Government has lined up a number of activities in readiness for memorial of the late Republican President Dr. Levy Mwanawasa.
Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha says on 19th August the day on which President Mwanawasa died, an interdenominational memorial service will be conducted at Lusaka’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross starting at 009:00hrs.
In a statement released in Lusaka this evening, Lieutenant General Shikapwasha explained that the memorial service will also be extended to all the provincial centers to minimize on the number of people flocking to Lusaka to attend the service.
He said after the service, members of the public in Lusaka will lay their wreaths at the Embassy Park at which President Mwanawasa was buried.
General Shikapwasha who is also Minister of Information said the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) will carry live both the church service and the wreath laying ceremony.
The Minster further said Dr. Mwanawasa’s contribution to national development will be remember for among others, his unflinching support to the promotion of good governance both at home and abroad.
General Shikapwasha added that the fiscal discipline and investor confidence that brought in to the country’s economy are among the many other things the late President would be remembered for.
Late republican president died on 19th August last year at Percy military hospital in France and was buried on 3rd September 2008 at Embassy Park in Lusaka.
ZANIS
It is a good thing to pay tribute to our passed leaders. We, the people of Zambia appreciate the work that Mr. Mwanawasa did for this country. Can I get a witness?
He did nothing for me
@ Mushe you are pathetic, go to hell *****!!!!
As we lay wreaths lets also bear in mind that this man’s era is also in question. He reintroduced tribalism and neoptism through appointing people related to him into key positions like Foreign service, ZESCO, OOP etc, Including his wife’s allegedly looting of Millions of Dollars when the poor man was gasping for oxygen at Perce. MYSRIP.
Leave the Family to do that alone. Government should not be involved in such meaningless economically unrewarding activities. Clearly, there is no public interest in this time-wasting.
Are they going to worst more of our hard earned tax payers money on this. I mean they worsted so much on the funeral unecessarily. How could anyone in their right sences decide to trot the coffin around the Country, all for political gain. And that Maureen hoping to woodwink Zambians to have her as next president, playing on peoples emotions. If you think you won’t be exposed for our money you have stolen you are cheating yourself; Don’t think you are too clever. MMD cronies using, taking ‘good’ advantage of the situation for political mileage.
# 3, I agree with you. That man did more harm to this Country. He has contributed to the Zamtel situation by appointing his relatives and tribesmen to positions they were not qualified for, people that did not have an idea in telecommunications but just because they were his mwinshios shame. But he has been unreservadly glorified thanks to Member his business partner, time will tell.
Will Chiluba attend?
And why do we lay wreaths? Is this a Zambian cultural tradition? Or is it one of those useless, pointless and extravagant behaviours we have aped from the west and when we copy we go overboard than the owners of the tradition? As a ‘Christian’ nation we should question some of these pagan rituals. The laurel wreath was associated with Apollo the ancient Greek god of arts, light, medicine, and prophecy. In ancient Greece and later Rome, wreaths were placed on the head like a crown for the victor whether in sports, arts or war-craft. These were made of the leaves of the evergreen aromatic bay laurel plant. But the wreaths we see today resemble those of ancient Egypt. Wreaths used at funerals may represent continuing life by circular shape. I ask, ‘Is it necessary?’
#1 Nine Chale, can you please high light some of the things you think Mwanawasa did that benefits the people of Zambia? Start with…..
1. Economically …..
2. Education ……
3. Politically ….
4. Health Sector ….
5. Social Sector ….
6. Agriculture ….
I will come back with what he did wrong to the nation and that to me makes him not deserving the time or money to be spent on his memorial. Probably the best thing is to move his remains and take them to whatever place family can find for him.
……………….People never get the flowers while they can still smell them………………..
I must admit, I know very little or nothing about the late Mwanawasa but reading comments about him by the majority of Zambians it seems clear that he did not serve the interests of the nation selflessly and if so it is criminal to waste any more resources on the memorial activities.
It upsets many.
There we go again. We are going to hear the b***l s*** we heard for a month last year about Levy and how adorable he was. It sickens me. The man must be left to rest. He did nothing for the country except for his family and his family. He was pushed in the corner by great Andy Mazoka to take up the fight over corruption. Levy had refused to lift Chiluba’s immunity. I remember Levy saying it was not right to remove the immunity of a former head of state because they may then start ruling in fear. We need fear in these crude leaders. Thank goodness, the opposition that time was formidable, under the leadership of Andy. Parliament was full of Andy’s MPs who pushed the agenda of the removal of Chilyba’s immunity until Levy had no choice but give in!! What did Levy do? For anyone? For you?
We need not spend money on memorials that bring nothing. We could leave that to the family, while we concentrate on giving life to the lifeless, food to the hungry, health to the diseased and water to the thirsty. Whatever we do must be for the good of all. Some people here want to force others to remember what is not there to remember. There is nothing concrete to remember about Levy. I will remember my sisters for loving me. They gave me what I could get from no one, love,in many forms. But of Levy,refusing to device a cheap NCC, the CA. He prefered the form we have now that is not showing signs of progress.
Imwe ba mambala, you are just wasting tax payers money. Next we will hear that you have declared a public holiday.
Was this budgeted for considering that you are even including provincial centers.
This is just a waste of productive man-hours so how does the country move forward.
Mwanawasa’s body was taken to every provincial center which was a waste of public resources and now this.
Bwezani twapapa. This is very annoying you people the money to be spent to be put to a good cause.
Papa #3, you are right.
Kwena #2 uli Chipooba sana, you don’t know anything about Chembe Bridge, you don’t know anything about Kazungula Bridge, you don’t know anything about inflation rate having dropped to a single digit, GDP’s stubborn stead growth hitting 5.6% by 2007, good fiscal policy and discipline which boasted investor confindence, banks for the first time ever started following employing at their work places wooing them to get loans, the list is endless, all of it courtesy of Levy Mwanawasa! You a such an ***** better f*******k your *****s and shut up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Following your “he did nothing for you” but for majority Zambians who are patriotic.
I am in the Diaspora now but was in Zambia under the period mentioned and worked at very high level in the system where I saw how Levy suffered for Zambian and Zambians and yet toiled only recieve useless criticism even from fools like you who have nothing to offer to Zambia except your empty rhetoric. Rubbish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some people are just premature adults no matter what level of eduction. i can’t understand #2’s way of thinking. You wanted Mwanawasa to bring nshima or buhobe all the where you are. Stick to issue and not tissues my friend.
Thse guys in GRZ have not done enough at th grave site for late Levy. There is a lone police officer stationed there. He does not look ceremonial. The place has no proper sanitation and is not well decorated yet ist in front of cabinet office. Compare to Malawi. the site of late HK Banda looks fantastic. Is this the way you treat the resting place of a fallen Head of state. The hosting of memoerial service in all provincial centres and beaming live on ZNBC TV. What a mistiming. It would have bin better to hold the function in Lusaka and let pipo watch proceedings on TV country wide. Levy is dead and will not appreciate anything. The best to rember Levy would have bin form a trust in his honour and appeal to public to donate generous for a certain cause to be decided by Maureen and kids.
Let us be serious the way we do things. Since 1990 food riots when an angry mob set fire to former KK’s landrover in New Chilenje, nothing has bin done to restore it yet its part of national monument. Some few years ago some Lusaka based coy stated that it would retore the vehicle to its original status nothing has happened to date. It ended at statement announcement. In another development I am very disappointed with Ken Chipungu, Sports Minister demand for a report from FAZ on London outing. That is totally unnecessary he is to blame coz he issued a chque for the trip and was much placed thru his officers to know what was happening. The only hitch for us is we never learn and not proactive. We like doing things at the 11th hr. Algeria is busy preparing whilst we are finger pointing.
Hey guys, theres nothing wrong with holding a memorial for a man like Levy. I know he was not a very popular president but he had leadership qualities that if well employed would have led this country somewhere. its just the infleunces he needed to work on. Unlike ba chitechi, he began listening to pipo near the end of his term. What will be sad is politicizing the entire even which we know ba mwankole will use to get our hard earned money inot their bottomless pockets. I will glady attend (i hope). By the way is Teta back? i hear road testing ya vi manda manda is thru.
LPM didnt die on 19 th August. What is this crap about the memorial? We all know he died earlier than that. The day RB and George the impala were crying in Church and when Thabo Mbeki announced the death that is the correct day he died. 19 th August is the day Maureen finished banking the stolen money
oh my goodness i dont believe it’s already been a year since Dr.M’s passing.And still the ones who took over have done absoultely nothing but bicker on like cats and dogs.
Well it is the opposition that led to no development by continous war of words.. Even though the idea is based on national interest. The Satas could not see sense. He fought LPM nail to teeth until his evaculation to SA. Now he is fighting RB hindering development whereby the president spend much of his tennure fighting opposition.
# 25 tHe job of opposition is to oppose. Every where you go it is like that. The idea of a memorial is just a cosyly venture and the nation has no money to spend. Besides this memorial should be for the family
#18, tell us at what level you worked & in which system..maybe you are some of the fools that benefited from Levy’s nepotism and daylight corruption, rather you maybe one of those now in diaspora at Levy’s mercy and you have guts to call honorable bloggers ‘fools’? whether you like it or not, levy was in that office fraudulently to start with, as if that wasn’t enough, some of us haven’t forgotten how he corruptly:
1. bought opposition MPs (Masebo, Dipak,Samukonga,Nyirongo, etc 2.appointed & dismissed Nevers 3. dismissed Levy Mumba 4. sold the defunct mines and ZANACO 5. awarded contracts to Mathani (Finance Bank & Professional Insurance Chief)
6. highjacked the constitution making process (and he even choses to die – look at the mess he left us in) 7.pardoned Katumbi, i can go on…
The government is caught between a hard and rogh place. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Sata will say it is not continuity if they don’t and all Levy’s relatives whom he placed in high offices will cry foul and begin to work for the opposition. The ONLY person who can say NO to this waste of tax-payer’s money. Levy would nbot have approved.
The problem with Zambians and funerals is that people stop thinking with their heads and start thinking with their hearts and since it is time for some onoentities to be photographed with the President the deceased MALE relatives will hijack the show. Women have no say and the least is the widow herself. Problem is that Levy’s death has set a bad precedent. Holding a sate funeral is the furthest we should ever go, after that, memorials should be family business. After all he has already been honoured with another ‘white elephant’ in the offing… Something something Institute of governance and whatever!
why in all the provinces?.honestly we need to set prionrities in place. this will be a huge expense when zambians are in need of medication n sanitation. well for some it will be a time to eat and drink while others will see a chance to loot. lets keep things in propotion. its not independence day..
Is this what Levy would have wanted? As KK used to say, let us remember him by emulating him… that is if he WAS that good! I think the jury is still out on that one. Levy himself said, ‘it takes 99 years to train a lawyer,’ but it takes a year longer to really classify a good President. Mandela is one of the few people in human history who has had a statue erected for him while there is still breath in his nostrils. (Dictators erect for themselves).
You are fools all those condeming #2. Respect ones opinion and not just yours mwefipuba, you cant even be ashamed of your insults. you need deliverance.
Complainers all the way!
You people stop saying bad things abt the dead, Levy was a good leader u cnt compare him to RB, RB is the worst. Memorial is just ok.
MMMM
no one appreciated you when you were alive including me,you left a gap in our lives that nothing short og God will ever fill.MYSRIP