness it deserved and thus could do far much more than an average mortal can. Where as many of us are laid back and spend most ofour time whining and complaining, the man spared noeffort and strained every nerve to get that extra work done. He did not leave any stone unturned by that token.

Family lifeUnlike what often happens when one ascends the corporate ladder, Levy valued family life so much that he did everything to be with them as often as possible. Even whilst in State House, he captained his family well and remained a dominant figure in his extended family circle. He gave counsel, supported relations (both domestically at State Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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House and outside), encouraged, mourned with everyone and officiated at functions where possible.

The family holiday trip in early 2008 for instance brings this point home. At his burial, children other than his immediate biological children also laid wreaths. That was a great display of how African and fatherly he was.

Effective succession planningAlthough Levy did not do well as far as Party leadership succession is concerned, he none the less excelled in his personal life. I was completely overwhelmed at part of his televised final will on 4th September where the man clearly and properly expressed his wish as regards both hisfamily and the nation. That was classic and again, unprecedented! Many of us view succession planning with a lot of suspicion because we fear being dislodged or dread being reminded of the inevitableapproach of death. Yet death is a reality which should help us properly plan for our children’s children. Capacity building of othersLevy was a mentor and trainer in his own right. He may not have been the conventional “team builder” but he did it in style by passing on his values andconsistently pointing one to what really mattered. Being multitasked himself, he gave people a chance to prove themselves but soon got frustrated with mediocre output and delved in himself leading to his over working. That said, I am sure many came


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away better people than what they were before they interacted or worked with him. I think one of the things one picked up from him was hard work, diligence, urgency, high quality output, objectivity and candidness. He taught one to freelyexpress themselves and be ready to defend their position. Delegation and team playingAlthough earlier mentioned, Levy Mwanawasa was a delegator and team player except that he was of a different sort, different in the sense that he believed that people needed to work according to the rules as well as stick to agreements. If that was not possible, he preferred to have nothing to do with that transaction. On his part, he did what was expected of him with exceptional diligence. Passion and convictionPassion defines how far someone will go in whatevercause they champion. Conviction keeps them on trackdespite the changing seasons of life. The absence of these twin virtues explains why people shift positions or quit when the going gets tough. The late President passionately pursued certain things he perceived important for his fellow country men and women. Despite many setbacks, the man soldieredon, many times alone on a position undeterred. Unless you are convinced about something, do not waste your and other people’s time, you might proveto be a turn coat and serious timewaster. Strategic thinking and legacy


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Strategic thinking and planning seems to be the private preserve of the few that dare to peer into the future and avoid being tossed to and fro by every wind. Very few engage in long range thinking and thus end up being overtaken by events which they could have easily avoided or mitigated. Otherslive a day at a time and do not think about the future ramifications of their present actions and decisions. While others turn into world class star players, they sink to obscurity unless someone mercifully hand picks them from poverty clutches. Astrategic individual thinks outside the box and gets things done which others perceived as impossible. They view challenges as opportunities and thus achieve more than what the pessimist wouldsee. Patrick was a strategist of the highest rank as evidenced by his monumental achievements and legacy. In a space of seven years, he literary changed the Zambian economic landscape. Respect for the lawFrom the time Levy took office, he categorically stated and vowed to respect the law and endeavour to defend the constitution whatever the cost. This resolution he maintained to the very end. Whenever he was accused of acting ultra vires or disregarding the law, he had little problem to explain his position demonstrating not only his mastery of the Zambian law but his total reverence for it as well. Other people would wilfully disregard the law with impunity, but not Levy.

Consistency and resoluteness


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Although in the public eye, Levy may have appeared inconsistent at times in some statements he made, but on policy issues, he was extremely consistent and lived by what he said as much as it was humanlypossible. He did this with unqualified resolutenessand determination so that no one would accuse him of inconsistency. Consistency sends a powerful message to observers and they eventually respect you for your position.

Deep and evident hatred for evil practices If there is anything that would infuriate the Doctor, it was corrupt practices, lies, inconsistency or misconstruing of information for self gain. He detested half truths and loved the right because it benefited a lot more people. As such, he would react almost immediately whether in public or private making one know clearly where he stood on a matter. Interestingly, he did not hate individuals but the bad practices. Thus, when he established the Task force, many thought it was a political gimmick for self preservation and prosecution of his perceived political opponents. But seven years down the line has largely proved tobe different from what many suspected, bearing in mind that some minor inconsistencies still exist. DisciplineWhether in public or private life, the old man was well known to be a stern disciplinarian. It mattered little who or what you were, Patrick did not spare the rod and applied appropriate discipline equal to the crime. Not only was discipline related to wrong doing, it also related


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to order, self regulation and exertion in the rightdirection. For instance, we rarely heard that the President went on holiday at the cost of pressing national issues or simple not act on important issues. He exercised exceptionally high standard self iron discipline and managed a back wrecking schedule as a result, surmounting all that was on his plate most of the time, unless laid aside by illness.

Diplomacy and candidnessLevy had to learn diplomacy when he entered State House, sometimes learning it the hard way, when hisimage was torn to pieces by his opponents. He couldbe scathingly blunt, direct and forthright in many issues. This did not sit well for Zambians since our culture sometimes is indirect or one would expect the President to call you privately for reprimand but not Levy who believed in candidness. Dr Mugabe of Zimbabwe acknowledged this fact when he attended Levy’s funeral on September 3. After several verbal scuffles, Mugabe would ultimately acknowledge that the man was genuine and sincerely frank with no personal vendettas attached. I scarcely need to labour on this point home as it was there for all to see. The take home lesson is we should be bold, candid and yet tactfully diplomatic. Perhaps Zambia needed such a fire brandto wake it up from its serious slumber. His successor should not sing lullabies sending us backto sleep! Rise above selfish ends for common good


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Dr Mwanawasa was indeed an amazing and high qualitystates man. He never seemed to keep grudges that would obscure or impair his judgement. Even in the thick of things, he could give a hearing to his perceived foes as long as they had a positive contribution to make to mother Zambia. On several occasions, he was at daggers drawn with different individuals that crossed his path but he would still rise above personal or party politics to givea hearing. For instance, he repeatedly consulted DrKaunda or retired officers sometimes even calling them from retirement to contribute to mother Zambia. At one time, Professor Chirwa caused quite a stir about his Presidential ambitions which evidently irritated some quarters including the President perhaps but he still granted the man audience and encouraged the professor to return to Zambia to contribute to national development. From that meeting, the venerable Professor emerged a changed man, extolling Levy very highly. Readiness to leave State HouseFrom the grape vine, it has been reported that often times, the President was very frustrated by the incessant relentless criticism and many times wanted to quit but encouraged by colleagues around,he soldiered on for the sake of the nation. He interestingly looked forward to leaving State Houseinto permanent retirement unlike one of his predecessors. This view is very rare and unlike African leaders generally. They would like to clingto power and they breathe their last while tightly clinging to power. Levy was different and would have easily done what Dr Kaunda did in 1967 as Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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narrated by Mr Sikota Wina’s classic book, “A nightwithout a President”. This readiness is also demonstrated by the man’s readiness to resign high profile jobs such as Republican Vice President (1994) on principle grounds. If you have the rightfocus, you will know when to quit or continue in something. Walk away while the crowd is still giving you a standing ovation applaud. Never outlive your welcome.

National leadership and Regional influencePresident Mwanawasa entered State House on an extremely weak note but built himself up to one of the greatest sons of Africa. His influence first progressively grew from a paltry 29% to over 40% and I am sure if he lived to the end of his term, he would have scaled the 50% mark by far. He wormedhimself into many people’s hearts in a unique way from being loathed to being loved by a cross section of society. He turned from a “cabbage to steak”! This was legendary. But his influence was not only at home, his fame sky rocketed all over the world and thus earned himself the nick name, “Mr Clean”. His statements and stance on various issues stood out particularly on the Zimbabwe issue. Among African’s leaders he stuck out his neck to challenge a seasoned freedom fighter and founding father of Zimbabwe, Dr Robert Mugabe (onceregarded more highly than even the venerable Mandela but has now completely lost it having outlived his welcome, perhaps suffering from the ‘founders’ syndrome’). His stance brought mixed reactions but Zambians generally felt proud of his


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position. Steadily building one’s image takes time if buttressed by consistency and hard work. Urgency and perfectionismThe last attribute we highlight about Dr Mwanawasa is his singular determined eye on quality. He had perfectionist tendencies and would not settle for any mediocre output, which has found a safe haven amongst many Zambians. Levy insisted on a good and perfect job the first time so that resources and time could be focused on other pertinent and urgentdevelopmental matters. Your good work will speak for you long after you have left the lime light or centre stage.

DiscernmentThe learned counsel possessed a unique discerning eye on his life. He was always conscious that he was but a pilgrim on the earth and would one day lay aside his earthly tent. Thus, he never lost sight of this and in a sense knew that he would soon depart and mended fences with different peopleand groups shortly before he died. He may not have been the best discerner in other areas but in this one area, he was an expert.

Morality and FidelityThe man was exceptionally chaste and kept himself from sexual infection or any other moral decay that grounds many a soul once they get into the corridors of power. Most men even change wives, discarding the ones that struggled with them in preference for the “sweet sixteen” and in turn proving sugar daddies. Levy was different and stuck to his wife and family through the changing scenes of life althougha story by “The Seer” a private daily nearly ruined this. It


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is critical for all parties to the family to be highly watchful what they do or else they mess theirs and others’ reputations. The sex scandal story attributed to the State House was thankfully never published and the daily closed.

Theo centricLevy was always conscious of the every present God and how he directs our paths. He walked in the shadows of His wings and knew that one day he would return to His maker. In this fast paced life, many are wont to disregard and forget theirmaker on the altar of fame and popularity only to pay dearlyin the next life. Despite his busy schedule, Levy made time to listen from Gods’ word weekly as well as regularly attended Church whenever he was around the country.

FearlessThe man was as bold as a Lion even in the face of meeting a bear robbed of its cubs. His simple trust in the almighty and focus made him a stout hearted man that could run through a thick wall and appear the other side, still pushing ahead to achieve his goal. Zambia desperately needs such people that are ready to face the impossible and yet refuse to surrender even at the cost of their very lives if only they can contribute to the betterment of mother Zambia. Thus, we have attempted to highlight some of the lasting lessons the venerable Doctor bequeathed to us when he succumbed to the cold hand of death. Hisachievements are nothing short of a feat and will live as a shining example of a dedicated servant that lived and died for his country. Many generations of Zambians will turn again and again to the page of history to learn valuable lessons for application in both private and public life. From a loathed “cabbage to a cherished steak”! Whendoes another come along with similar or greater stature?


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Chapter 13“Paths beyond tracing out...”

Some Pending unanswered questions…

A public figure like our late President certainly had a lot of questions and rumours surrounding him,some true and others false. We shall not delve intothose details since we cannot substantiate them but


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will limit ourselves to what we observed from the public terraces.

Firstly, when exactly did the President die? Was itreally 19th of August 2008 as officially announced or way before that probably July 3? The French Pilot interviewed shortly after arrival of the Presidents’ body from Paris unawares said that he heard about the Presidents’ death ‘a week before' the trip to Zambia! But then the official announcement came three to four days before the body arrived back home giving a variance of three unaccounted for days.

Secondly, who exactly bore the medical bills duringthe Presidents’ illness, was it the French or Zambian Government?

Thirdly, the sex scandal at State House, was it real or imagined? If it was false, why wasn’t someone prosecuted as it was a government of laws?

Fourthly, why did the Government delay effecting new and higher royalty taxes when the boom season begun in 2003?

Fifthly, why was the Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC) denied insuring the Kariba Dam in preference to a private insurance company?

Sixthly, why did the President allow the unconstitutional ‘first lady’ position become so powerful, perhaps more potent than that of the VicePresident?Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Seventhly, what was the exact health status of President Mwanawasa when he took office in 2001? Was he really fit to hold office or he was forced to hazard his life?

Eighthly, why did the President condone some alleged plunderers around him while he detested others?

Ninthly, what exactly happened for the two fugitives to escape (Chungu and Shansonga), were they assisted by state agents or they genuinely fled? Was it a well crafted ploy meant to free the key incriminating witness escape?

Tenthly, was the graft fight really genuine or justa cover up to gain some political clout? If it was genuine, was it objective and indiscriminate? Why was it limited to a ten year Chiluba period?

Eleventh, who was really in charge of government when the President was unwell or away, was it VP orfirst lady?

Twelfth, why were some individuals treated with special attention while others were dealt with ruthlessly?

Thirteenth, did President Mwanawasa genuinely win the 2001 and 2006 elections? From a legal perspective he did but was it actually so?


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Fourteenth, why exactly was ZANACO sold when it wasmaking super profits? Furthermore, why was it sold to foreign nationals and not Zambians, who apparently offered more for the bid?

Fifteenth, what was the exact relationship between the late President and Dr Mathani? The latter appears to have received special privileges although this accusation was publicly refuted.

Sixteenth, why were some DFI decisions made directly through State House by passing or overlooking the established government channels?

Seventeenth, why on earth did President Mwanawasa still remain in office even after suffering the first stroke? The prudent thing would have been to step down and thus preserve his life. Who was behind pushing him to stay on?

Eighteenth, why were KCM and Chambishi mines not prosecuted when the said mines polluted Kafue Riverand the deadly explosion of 2005 respectively? Lastly, did the late President actually prefer a known successor or it was mere politicking from individuals?

These questions are deep mines which can fill many volumes once delved into in detail. Sadly, we do not nor will we have full answers to these probing questions. We now hurtle to conclude our treatise on a triumphant note as we recollect his passing toglory.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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Chapter 14Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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“From Pariah to adored”

Mwanawasa’s final resting place, embassy park,Lusaka.A few Parting words, memory of the just

We have successfully surveyed the campus of the life of the late President and what now remains is to say a few take home parting words which we shallcherish as we walk along life’s journey. To rise from a weak position to gigantic stature both locally and internationally is extremely rare in the world. From a disadvantaged position to a firm secure position is hardly possible in our largely fragile African democracy. Levy was indeed an extraordinary man in many senses as he did just that.

For instance, he was afflicted with many crippling illnesses and terrible experiences in his past and yet surmounted them all to rise to the top job in the land. It is said he suffered from high blood pressure, diabetes, escaped an infernal as a young lad, had prostate cancer, had mild epilepsy and survived a near fatal motor accident only to rise to the top job in the country! What a life! Others with far better health ran the same office but comeout nearly empty handed with nothing to show for Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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all the years they were in office. Seven years was all that Levy needed to correct things.

Considering the great opposition he faced, the man amazed friends and critics alike with his resilience and resolute determination to improve the welfare of as many people as possible. He may not have succeeded in all areas but he certainly made a huge contribution to changing things.

Many will wonder for generations to come just wherethe secret of his success lay. As for me, I think at least three things contributed: The first was his serious Christian faith and simple trust in God. Levy could have been a truly converted man andthis probably regulated his conscience. The second is his legal background. The man had such a deep grasp and reverence of/for the Zambian law and applied it appropriately for his own good as well as others. The third and final factor could have been his clear strategic vision that went far beyond the average day-to-day thinking person. His eagle eye saw far into the future, even beyond his own life. What mattered is to lay a solid foundation upon which others would build. As they say, “the vision often outlives the visionary”. This is true of Levy.

His epitaph eloquently says it all and we gladly quote the great word:“This God loving, gallant and visionary leader inspired the nation to greater heights. He selflessly and diligently served with integrity, commitment and stood for rule of law.Mwanawasa Legacy Billy Chilongo Sichone

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May his soul rest in eternal peaceI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7”

The other says the following:“Here rests his excellency Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, SC, third President of the Republic of Zambia from 2nd January 2002 to 19th August, 2008.Born on 3rd September, 1948Died on 19th August, 2008 and put to rest on 3rd September, 2008”

Now what better words would one wish for on their grave stone? These are by all standard voluminous and classic words!! Now that we have paid glowing tribute to a mere mortal like ourselves who distinguished himself, the question that begs answering is when another like legend will arise to lead Zambian to greater heights. We desperately need continuity. I wonder, are you that person?


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BibliographyAli Moi, Marketing effectively, Dorling Kindersley,2001

Banda Shadreck, “Chiluba ‘Theft’ in new twist”, Weekly Angel, 16-22nd October 2006

BBC news (internet), Obituary: Zambia’s Levy Mwanawasa, accessed on 6th September, 2008.

Brennan Geoffrey & Lomasky Loren, Democracy & Decision: The pure theory of electoral preference, Cambridge University Press, 1997

Chomba George, “Mapushi dies”, Sunday Mail, December 8th 2002.


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Chomba George, “Now IMF warns over ZANACO”, Sunday Mail, December 8th 2002.

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Index

A

accident......................28accolade......................82accountability................20achievements..................61Administration................41African Parks.................20allegations...................13

B

Baptist.......................79baseline......................61BBC...........................45BGM...........................33biological....................88body..........................78C

cadres........................48Candid........................18Capacity building.............89


172

challenge.....................43charismatic...................45Chembe........................69Chiluba........................9Christianity..................56Chungu........................15Church........................26CoH...........................74coma..........................77commission....................26conference....................27constitution..................26controversies.................23corruption....................21cowed.........................86D

Daring........................21DC............................32debate........................27DEC...........................31decisions.....................20dedication....................53Delegation....................89delicate......................44determination.................18detractors....................84development....................9Diaspora......................68diplomacy.....................49Direct........................17Direction.....................21Discipline....................41DPP...........................31E

eagle.........................97economic......................78election......................12Emotionally...................45empower.......................46Energetic.....................40entrepreneurs.................71Equity........................51F

Family........................55

Farmer........................59fatal.........................97first lady....................95Florence Nyondo...............74FTA...........................66fugitive......................14G

genius........................62Genealogy ………………………..57Global thinking...............68GMO...........................23government....................30graft fight...................64H

Hakainde Hichilema............72HIPC..........................65Honesty.......................52I

Ichibumba.....................58IMF...........................24immunity......................30Impeachment...................30Inspirational.................20Integrity.....................52international business........87Iron..........................87J

Justice.......................51K

Kalumba.......................46Kavindele.....................10L

landscape.....................90lawyer........................61LAZ...........................17leadership....................17Learning......................40Legacy........................82Loathed.......................11Logical.......................34


173

M

macro.........................11Magande.......................81management....................41Maureen.......................57Mazoka........................10mediocre......................92memory........................97Mentor........................39metal.........................71micro.........................11millennium.....................9Minister......................32Miyanda.......................28monumental....................61morally.......................36Mr Clean......................59Mugabe........................33Musonda.......................15Mwaanga.......................10Mwanawasa.....................10N

NCC...........................27NEC...........................80nepotism......................25NGO...........................47nolle.........................24O

Objective.....................18Objectivity...................53opposition....................31P

pardon........................90party.........................11Passionate....................36Pending.......................94Percy Military hospital.......77perfectionist.................38Persistent....................39petition......................27PF............................28policy........................52Post..........................25Pragmatic.....................85

President.....................10Professor Chirwa..............91prominence....................72public life...................57Q

quality.......................53R

relatives.....................86responsibility................37Rupiah Banda..................47S

sacred cows...................19SADC..........................32saint.........................55Sanctity......................55Sanctity of life..............82Sanity........................63Sata...........................9scenario......................76season........................24Selfless......................40Sham-el-Sheik.................76Shansonga.....................14shock waves...................74Sikota Wina...................92Sokoni........................25Solicitor General.............24State counsel.................64State House...................12statesman.....................36status quo....................41Strategic.....................36stroke........................76Strong willed.................44succession tussles............80synthesise....................51T

Task force....................13TBI...........................46team builder..................39tenure........................19Tetamashimba..................77Thomas Boston.................86


174

tough.........................14Transparency International corruption..................14

tribalism.....................26Truthfulness..................54U

UK............................75UNIP..........................29Unstable health...............44V

values........................51virtue........................73visionary.....................79W

weaknesses....................43weighed.......................72winter maize..................67Workaholic....................49Z

Zambia.......................104Zambian law...................42ZANACO........................88zeal..........................32ZSIC..........................94


175

Appendix

1. Mulungushi house… the epitome of bureaucratic

corruption

Once someone is referred to have dealings with the

world famous Mulungushi House in Lusaka, their stomach

rumbles while their hairs stand on end. The stomach

turns around because every ethical person dreads the

crippling bureaucracy that attends this building.

Viewed from afar, the hardware (building) is a master

piece of art, which scarcely has an equal in splendor

on the Zambian landscape but the software (people,

officials etc) is what makes one feel like shedding

tears.

The Mulungushi House hosts many government departments

including the famous Ministry of Lands, which ministry

handles all land related issues in the country. By that

token, no one owning a piece of land can avoid dealing

with this ministry either by proxy or directly. What

makes people’s hair stand on end is the knowledge of

the pervasive intricate complex artificial and almost

“digital” web that spawns the entire organization. Here

(Mulungushi) bureaucracy is at its best and is followed

to the letter in some cases while in others, “express

services” are offered at a fee. For any transaction to

take place, it has to pass through countless hands for

this or the other thing to be done before the Permanent

Secretary finally endorses, which secretary is scarcely

in the office but busy globetrotting while raking in

millions of tax free cool cash for him/herself. The

rest of the operatives, earning peanuts, have devised

ways of making extra income using the elaborate

bureaucratic system. They have sought to “think outside

the box” in that regard. To do this, they show world

class inertia, indifference, irresponsibility or simply

ignore a case where some financial motivation is

missing. By that token, anyone not willing to part away

with some kudos (cash/bribe) will suffer at their

grisly hands unless they too have higher connections

within the system. As soon as some cash is introduced,

everything works at lightning speed and leaves everyone

elated and smiling. Apart from the painfully slow

bureaucratic tendencies, huge mafia-like land cartels

exist in that building. Many different kinds of deals

hatch daily as land sale transactions take place. Some

people within the system ensure they acquire as much

free land as possible and resale at exorbitant prices.

In other cases, they literary hunt for undeveloped land

belonging to the vulnerable & poor, using statutory

powers repossess the said plots and swiftly resale them

to the rich, powerful and famous. Many have lost their

only life lines in that way. If anyone attempts to rock

this hybrid system, whether Minister or not, they incur

the wrath of the gang leaders who will not stop at

anything to protect their turf and “industry”. This is

a new founded industry indeed, where even senior

officers (Religious or Political) are serious stake

holders!

As such, once one walks into the majestic building,

they meet large crowds of busy people all pursuing land

matters at every turn. From long noisy queues to

isolated pockets of informal land deal meetings, the

corridors and lobby teem with such merchants.

There is a hive of activity everywhere but one wonders

whether everyone gets a fair deal. This skunk once had

a gruesome experience when he entered that building to

pursue a small land issue at ten hours (am) one day. He

walked out of the building three hours later totally

frustrated, exhausted and empty handed as no one

sufficiently attended to him. No one seemed to care or

was it a question of being too busy to assist? His file

was lost and officers amazingly indifferent.

Later on, he discovered that it was all because he had

not offered any ‘motivation’ (bribe, popularly called

“akanono”) to oil the transaction. Thankfully, someone

directed the now stinking skunk to a consultant that

handles land matters somewhere in town to which he

quickly hurtled. Upon arrival, he found other equally

fatigued people who had paid the heavy price for being

corrupt free. They narrated their ordeals that their

files also had either gone missing, been misplaced or

kept on being requested to return the following day. We

all laughed as we recalled the magnificent Mulungushi

House with its attendant red tape. The consultant

swiftly attended his clients who happily left, having

paid a fee of course. This now content skunk was

relieved to make some tangible progress but wondered

whether the consultants’ practice was legal or simply

usurped potential government revenue raking in a few

more tax free millions for himself? Viewed from a

liberalized economy perspective, this was an excellent

move but viewed from another, this was a racket!

That evening, as this skunk sat to recollect the events

of the day, he wondered what would become of this

potent Mulungushi House ten years hence, given its

present ugly status. Could bureaucracy and red tape be

ever eliminated? More seriously, would corruption ever

cease in this vice infested country since the

Mulungushi House is but a tip in the ice berg of the

entire government machinery?

2006

The skunk…

Version II

The Mulungushi House, an imposing and majestic

building standing at the cross roads between United

Nations and Independence avenues, Lusaka. It has stood

there for several decades and in it millions of

transactions have taken place relating to national

development.

Undoubtedly, it is one of the most frequented places as

it is the centre piece for all land matters in the

county housing the famous Ministry of Lands with it is

attendant departments. In one way or the other, there

is no escaping this towering multi storey building if

you own any piece of land or property, no matter how

small, remote or distant from the nation’s capital. In

every sense, we all have to do with this building

either directly or by proxy.

When the time comes to have dealings with this

building, mixed feelings flood the mind because your

issue can be sorted out in five minutes or five years,

depending on how many hands your issue has to pass

through! There is simply no telling as bureaucracy

mingled with systemic corruption has been nurtured,

developed and perfected from the higher offices to the

lower operatives. If you intend to play a clean game,

no oiling fingers, minding your own business or using

force, chances are that your issue will not be attended

to. Every officer will simply ignore you, appear

indifferent or too busy, and refer you to office upon

office where you bounce like a squash ball and in the

end feel too frustrated to continue. If you had your

way, you would shake the dust off your feet and curse

the building as you walk away in a fit of rage

protesting and throwing tantrums as you go. Sadly that

does not move anyone as business continues as usual.

But then, you and I need the property and have to keep

“ pushing” what appears to be a dam wall, visit many

more days, sleep in the open or go away only to

discovering that your file is missing! No one seems to

care at all!

On the other hand, if you flash around a few kwacha

notes immediately you step into the building, everyone

suddenly seems cooperative and interested in you as

they summon all the courtesy they have to be at your

service. Amazingly, everyone smiles, becomes jovial,

happy, friendly and ready to bend backwards to please

you! If it were possible they would even lick the dust

from under your feet! Indeed, there is an intricate

complex web at the Mulungushi House. At first sight you

may not see it unless you plug into the invisible

“Local Area Network” where you download the information

relating to the land deals, properties, cartels and all

the issues that generate untold amount of tax free cash

for connected “subscribers”. Some have acquired

multiple land chunks which they offer for sale or link

you to a “supplier” while others have established

consultancies that run parallel to the Ministry and get

all the clientele that the government would have

otherwise serviced. Still other “White Collar Dons”

create endless ‘out of town’ or international trips

where their rake is millions of tax free dollars. If

your profile fits the second description, then things

will be dead easy for you as you will know how to

efficiently turn the gears at this mammoth Mulungushi

House and its attendant software (officers)

Whichever route you take, you leave with a scarred

conscience as everything no longer works in the

conventional way. One has to apply “A level”

mathematics to do things the right way, otherwise, no

oiling, no results! What the seasoned natives of this

trade call “INSAMUSHI”.

Once you are referred to deal with this building, your

stomach turns around if you are a righteous man for you

have no telling when your matter will be concluded, in

five minutes, five months or even five years!

The writer once had an experience while pursuing his

little property issue. Naïve as he was, he arrived at

about ten hours (am) and kept trotting from office to

office, bouncing all the way. Everyone looked

indifferent because he determined not to oil anyone.

Finally, he was referred to a parallel consultant who

got a significant portion of the ministry business off

site. Upon arrival there, he found a set of equally

frustrated land pursuers.

Thankfully, speedy professional attention was accorded

of course at a fee!

Later, as he reflected on that apparently seamless

beautiful building, many thoughts flooded his mind as

he thought of the cartels, underhand transactions, fund

diversions and clandestine illegal activities that

daily take place in that building, his heart was broken

to recall how the myriad innocent, poor citizens lost

their plots to other wealthier and more corrupt people.

One wonders how people knew about the many undeveloped

plots. Could it be that the ministry has an efficient

monitoring system? It is highly doubtful because people

are said to literary witch hunt and search for idle

bare land which they repossess and allocate to

themselves, they then offer the land for sale for as

much as K50 million per bare plot, depending on the

location and size! In some cases the land fetches even

far much more, and yet it has been unfairly grabbed

from hapless vulnerable Zambians and sold to others

with more financial muscle. Granted we need rapid

national development but should it be done at the

expense of the vulnerable? Where will they go when the

only factor of production at their disposal is snatched

from them? All these and many other painful thoughts

jammed the mind. Even more grievous was the knowledge

that the Mulungushi House transactions are only a tip

of the ice berg in this corruption riddled nation.

There is more talk than action.

One lower operatives at the one of the courts once

proudly asserted that this graft talk business was just

a smoke screen for corruption thriving. He further

asserted that almost everyone was corrupt in about

every government system due to poverty. He said that he

could not remember the last time he drew or bothered

about his meagre K 600, 000 salary because he owned

three blocks of flats as well as four cars from which

he drew his income to sustain his extravagant life

style. All this, he proudly quipped, would not have

been possible without the invisible hand of ingenuity

veiled under the corruption garb.

2. Poverty

School

Poverty, that besetting vice which persistently haunts humans to this very day. Though engraved in the very aims of the United Nations (UN) over fifty years ago as

Poverty comes in different types but all of it is basically deprivation. Three types come to mind: mental, physical and spiritual poverty.

one of the chief enemies to be fought to the bitter end, poverty waxes stronger by the day.

Physical poverty scarcely needs describing because it is there for all to see. We see it in our homes, on thestreets and in the electronic media. It manifests in various ways and degrees but certain things are its characteristic marks. By way of broad definition, poverty is when people consistently live in constant deprivation, hunger and without the basic necessities of life such as clean pure water, proper health care, education or gainful employment for everyone. The said people are so entangled in trying to survive from day to day not knowing where their next meal will come from. Most of the sources of pure water are now heavilypolluted due to industrial waste, untreated sewer disposal and the large populations which exert great pressure on the said scarce water resources. In certainplaces, the catchment areas (source) of the infant rivers have been destroyed by the finger of man (Anthropogenic activity) leading to the once perennially and flourishing rivers drying up. Generallythe water therefore is not safe for human consumption without special treatment. Not only is clean water a luxury, food, clothing and shelter are farfetched dreams for these helpless people. For example in Lusakathe number of the homeless is on the rise. There are more kids hurled and languishing on the streets and unwillingly given to begging. Their lot is the pauper’sden. When illness and disease descend on them, they do not have the money to pay for their medical treatment. Subsequently, myriads perish in the streets. Nobody seems to have time for the other in these degenerate days. Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest holds

true here. The poverty stricken can neither fix their minds on education nor lay hold of a well paying job because both these demand someone to have the money, right training, connections and appropriate skills. We live in a rapidly changing world where education has somewhat become the major key to practically all privileges. Sadly the very poor are marginalized with no one to look well into their plight. Their cry for help goes to the wind as no one cares to listen. Truly,as the wise men once said “The poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard” . Yet another said “There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher”. Poverty is almost always inseparably connected to dense population and intense crowding leading to insufficientsocial amenities catering for everyone. This creates a high pressure on the available social amenities resulting in high wear and tear. Furthermore, by its very nature, poverty carries with it a certain negativestigma. This state of affairs on a large scale is fertile ground for epidemics, civil strife, anarchy, national instability, crime, corruption and excruciating suffering to exacerbate among the masses. Look at the trouble spots in the world today, what is the common denominator? Is not poverty the bottom line?

In a nut shell then, poverty is when people live in thelack of the bare necessities of life such as food, clean water, health care, education or any kind of gainful employment or trade.

Ecclesiastes 9:16 Victor Hugo (1962).

But, what is the measuring yard stick for poverty? What are the parameters to be employed? We may further ask, what are some of the root causes of this undesirable vice? In measuring poverty, we must note that we are confronted with at least, twoproblems. The first is to establish the poverty line and secondly we must establish the intensity or degree of poverty suffered by those whose resources are below the said line. Ideally, each country has a standard minimum wage or income that a person has to earn or generate in order to live reasonably well. This is called the poverty line orthe poverty datum line. Different countries have different minimum level income. If someone earns below that given line, then they are said to be living in poverty because their income cannot sustain them to provide the basic necessities of life. The said earners cannot afford enough food, decent, clothing, accommodation and to take their progeny to good schools. In Zambia for example the poverty datum line may be around K200, 000 per month below which a person is considered to live inpoverty. If that assumed figure is correct, then the majority of Zambians live in perpetual chronic poverty. The majority earn incomes in the range of K60, 000 to K100, 000 per month. Having establishedthe poverty datum line, we of necessity proceed to investigate the intensity. There are certain indexes which are probably used to measure the degree of abject poverty of the suffering. A detailed treatment of this is beyond the scope of this paper but suffice it to say that once poverty

Estimate as at 1994/95

datum line and intensity are ascertained, only thenwe can properly define what we mean by poverty strata.

What are the root causes of this undesirable defect? A number of answers immediately come to the fore but the following will suffice for now:

Firstly poverty is incipiently caused by the rural-urban drift. As people in the rural areas attempt to escape the unbearable hunger or famine problems,in the quest to appropriate more humane living standards, they migrate to the cities. They hope toget better jobs, education, steady income, and proximity to good health care and assumed better social services .This results in overcrowding in the cities, inadequate social amenities and obviously, hampered meaningful development. Slums and compounds mushroom unchecked all around cities which render the urban centres ugly, unsafe, overcrowded, unstructured city expansion, poor sanitation, poor maintenance and filth littered alleys and streets. The urban centres become an eyesore. In such scenarios, epidemics are hardly a surprise when they strike. As at 1993, 43% of the Zambian population was in the urban areas! (This is a staggeringly high figure indeed) warranting great concern to all and sundry. A curious questionto pause is “What are all these people doing in urban areas? Are they productive? Who then is developing the land in the outskirts of cities?” The answers are crystal clear. The Zambian

Source:……..

urbanisation growth rate is equally startling. From1980 to 1993, this rate stood at 3.9%. Comparisons with neighbouring Malawi reveal that only 13 % wereurbanized (1993) and the growth rate stood at 6.8 %from 1980 – 93. Zambia’s figures are significantly frightful. Further, many people migrate to other countries in search of a better “economic oasis”. These economic refugees sometimes cause problems elsewhere displacing the indigenous people. By implication, we can see the time bomb in our laps and the potential consequences which will ensue. Unless some drastic remedial measures are applied, the results will be catastrophic in nature, supposethe other economies cannot absorb these migrants, although globalization encourages borderless citizenry.

Secondly, the other side of the same coin-over population. As people migrate to the towns, population builds up and the pressure on the land grows too. Strangely the poor people want to have as many children as possible. This is in order to beat the high death rate (both infant and adult mortality rates) so as to secure their futures. Theparents envision that if they have more children, then the probability of receiving more support fromtheir many offspring will be greater as their frailbodies begin to decay due to old age. In short, they hope to secure their futures. Another reason is prestige. People with more children are viewed (though this has slightly changed in urban areas) as being wealthy and worthy of respect. This is

Source:……….

especially true if they have Sons although girls are now fast turning into some income generating activity. In our semi – civilized societies sons are viewed as the only ones who have the drive and enthusiasm, hold the key and carry on posterity. They are like a gun in the right hand ready to intercept and defeat poverty as it creeps towards them. Obviously this notion is slowly dying away. All humans are equal regardless of gender. Ironically though, Africa on the whole is still relatively under populated although the amenities are inadequate.

The third root cause of poverty is the lack of family planning on the part of the poor. Since most of them are paupers and ignorant, they are blind to the associated costs of raising too many children. They are usually bereft of the critical informationto make informed decisions. These progeny are littered all over the parents such that there are hardly any resources to adequately look after them qualitatively. If the government embarked on regular family planning sensitization, this could help arrest the situation. Granted that the cultures and values come into play but a good government must not rest until the ‘pros and cons’ of family planning are imbibed by all citizens especially the disadvantaged.

In the fourth place, the attitude of many a people towards work and education desperately need changing. Their work ethics, though good on paper, are extremely poor. No effort, no due diligence or initiative is exhibited. Many poor wait for hand –

outs even when they have the potential of working hard. Despite being able bodied, people need to be trained to be diligent, consistent and unrelenting in their success pursuit. The poor usually are so bogged down with trying to survive that they hardlyhave any motivations to use initiative to work hard. For example, in Lusaka the destitute resort to begging having escaped the pathetic circumstances in the public institutions. But curiously some of these have some form of trade or talent which they do not exploit .The truth is thatthey have no moral of financial support from anybody.

Fifthly, priorities of the government of the day has adirect bearing on the plight of the people .Most progressive governments spend a very significant provision of their budgets on defence and security at the expense of the underprivileged. Further, corruption has hijacked many a government so that only the “select few” gobble the meagre resources destined for the improvement of the paupers’ lot. This has caused not a few potentially beneficial projects to grind to a halt. As long as the governments are not disinfected from corruption, the crumbs will continue to elude the poor. Priorities and stern action against corruption is akey to development.

Sixthly, many a country like Zambia has a lot of natural resources teeming in almost every sector ofthe country. But lack of resources to exploit theseleads to further poverty, no jobs and no development. This gives ammunition to those who

want to migrate to the urban areas so to do at will. Presently, many countries do not have the capacity to tap all the latent natural resources orto promote other industries like tourism. Their financial muscle is too frail to embark on such large sustainable development projects. Sustainabledevelopment is a farfetched dream for many nations.More could be said on this concept but the article scope forbids. Further, if the country’s productionbase is shaky or non – existent, then the nation will inevitably turn into a trading country. This typical of what has happened in some countries as they mutate from one form of economy to another, especially from a command to a capitalist/market economy. The lapses in between leaves a lot of people in the cold as they lose their jobs. This has occurred in Zambia in the past three to four years, there is severe suffering out there due to economic mutation. In the process, as the brain drain takes its toll, many countries lose valuable skilled human resources who could have been instrumental to implement many projects to benefit the poor.

Seventhly, the tax base in many countries is very smallrendering it impossible for the government to raisesufficient resources. Therefore the government doesnot have enough revenue to use to maintain or expand the existing social amenities. The vast majority of people in Zambia for example are in theinformal sector selling their merchandise popularlycalled the “Ntembas”, the revenue authority does

As at 1995 when the write up was done.

not touch them at all. Ironically, that is where most of the loose liquidity lies rather than from the pitifully paltry wages of the formally employed. The few formally employed numbering only about 400,0002 are over taxed as to raise money barely sufficient to maintain the already existing structures. In other words, 400,000 workers bear the tax burden on behalf of over 10 million people!All this imbalance results from a poor tax collection strategy from the revenue authority. No further development is undertaken therefore. This has the effect of de – motivating the formal workerforcing them to evade tax or opt for the tax free informal employment.

Eighthly, since the emergence of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, myriads upon myriads have perished at thehands of this terminator. Many have been infected. This has left many children homeless and without any care, they have turned to the alleys as their home. As a result, many have abandoned school having been ejected onto the streets. Left in the cold to fend for themselves, many are abused, exploited or murdered. As though that were not bad enough, in these days of privatization, thousands have lost their sole means of livelihood through retrenchments. Since profits are the ultimate for the global business person, companies have cut downon overheads by reducing their work force. Re-engineering and downsizing are buzz words in these latter days. The result is that many have become

2 As at 1993-95

homeless, destitute and some have actually died because of stress.

The ninth is of historical nature-the disturbance to our native culture brought about by the colonialists. Although some of the early pioneer missionaries meant well, their descendants cared nothing for the colonised except the profit they derived. As they settled on colonised lands, they imposed their culture, attitudes and preferences onthe natives. In the long run, what the master defined as right is what carried the day. That explains why development is defined by western standards. Further and even more damaging, was the introduction of the now entrenched dependence syndrome, where the majority of the former colonised feel inadequate and unsure of themselves unless their masters approve. Perhaps this accountsfor the laissez faire attitude towards work and weak strategic thinking powers. In a nutshell, the social fibre is still in disarray as the once colonised nations are still yet to recover. In addition, the dependence syndrome has been perpetuated for many generations now. The imperialists know exactly which switch to pull if they want to paralyse a given nation.

Tenthly, the debt burden with its attendant conditionality strings. This has been eased to someextent since the HIPC write off but the debt burdenthreatens to return since the said impoverished countries still borrow heavily with no tangible plan of how to liquidate these debts. Zambia is an example which having landed a near total debt

cancellation in 2005 has already attracted debts ofover $ 1 billion! (2008) If countries continue on that path, they are well heading back to Calvary!

In the eleventh place, the boxed thinking. People have been oriented to think small rather than big and broad. In Zambia, thousands of graduates needlesslyroam the streets. On fails to understand why they cannot find something creative to do. All of us think of one route, High school->College/University->employment in a companyor government. But who said that only salaried employment will jettison poverty? There is urgent need to creatively think outside the box and grab the opportunities out there as they make themselvesavailable.

In the twelfth and last place, war has been identified as another root cause of poverty. The motive for this war comes from various angles ranging from political, religious and sometimes purely ideological. More would be said on this point but the war torn countries eloquently tell the story. Another point would be lack of full employment emanating from a weak and shrunk economy. Today, thousands of graduates roam the streets and many more are churned out like sardines annually from the educational institutions. Sadly, most of these cannot be absorbed into the industry. Most of them live with shattered or retarded dreams. Another late addition would be land tenure issues. Strategic Entrepreneurship thinking may be the answer to all these woes.

These then are the few but in exhaustive under lying root causes of poverty.

Having looked at the causes, we proceed to look at theeffects of the afore mentioned points. Without muchado, one of the off shoots is the rise in crime wave. Looking at our country (Zambia) crime has skyescalated to such high levels because there are fewer job opportunities, insufficient clothing, food and care. Inadequate avenues have been createdfor the people to divert their raw energies. As population rises, so also the consumption rate of resources. In other words, with the advent of exponential population explosion, comes greater consumption of natural resources. Most of these arewasting assets which are irreplaceable. Indiscriminate consumption of natural resources like wood lead to deforestation, desertification, over farming and over grazing. Pollution and degradation are inevitably other consequences of over population. Due to poverty, the environment alleys, corridors and over population are identicaltwins and as much, must be handled simultaneously. The diagram below helps us see the effects.

Cannot clear pollution pollution, deforestation

Environment

Higher death rate overgrazing, vandalism

Potential epidemics,

Over crowding,

High density in area,

Over farming

Shorter life expectancy Poverty

<-------------------------------------------Population Inadequate water,

food, clothes, amenities, homeless

-------------------------------------------------- Excruciating

suffering, insufficient land, no accommodation, lack of family planning, Crime escalates

© ...................................anonymous

As earlier intimated, due to lack of proper family planning, the population explodes exponentially which is not manageable leading to strife, instability and itgives room for epidemics to take root. In the early years of independence in Zambia for example, an averagefamily was 10 but today most of these are reaping the effects. However, there is a trend towards smaller family units. One of the problems less developed nations like Zambia experience cholera out breaks for example, is because of poverty. Closely connected to population is the mushrooming of the slums compounds and the haphazard expansion of the cities. Poverty handicaps a society to do the right things which ought to be done, further the highly populated communities donot give an enabling environment proper child development, health care or adequate attention, the children needs protect from parents, affection, encouragement, friends, health care, proper diet and a

pat on the back for every success. The women, often theworst culprits of poverty do not have sufficient economic power or the ability to control family planning choices. The power to decide when to have a child or not largely lies in the hands of the male folk. This is not only due to ignorance but lack of economic potency. The other side of the lever is equally unimpressive. The young who have untapped raw energy do not have avenues to vent out their youthful prowess. Many feel disillusioned, directionless and destitute. Therefore, in order to escape reality, they seek to find solace in drugs and alcohol abuse. A quickscan around our towns confirms this, many are “hooked” to some drug or unproductive activity. This is vividly evident in our towns today. Given the right attention and nurture, these youths would be profitable citizens and rise to the occasion to display their worth. No doubt most of them would fly above the poverty datum line. As at now, many of them are below the absolute poverty levels since there production output is near zero while drug and alcohol abuse are on the increase. These tender adolescents swing to opposite negative extremes exhibiting frightening depravity levels. Many have in most cases swung to be worst hair raising levels once hooked to drugs. Now these appetites must be constantly satisfied, hence the high juvenile delinquency incidences. The unsatisfied addicts of these vices will resort to any and every means to raisemoney so as to further indulge in abuse .Poverty is theengine for all the above poverty effects.

Poverty cripples governments or individuals to be environmentally conscious so as to clean the environment, retard desertification, soil erosion or to

foster sustainable development schemes. Poverty insteadforces people to resort to indiscriminate destruction of trees to get cheap fuel poaching and lack of care for the population they cause on the environment. In many villages people are not aware of the need for the importance of nature.

Now that our landscape is well surveyed, we now proceedto consider some suggested possible remedies bearing inmind the various aspects of poverty.If we are to liberate ourselves from the firm poverty clutches, we must reactivate agriculture. In many countries, agriculture features low on their priority list. I firmly and unreservedly assert that if we rediscover the power and potential that is in agriculture we are on our way out to prosperity. Let usgo back to the land, put the tools and fertilizers in the hand of the farmers. A conducive agricultural base is cardinal. It is reported that in some countries likeKenya and Zimbabwe many who work in the city have fields on which they consistently labour every weekend.Come Friday, they pack their office gear fold their sleeves and they head back to the country side to labour on their pieces of land. We need such a resolve in Zambia. The government brought up two classic resettlement schemes which drove about 5,000 youths back to the land. The Kambilombilo and Kanakantapa schemes are excellent beacons for us to emulate, but sadly, the majority of those youths have since trekked back to the urban centres due to lack of support from

This happened in 1988 (UNIP) and more recently on a small scale, 2005 (MMD).See my book, Chusa at the resettlement for more insight into this phenomenon. Good Government initiative indeed but needed more support on a longer term for sustainability

the powers that be. 1988 was indeed a good year. The said youths are now counterproductive and contribute tothe escalating crime wave. More recently, the government resettled the retirees and the retrenched. These are good efforts and they ought to be saluted by all other. Once agriculture base is firm, we can look at the future and defy its threatenings. With agriculture in our right hand, the trend will reverse to be an “Urban – rural drift” ultimately leading to decongestion of the urban areas.

The industrial base must be strengthened. The least developed nations must move from mere suppliers of raw materials to producers of finished goods. We have seenthe raw material suppliers of the world the trend must charge. Many countries, in transition to a liberal market have let the local manufacturing industries to die because they cannot survive the vigorous high quality competition from aboard. For example, a countrylike Zambia has suffered at the hands of liberation because presently, it is basically a trading country not a producing country. It is hoped and envisaged thatin the near future the right safety valves will be in place. If production is improved, then more jobs, people and greater gross National Production will reaped. Further, Zambia must look at its core competencies where it has a clear comparative advantageand maximize on that. For example, Zambia towers above many countries in the world as a potential tourist destination and yet this vast industry idly lies untapped. The service industry may just be the silver bullet as opposed to mining and other potential lucrative economic growth areas.

The Zambian people’s attitude must completely over hauled. Many are content to put in the bare minimum effort in their work but if we are to recollect, this work must undergo a drastic and complete culture shift.A radical paradigm shift is the need of the times. People should be given the right incentives so that they will be more willingly to work than to leisure around. Isn’t it true of the GRZ scenario? What about the nations that have risen from ashes to prosperity? Are there not there for all to see? Look at Germany andJapan today, how did they get where they are? What makes them tick? Handwork, strenuous sweaty, smart handwork!! We too can rise to prove our mettle. Strategic entrepreneurial thinking and acting, as earlier intimated, is the key.

The government must introduce community based projects like “food for work” The World Food Programs are to be commended, aside from the attendant offshoots of such help. Women and children or simply, the skilled are taught to work for their food and thus this culture will spread to all. Co – operatives with different appropriate objectives must be reintroduced encouraged and supported. These should teach basic vocational skills like carpentry, farming and plumbing.Having sharpened the people, loans must be at hand to encourage entrepreneurship.

The government must advocate for and offer free land aswell as loans in the rural areas. Land tenure issues bug many. Thus, the title deeds must be speedily issued. This will cause people to feel a sense of belonging and ownership of the land with the deeds, they can easily get loaning. Development will then

ensue. This is probably one of the reasons why many abandoned the resettlement schemes of 1988, no title deeds until recently.

More women must be co-opted into the decision making positions in all sectors of the economy. They must be littered everywhere in the corridors of power. Places such as Parliament and community based projects which are traditionally the private preserve of the men folk must now be teeming with the female scent. They must not be only relegated to women leagues but must be considered equal partners in development. In more ways than one, women tend understand and feel with and for the people more than men generally do. Then they can intelligently fight cause for the needy.

Strengthen the NGOs, especially to supplement the government efforts. These NGOs should have clearly outlined certain ethics which will ensure their freedomand effectiveness. Their objectives must be clearly stated for all to see and these must be deliberately tailored to benefit the least catered for in society, the under privileged or disadvantaged as the case may be.

The Government and individuals must be extra vigorous on family planning campaigns, especially to empower thewomen economically, women need to know that they are not inferior either in the home or in society. The day they realize that they are not always failures or blameable, this will revolutionalise their thinking.

These are strong opinions held by the author.

There is need to think broadly outside the traditional box.

The Governments must look well into the children rightsas reported by UNICEF in 1995. The children need help, care, and a comfortable home. Therefore, let them (children) express themselves! Protection, affection, liberty to show feelings, learn while playing, feel proud, share dreams and fantasies, enjoys good food understand limits, live in violence free environment and good health care .

Watch out for various shades of discrimination based ontribe, creed, class, race, age or colour. Seek to stampout these evils. If justice becomes our necklace, many a poor people will be better helped.

The AIDS Pandemic cannot be ignored anymore. It is far too big to cast a blind eye at. People need to be shownthe actual devastating effects of wilfully contracting the HIV virus. The must change their sexual habits at all costs. Campaigns must reach them in the “high ways and the byways”, in the community halls, electronic media and from house to house. We must unflinchingly goall the way to pluck out some from this potential shimmy pit of death, by relentlessly strumming it down their ears drums. AIDS is real, therefore, we must not relent persuading and warning people from this impartial is a deadly foe, it has contributed immenselyto poverty as children and many households are left un fended for. AIDS is an impartial killer and it knows noclass, creed, race or status in life. With advent of modern drugs such as the ARV, there is hope of a

prolonged life span, and if meticulously handled, one can live a full life akin to one suffering from asthma or any other genetic disease. That besides, HIV infection must be avoided at all costs. Fighting poverty is one way of mitigating the pandemic potentialeffects.

Put up an active international fight against corruptionand drug peddling. In Zambia, the Drug Enforcement commission is doing an excellent job ‘but funding is poor’. Zambia was once more transit point for the drug trade but recent reports indicate that Zambians are increasingly becoming consumers of the same.

Reduce expense on security and military. Instead channel the scarce resources to development. Our budgetshow a good percentage of it devoted to security, if the same amount were diverted elsewhere, couldn’t the funds make a significant positive contribution?

Although this does not necessarily fall in the UN’s court, the indigenous people must be helped to ensure that the right people with unquestionable characters enter the corridors of power. People with a vision, forwithout a vision people perish. Drive, pragmatism must be their hall mark as opposed to what obtains today.

The tax base must be widened. The local Revenue must bevigorous so as to collect from the informal sector as well. This will reduce the heavy tax burden imposed on the few formally employed. If this is done, it will ultimately result in better social services and development i.e. Building more housing units, roads etc.

Further, Infrastructure must be renovated so that the dilapidated old shacks are done away with. Some howevermust be turned into heritage sites. More than just buildings, the roads and other communication sectors must be revisited. This has a way of attracting foreigndirect investment (FDI). The poor networks make would be investors to scamper.

Restructure the present educational system to suit the local needs. Illiteracy must be fought from all fronts.More schools should be built, Re introduce vigorous Adult education and offer scholarships where appropriate. Proper education is a right for everyone and it must not be denied no matter how plausible the excuse. More than that, the education system must be reformed so that it becomes relevant to the times. People must no longer be trained to work in the office only but be taught to think broadly and innovatively.

Remove the subsidies from various commodities so that the true economic price is borne by the consumer. Yet in the same breathe, employers must pay sufficient wages which correlate to the current prevailing inflationary trends at the time.

Protect the local infant production industry from vigorous foreign competition by maintaining taxes on imports especially finished goods. The value of the taxrates is relative as the situation may dictate.

This was done in Zambia in the early 1990’s as part of the structural adjustment program (SAP) Care must be taken here not to be at daggers drawn with the WTO and the current globalization trends.

Avoid civil strife and unrest such as wars or strikes at all costs. The consequences of these wars are they far reaching that many a country cannot recover in a long time. The worst sufferers are the poor. Poverty inflicts untold misery.

Effective food reserves and Granaries. The government must raise reserves for all essential things. This includes food, fuel and human resources as strategic reserves.

Governments must be willing to invest heavily in research and development. They should not only content themselves with sustaining the present status but should seek to improve upon the status quo continuously. This will call for a lot of money but theresults are for universal benefit.

Finally, let us not give up in our struggle against poverty. Admittedly, the poor will always be amongst usbut we can do better. 50 years have elapsed since the UN first resolved to eradicate poverty it stubbornly, still persist done, much more remains, yet to be done. We can rise from the ashes of failure and march on valiantly to the future. Let us not give up. A few battle more, a few struggles more and we shall have left the world a better place than we initially found it. It is not a battle for the faint hearted yet it canbe fought and won successfully over many years though the battle rages on endlessly each day, let us resolve to right on with perseverance.

Bibliography

Beer Frik de and Swane Poel Hennie, Introduction to Development studies, Oxford University Press South Africa, 2nd edition 2000

Readers’ Digest (South African edition), “Uncovered slavery returns to Africa” March 1996 issue PP 31 – 35 (Edited by Brian Eads)

UNAIDS

UNICEF

© Billy Sichone AD 1996

2nd edition 2005

Lusaka/Mongu- Zambia

3. Boom or bust?An article appeared in the BBC focus on Africa claiming that Zambia was a booming emerging economy whose turf had changed completely. Many glowing words were said about this “economic miracle” but in the following edition (July-September 2008), a letter writer (Ronald Snijders, Deft, The Netherlands) seriously disputed the misrepresenting article wondering who or where the article was written from, certainly not Zambia! In the October-

December article, Billy Sichone further supported the Dutch writer dubbing it a boom for the elite rather than the masses.

Refer to:

BBC Focus on Africa, July –September 2008 pp 61 “Your letters” sections

Permission yet to be granted by BBC focus on Africa toinclude letter in appendix

4. AN ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT DR. LEVYPATRICK MWANAWASA AND THE STATE OF THE NATION

The Analyst

Dr Moono Ernest Munsanje MDMobile: (+267) 72441064/71630116

The article write makes a penetrating analysis of thepolitical, psychological and emotional situation in thecountry shortly after the President was taken ill. Thewriter also investigates the back ground power tusslesthat ensued as well as the possible implications of thePresident’s illness in relation to the constitutionalprovision. It is a well researched and writtendocument, very compelling, analytical and informative.Unfortunately, permission could not be secured atpublishing time, hence not included in this appendix.

5. To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/04/zambia

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008

If you have any questions about this email, please contact the guardian.co.uk user help desk: [email protected].

6. Direct Foreign Investment, its pros and cons

Many of us wonder what Foreign Direct Investment (FDI or DFI for short) is. What is it, where is it found andhow does it affect all of us? For many a Zambian, FDI sounds a totally distant concept far out there with no direct bearing over our lives at all. Thus, many ignoreit but suddenly wake up in a mad frenzy when it touchestheir pockets and then return to sleep shortly afterwards. In recent days however, especially after controversial privatization process and sudden discovery of China, many of us are quickly coming out of our wood works trying to get to grips with things sothat the new dealers’ government should not out wit us once again after “swindling” the nation of the mineral royalties, senseless tax holidays and the apparently clandestine sale of the ever vibrant ZANACO in the nameof “investment”. Indeed, the 1992 Zambian privatizationact # 21 triggered a spiral that we shall live to grapple with for many generations hence. The ZPA website (www.zpa.zm) offers deeper insight into this animal called “Privatisation” and to some extent, DFI.

Perhaps, it would be fitting to commence by defining what basically “Investment” is before we consider it from an international perspective for to assume that weare on the same page in terms of understanding

http://www.zpa.zm/

mailto:[email protected]

constitutes a serious error. Investment is defined variously among scholars but in capsule form, it can beloosely defined as “a deliberate delay in consumption of resources to a future date so that the resources ferment, thus paying back higher returns”. This definition presupposes certain things such as the availability of resources, a willingness to sacrifice immediate self-gratification/ consumption, a risk factor as well as a profit motive that accrues at a future stage. Winfield and Curry have defined it as when “either individually, as a company or as a country, we forgo the consumption of goods today in order to achieve greater consumption”. They go further to state that time and risk are of essence in investment. A more thorough and scholarly definition byReilly and Brown reads “ An investment is the current commitment of dollars for a period of time to derive future payments that will compensate the investor for (1) the time the funds are committed, (2) the expected rate of inflation, and (3) the uncertainty of the future payments. The investor can be an individual, a government, a pension fund, or a corporation.” Clearly,we can safely deduce that investment is a day to day activity that we engage in though at different degrees and expectations. The principle is a higher future return on present investment. But as it relates to business, as the quoted definitions have shown, it is usually a financial commitment with a calculated risk to foster a better future outcome. Thus, if you depositmoney in a fixed deposit account for a period of time, or buy treasury bills and bonds or indeed you invest some financial capital (although other resources like fixed assets are allowable) in a ‘ka ntemba’ you are aninvestor because you fore go an immediate

gratification. The essence of investment is profit, a better future, higher dividends, power, influence or status. The motives vary from entity to entity. Thus, when a person comes to town, takes over a business, puts in a capital injection to kick start or revamp an ailing business concern, property or improve the environment, they are investors. If a Tonga man from the Southern province acquires and develops a farm in the Northern Province, s/he is a “local investor”, local in the sense that s/he is a Zambian investing within Zambia. If a Chinese traverses the terrestrial ball to start or buy a mine, in Zambia, that is a different ball game as we shall see later on in this write up. When we consider foreign direct investment, our focus shifts slightly to the international plane where we talk about multinational investments from individuals or concerns that would like to reap from or change the face of a particular place, people or landscape by pumping in resources (usually finance) from abroad. This is direct foreign investment in the simplest terms. In other words, we can say that direct foreign investment refers to the direct infusion of resources from one country to another by an entity or concern usually with a profit motive. Roger Bennet does not specifically define it in capsule form but does a good job highlighting that DFI has been around for over 150 years but interest grew when the large US multinationals begun to cross the Atlantic into westernEurope after 1946. Charles Hill on the other hand defines it in passing in his book “International Business” when he states “FDI occurs when a firm invests directly in facilities to produce and/or market

a product in a foreign country”. Hills’ brisk definition broadens the investment scope beyond just the financial aspects that most of us are accustomed tobut includes investing in (1) a foreign country (2) in facilities (3) direct investment and (4) production/service with a profit motive. Thus, when thecrippled Zambian economy finally ground to a halt as far back as 1985, the only recommended option was change the laws that paved way for DFI as well as privatisation. As we all know, this did not actually take place until the turn of the next decade when the Dr Chiluba led team bravely and radically turned the tide by unblocking all the valves that had hitherto kept away investors. The floodgates attracted many characters of all sorts of shapes and sizes who poured into our richly endowed nation that virtually did not have intrinsic capacity to exploit the vast resources at the time to thereby changing our fortunes. In principle we can say that it was a brave day when the MMD government led the way to changing the law from a socialist to capitalist leaning economy. With all theirfaults, the initial MMD team is to be commended and only posterity will condemn or acquit them.

Having briefly defined terms, we venture to ask why FDIshould be espoused and whether it has any tangible benefits. The first question is simpler in that from the scenario earlier painted about the stagnant Zambianeconomy of the second republic, it became evident that the only remedy was a direct infusion of resources fromother potent partners given that the majority of Zambians are serious paupers despite having some of thebest qualified people in the world at the time. The Nation had a great natural resource base, a whole load

of unprofitable companies and a crippling unsustainabledebt burden. As though that were not bad enough, the command economy inhibited realistic economic indicatorsthat would have rendered many businesses unprofitable given adverse practices such as price controls, government interference, prohibitive laws and a failed or weak entrepreneurial spirit among the nations’ citizens. The Zambianisation policy, although well meant, led to bloated corporations, bloated bureaucratic public service, subsidies, and low qualityoutput. The preference given to nationals over foreigners as well as the protectionist policies virtually killed all form of competition from abroad. The twenty or so years of such a regime robbed many Zambians of a sharp competitive, entrepreneurial spiritthat resulted in a dependence syndrome on the state as well as a failure to promptly adjust when the protectionist economic dam wall crumbled in 1992. As anoff shoot of the liberalization policy, privatisation took root in the ensuing years, the fastest on record in the world at the time and since. Therefore we can say that FDI should be espoused because the global trends dictate that and secondly, that is the only way development is going to be fostered if and when the local capacities cannot effectively and profitably exploit their resources. Globalisation entails the integration and uniformity of global business transactions as a result of reduced distances in the world due to advanced technologies, multinational investments and the homogeneity of tastes propelled by the potent modern machinery such as the electronic media. Thus, the world is viewed as one village becausewhatever happens at one end of the village has a rippling effect on the other end. Thus, globalisation

transcends political, national or country boundaries. What were stringent boundaries inhibiting internationaltrade have given way to a more harmonious world with similar tastes, perceptions and desires. In addition toglobalization, international trade today defies political and cultural boundaries breeding a global cadre that freely float around any part of the world. Thus, financier is at liberty to invest their resourcesin any country of their choice where they perceive thatthey will reap as much profit as possible. Thus, an investor will never put a coin where their profit motive is either threatened or not maximized. If that investment destination offers all the basic requisites attractive to the investor, they swiftly set up camp and get busy siphoning as much as they can. If they feel insecure and the threats outweigh investment gain,they either delay investing or in worst case scenarios,pull out altogether. By that token, the hosting country’s image hangs in the balance. Thus, we can see that every country that hopes to woo, as many foreign investors must ensure it makes their country as attractively competitive as they can relative to their competitors. FDI is without doubt necessary and desirable.

What are the benefits of DFI to the country, individualand investor? This is a broad and deep question but we shall answer it in general terms as relates to the three entities mentioned above. The first benefit of FDI is that it brings about development in a given locality. The much-needed massive investment from abroad brings with it the necessary capacities that accelerate development. Check any place where genuine investment has taken root, what do you see? The place

has changed record short time! Imagine if that investment had not come, things would pretty much be the same despite our boasting of having huge latent potential of untapped resources. Apart from the financial muscle, DFI brings with it new technologies, skills, competencies and in the process, these trickle down to the natives, if they are wise to appropriate these and improve on them. That is partly how the Japanese changed their fortunes from rags to riches in less than fifty years.

Secondly, DFI brings about the transference of competencies and skills cheaply as alluded to in the previous point. The locals imbibe new ways of doing things more efficiently, cost effectively and profitably. Long after the investors have left the country with their investment, these rubbed on skills remain with the natives. In other words, they do not carry with them the mental capacities that can be used to develop the individual and nation. Thirdly, DFI brings about hard work. Where people were indifferent, laid back and lazy, DFI compels them to work for their money and casts away the laissez faire mentality. For far too long, the Zambian Government literally spoon fed the citizens but the third republic suddenly removed that golden spoon, and guess what, the childrenmourned! To date many are still lamenting and are yet to recover. The sooner they get themselves together andsettle to some real hard work, the better. This resolve(to work hard) will by and large terminate the much murmuring that characterizes many Zambians against any foreign investor today. Compare Zambia with our neighbour Tanzania, what a vast difference! I am sure Nyerere avoided spoon feeding, knowing its backlashes.

The only way to take charge of our destiny is hard workperiod! But fourthly, DFI changes the working culture, mindsets and attitude towards life. Although closely connected to the previous point, the point here is thatthe average lazy Zambian soon realizes that they must work with their hands to generate wealth. They read thetimes, yea, redeem the time and know how to or what to act on. The high urbanization trend in Zambia would be reversed in record time as people realize that the major factor of production, land is abundantly at theirdisposal (assuming corruption and other vices do not interfere!). As I move around Zambia, I often wonder why we rush to live in the city to be packed like sardines when the large landscape goes begging from generation to generation. When an investor buys large tracks of land for investment, everyone is up in arms, what a paradox! Granted, the strategic eye sees the future implications once our people realize. A land crisis might ensue in the not too distant future. Another school of thought positively propagates that asmuch land as possible be given out to people serious toproductively develop the land regardless of where they come from. This is a plausible idea, provided the rightsafe guards are taken care of to avoid serious blundersthat Zambia has faced with respect to the mining and trading companies thus far.

We have spent much time around this hill, let us consider the fifth benefit of DFI and it is this: DFI contributes to Gross Domestic Product, GDP for short. Among many things, GDP refers to the sum of all the transactions relating to the income and expenditures ofa country in a given time period say one year. If the country received more income than it spent, then that

country is said to be developing or experiencing a growing economy. Any positive GDP is desirable and indicates that the productive capacities are being effectively and efficiently utilized to generate wealth. The goal is to achieve as high GDP as possible,say 10-12% as China has been experiencing lately. Othermore mature and developed economies such as the USA have a 4 to 5% GDP which is fine but not good enough for pauper countries like Zambia. You will recall that as late as 2000, Zambia’s economy was in negative growth but this turned around 2003 when the Mwanawasa regime sacrificially applied the World Bank recommendedremedial measures. Where Kaunda reluctantly tread, Mwanawasa shut his eyes and ‘heartlessly held the bull by the horns’, though only for a season. Although politicians trumpet their achievements, the tangible results are yet to be seen and felt by the common man on the ground. Be that as it may, DFI is changing the tide. As we speak, inflation is down to around 8%, interest rates are down, the kwacha relatively stable (though sometimes suspected politically manipulated e.g. before the 2006 elections, look at where it is now, barely 5 months later!).

In the sixth place, DFI means more development, resources, higher standard of living and an opportunityfor Zambians to invest freely in their own country and abroad. As foreign investors carry out their businesses, making their work easier, some of them are cognizant of the social responsibility that goes along with their resource exploitation. In other words, investors, in addition to their marketing ploy, wish to

As at Oct/Nov 2006

thank the community in one way or the other by paying back in kind or cash. That explains why some companies like Celtel would go out of their way to promote the famous “Star Search” because they are essentially saying, “Thank you Zambia for what you have done by making us rich, we pay back somehow by promoting this contest”. Or take for example, KCM paying the national soccer team coach. These are but examples. In the casesmentioned above, the corporate image is built as well as lengthening the “acceptability of the product/service/company”.

Seventhly, FDI frees the government from involving itself in business thereby allowing it to focus on creating “an enabling environment” as Chiluba often used to say years ago. In such a scenario, the government cuts down on public expenditure as other players take over the running and initiation of some activities such as building schools, private colleges, stadiums, businesses etc. Thus, the government limits itself, and conveniently so to a regulatory entity thatfacilitates a working framework in which everything fits together like hand in glove.

Eighthly, if prudently handled, DFI brings about job creation and economic expansion. As more investors pourin resources into a country, different industries, traditional and new, cause an expansion in the economy thereby creating more jobs for the natives. This significantly contributes to the reduction in unemployment levels.

Ninthly, DFI fosters better international relations between countries as the political boundaries are bust

and peoples interact, initially on business premise butlater on cordial friendly relations level.

Tenthly, the perceived job creation expands the tax base for the government that in turn translates into better social amenities and services.

Eleventh, in a perfect world, DFI and privatisation allows more of the locals to be serious stakeholders inmany resources provided they have the money as opposed to a command (e.g. socialist or communist etc) setting.In addition, a free investment climate fosters entrepreneurial ship among the natives, having opened their eyes to exploit the available resources and markets at home and abroad. Twelfth and lastly for our purposes, DFI brings about efficiency, raises competition thereby improving product and service delivery quality. Thus, people have a wider choice, higher consumer power and in time, make it cheaper to do business in that country.

That said, the glowing picture painted above seems to show a near impeccable ideal world which presupposes that every factor will be in place, static and maximizegood for all concerned. For a moment, it looks like a “win-win” scenario but sadly, DFI does have the down side as well, especially if the playing field is not level. If one side is desperately poor while the other is filthy rich, exploitation of man by man results. Thedifferent development paces and levels between the nations also play a major role as those from developed nations will have refined systems that cheaply “grab” the raw materials from the less developed, process themand return them to those countries at double or triple

the value. Value added goods are good but the inequalities rub off the benefits and it becomes a unidirectional affair. It is like a “rat versus elephant” tag of war or a “speed boat versus canoe” race. At times, the stakeholder /trading nations are worlds apart. What are the real tangible negatives of DFI as experienced in countries like Zambia? Many come to mind but a few will suffice and we rest our case thereafter.

Firstly, the DFI advent often results in massive job cuts (or losses) depending on what economic philosophy is being changed from. If, as was the case for Zambia, the economy mutates from a command to a pure capitalisteconomy, many uncompetitive entities either fold up or are privatized. Thousands of perceived “excess staff” are shed off in a bid to reorganize the entities into profitable ventures as dictated by the new owners. Let it always be remembered that the profit motive is paramount in the investors’ mind. That is what happenedin Zambia after 1992 and continues to. Watch the ZANACOsaga repercussions begin to unfold. Job losses are inevitable.

Secondly, the hard earned and developed companies are surrendered into foreign hands that seem to “reap wherethey did not sow”. Many times, it appears a rip off. Take the painful example of the ZANACO privatisation, aprofitable indigenous multinational company sold off bythe stroke of the pen! This transaction makes one feel hot under the collar. Consider the ZCCM arrangement (although initially nationalized in 1981 from private hands). The massive government investment, though not

profitable at the time, was sold off at ridiculous prices!

Thirdly, DFI withdraws services from places where the Government once serviced. If a place or investment areais not profitable to the investor, they swiftly close off their investment and relocate to a place where theythink they will benefit. For instance, many Banks closed their branches from the rural areas and only concentrated in the profitable urban centres. The UBZ serviced all the routes, no matter how bad but the modern investor shuns these and cannot be compelled to go there. Though it is an opportunity, it is not attractive enough.

Fourthly, DFI, if corruptly and hurriedly done, resultsin frustration, loss, disillusionment, theft, and untold scandals. The nation (Zambia) is still licking the MMD regime wounds after they recklessly privatized everything without due regards to what their actions entailed. Very little or no safety nets were provided for the redundant. For instance, people strongly think that the Zambia Airways should not have folded its wings had reorganization been allowed to take place. Corruption surrounds itself with clandestine manoeuvresthat only profits a small click of fellows, male or female. It is a tragedy when unprincipled men and womenare at the helm of such a sensitive exercise. For some time now, Zambia has seriously lacked politicians of valour laced with high integrity, strategic foresight, great mental aptitude and disinterested professionalism. Unfortunately, they (politicians) are in the driving seat not the citizens at large. Myriads of Zambians will still bear the repercussions of some

of those thoughtless mistakes for generations to come. The new dealers are not any better, especially after the ZANACO and mineral royalty scams. Corruption is nowmore entrenched, complex, invisible but highly present,deep-rooted than ever before. At face value, the corruption fight by the government of Zambia seems to be but a smokescreen or at best, a political gimmick. In the mean time, spurious transactions continue to take place in the back ground, leaving no fingerprints or audit trail! In a nutshell, in many deeply corruption infested countries, all the grand perceived benefits of DFI do more harm than good because the richand powerful grab almost everything to themselves leaving the vulnerable poor (who are in the majority) permanently wedded to poverty.

Fifthly, DFI sometimes robs people of their identity. Granted, we are in a global world but the self-identityand esteem is lowered especially if the nations’ population critical mass is illiterate as the case is in Zambia today. Because people do not fully understandthe issues, they feel robbed and dribbled at the same time. A total dependence on DFI makes a statement to the world that the locals have totally failed to managetheir own resources and are now mortgaging their country to others from abroad. This hits hard on the people’s pride, esteem, aspirations and resolve to develop their lot. It is painful to note how Zambia hasthoughtlessly given away its sovereignty at the mercy of DFI. People paid with their lives to redeem the country from foreign control but today, barely 43 yearsdown the line, we are crying for the same exploiters toreturn and control factors of production and thereby defacto rulers. That explains why KK and others

constantly grieve when present politicians sale the nation to get a kick back for themselves. This is a bitter pill to swallow that no one wants to talk about.

But in the sixth place, DFI defies local rules and regulations once the investors are entrenched and in control of all the key productive assets. The powerful multinationals call the shots in many countries and getaway with many atrocities ranging from breach of labourlaws, pollution, unfair competition, clandestine dealings and outright disregard for the powers that be.We see that in Zambia repeatedly, such as the BGRIMM explosion and KCM pollution sagas of 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Seventhly, DFI does not really bring about home grown sustainable development but rather what is visible are but crumbs falling from the masters’ table. If those are but tips in the iceberg, then what about the huge hidden mass from public view, under the water? Presently, an investor can bring in and take out 100% of their investment. Further, it appears that when theyinvest say $ 100,000, they reap a million times more and quickly siphon it away to their off shore accounts or develop their home countries (which is reasonable any way!). Once they donate a paltry $ 100,000 as social responsibility, everybody goes into a celebration frenzy, but what is $ 100,000 compared to abillion dollars they have remitted abroad? What is 250 housing units built compared to $ 1 million equivalent of cash siphoned out?

Eighthly, in a bid to attract DFI, many countries steepas low as to literary give away all their resources by

offering unbelievable tax holidays and concessions. These investors come and do business for the period that they have a tax holiday and suddenly fold up when that ends. They vanish, liquidate or return using another business name and again we give them another 50year tax holiday! This is not strange in Zambia, one wonders whether the powers that be are involved in these scums!

Ninthly, DFI leaves poor people poorer as the rich-poorgap widens. The state is more interested in over taxingthe already squeezed citizens while the foreigners go scot-free for many years, yea, they go laughing all theway to the bank. In a capitalist arrangement, the rich and famous are powerful often having the law on their side. I am yet to see a poor person easily get solid and expeditious justice in our land compared to the rich. “Money talks”, as they say. Look at the KCM pollution saga of 2006, had it been a local company which had polluted the Kafue River, all the government organs and powers could have clamped down on them.

Tenthly, DFI, depending on government policy, often favours the foreigner rather than the native. In a bid to attract investment, sometimes ridiculous provisions in the law make one wish they were foreigners because then, more attention and support is diligently offered by the government. If a Zambian ventures to enter a similar business as the multinational, all the laws seem against them and eventually choke them out of business. If that does not, red tape does the trick. I often wonder how the government offered large tracks ofland to the Libyans while thousands are languishing across the country for want of land.

Eleventh, if not well handled, DFI destroys the spirit of national hood, aspirations and loyalty. People lose their unique identity and have no real patriotic spiritto their country.

Twelfth, if the laws are bad, expect continued exploitation of man by man as in the case of the privatisation laws of Zambia. They give the investor too much bargaining and leverage power compared to the citizens. Unless and until it is changed, DFI will continually appear a terrible monster.

Thirteen, Globalisation blizzards bring about fundamental changes on the business scene. It sometimeskills local competition and reduces diversity in other cases. An example will do. Remember the once famous Chilanga cement brand? This brand made Zambians proud as it was used to build many world class structures including the mighty Kariba dam wall. Well, that brand in now gone. An international investor bought off the company and changed the name to Lafarge from Chilanga in 2007. After hapless attempts by some proud Zambians to preserve the name, they were overruled by the powerful investors who care less about anything that militates against their desires. That signalled the endof the powerful brand name but certainly a gain for theforeign investor whose primary motive is profit.

Fourteenth and probably lastly for now, DFI promotes wanton exploitation of natural resources. The Foreigners have a clear head start and advantage compared to their counterparts. The archaic laws promote exotic investment as it easily facilitates

their paper work and builds their cartel network. Look at the Lake Kariba arrangement, who exploits the Kapenta business the most? Further than that, DFI promotes pollution too. The multinationals sometimes flee their countries to invest at places where weaker pollution laws exist. While the desperate poor countries rejoice that a Saviour has come to town, in actual fact the enterprise could just be transferring the pollution point and get away with it for many yearshence. Once confronted, they revert to the porous, ambiguous agreements or threaten to leave. At that point, the pauper country’s hands are tied and thus stand aloof helpless but painfully watching like a statue while exploitation continues. Cheap labour is another area worth pursuing and looking at.

We have thus crystallized only twelve of the many evilsconnected to DFI, we leave it to others to delve into other details but for now we run to a conclusion.

It is now clear from the above point that DFI does havepros and cons which every entity should carefully consider before any firm commitments can be entered into. One would ask whether the benefits outweigh the demerits of DFI. Not necessarily. Depending on the context and extant investment policies, DFI can be a blessing or a curse. It is however advisable to avoid all extremes which may lead to acrimony or capital flight. There is need to move out of our time honoured enclaves and see what the global economy offers. The five imperatives of economic development: Market led, Knowledge based, Entrepreneurial, Regionally integratedand globally connected need to be vigorously pursued.

Needless Xenophobia ought to be exorcised. This author holds strong personal opinions about this matter but heleaves it for you to make informed decisions. Further, he appeals to you to read various literatures on this subject so that you comment intelligently the next timethe subject comes up in your discussions with colleagues. ======================================================Bibliography

African Review of Business Technology, Attracting the foreign investment, April 1998 issue pp17

Bennet Roger, International Business, Pitman Publishing, 2nd edition, 1999, London, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, Johannesburg

Brake Terence, Managing Globally, Dorling Kindersley limited, 2002, London, New York, Munich, Melbourne, & Delhi.

Fifth National Development plan (Zambia) 2006 (www.cspr.org.zm)

Hill W. L. Charles, International business, 4th edition,McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, Burr Ridge, Il Dubuque, IA Madison, WI New York, San Francisco, St Louis, Bangkok,Bogotá, Carcas, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Montreal, new Delhi, Santiago, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tapei, Toronto

Xenophobia= strong dislike of foreigners, intolerance, racism etc

http://www.cspr.org.zm/

Lewis, Arthur, W, Development Planning: The essentials of Economic Policy, George Allen & Unwin, London, Boston, Sydney, 1979

McIntyre Chris, Zambia: The Bradt travel guide, 2nd edition, Bradt publications, UK, 1999

MISA/PANA, Tanzania’s land bill stirring up controversy, The Post, June 11, 1997

Myers, Bryant L, Walking with the poor: Principles & practices of transformational development, Orbis books/world vision, Mary knoll, New York 10545, 7th printing March 2004

Ndulo Muna, Mining rights in Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1987

Ndulo Muna, Chinese Investment in Zambia, post, Thursday, August 21, 2007.

Reilly K. Frank and Brown C. Keith, Investment Analysisand Portfolio Management, 5th edition, The Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace College publishers, Fort Worth, Philadelphia, San Diego, New York, Orlando,Austin, San Antonio, Toronto, Montreal, London, Sydney,Tokyo

United Nations, FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT: Monterrey consensus, Mexico March 2002

Vision Korea Execution Committee, Revitalising the Korean Economy toward the 21st century, Business Times, December 1997 pp 27

Winfield R.G & Curry S.J., Success in Investment, 3rd edition, John Murray Publishers ltd, 1987

7.

Choolwe Mweetwa

The short-term mindset

This is one of the classic articles to flow from Choolwe Mweetwa’s pen, very analytical persuasive and revealing. It clearly exposes our many inconsistencies and myopic thinking Zambian style, only reacting to situations rather than proactively forestalling the day of disaster. Permission stillawaited from the venerable ‘Rabbi’ Mweetwa.

[email protected]

8.

Anti-corruption myth

By Choolwe Mweetwa

A very relevant article at the time when the Zambian government choked to be dubbed the 11th most corrupt nation in the world around 2004. The writer critically analyses the index and perceptions concluding that the perception was probably right given some inconsistencies that had been clearly visible to the observant eye. Again, this is a pithy write up well worth your perusal. Permission is yet to be granted by the author to includethe full article in book appendix.Permission to yet to be granted

mailto:[email protected]

[email protected]

9. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) DossierA very controversial and sensitive dossier analyzing Levy Mwanawasa’s 1991 accident effects on his health and attempting to explain that the President acted in the way he did as a result of the traumatic brain injury. Permission to publish not granted as author unknown and unclear.

About the Author

Billy Sichone trained as an Accountant and worked as aProgram Accountant at one of World VisionInternational-Zambia’s large scale Area Development

Programs (ADP) for seven years before moving on. Heholds several qualifications that include an MBA.

He is married to Jane and they have two daughterstogether.

Among his interests are studying, reading, photography,research, writing, poultry, art, meeting people,astronomy, cycling and adventure. In keeping with hisinterests, he has produced several DVDs, books and is apublic speaker.

Visit his u tube site on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2vu-QE0Oj4 to sample some of his materials

You could also visit his SCRIBD site (BILLYSICHONE) where he has lodged his other writings on various subjects

To order this and other books by this author, visit hisstorefront on the following website: http://stores.lulu.com/zevyanjistores

http://stores.lulu.com/zevyanjistores

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2vu-QE0Oj4_

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2vu-QE0Oj4_

Select leadership lessons from the life of Dr Levy Mwanawasa

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