Maravi

Levy will be remembered for speaking the truth - Maureen

Levy will be remembered for speaking the truth - Maureen
By Ernest Chanda
Thu 19 Aug. 2010, 15:10 CAT

MAUREEN Mwanawasa has said her late husband president Levy Mwanawasa will be remembered for speaking the truth and providing visionary leadership. And Vice-President George Kunda said all those in government owed it to president Mwanawasa.

Speaking at the memorial service for her late husband at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka, the former first lady said a leader must have an idea of where he wants to take his people.

All of president Mwanawasa’s children, diplomats, cabinet ministers and various other dignitaries attended the service from the church and political parties.

Maureen said her husband had achieved this when God gave him chance to serve the nation.

“In leadership, the most important thing is vision, because the leader, if he has to lead, he must have some idea of where he wants to lead. He must always lead you from your present situation into a better world. And president Mwanawasa can be remembered for having succeeded to do that: he created an environment and left a foundation where each of us has become the change we wish to see in our country,” Maureen said.

Maureen said people could not achieve visionary leadership if they did not tell the truth.

“Indeed to achieve that, we need to take one simple resolution that of always speaking the truth. Once such a simple resolution is taken, you suddenly find that it is almost impossible to commit any single sin because every sin has to be covered with one hundred different lies. This simple resolution should be accompanied with inner spiritual growth,” she said.

“Spirituality is what the world needs. If you put your faith in truth, which is God, you can never fail because God cannot fail. Of course you may not live to see your mission succeed, but that is not important; but your cause cannot fail and to all of us gathered here we can all join hands together to honour the memory of His Excellency Levy P Mwanawasa and recognise that his legacy should be seen as part and parcel of Zambia’s history and after all it is history that builds the future.”

She said president Mwanawasa demonstrated love for his country through dedicated leadership and the words contained in his final Will and Testament.

And Vice-President Kunda said he and his colleagues would forever be grateful to president Mwanawasa.

“All of us in government must acknowledge that we owe it to our late brother Dr Mwanawasa for appointing us into government. For some of us he introduced us into politics and into government. As such we shall remain eternally grateful to him. Those of us who were associated with Dr Mwanawasa in private practice and government know how dedicated he was to duty,” Vice-President Kunda said.

“He was hardworking, meticulous and devoted to detail in his work. Anyone working in his team appreciated these qualities in our team leader, which we had to emulate. Dr Mwanawasa is gone but what he did and stood for is still fresh in our minds. It has made a permanent impression.”

He said the government would build a museum in honour of president Mwanawasa.

“As a way of appreciating his excellent work, qualities and contribution to national development it is necessary for us to preserve his legacy for generations to come. As such we have decided as government to construct a museum/musoleum at the Embassy Park where we put him to rest. This is the best way of remembering and honouring our late president,” said Vice-President Kunda.

President Mwanawasa died on August 19, 2008 at Percy Military Hospital in France after suffering a severe stroke while attending an African Union summit in Egypt and was then flown to France, where he had remained in hospital until his death.

Labels: CHURCH SERVICES, LEVY MWANAWASA, MAUREEN MWANAWASA

posted by MrK @ 4:36 PM