Africa-Press – Zambia. Vice-President Inonge Mutukwa Wina has noted that late First Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda did not only fight for independence from colonialism but also economic independence as a country.
Speaking when she officiated at the state funeral church service for Dr Kaunda at Woodlands Stadium in Lusaka yesterday, Mrs Wina said Dr Kaunda believed that political independence was not enough until Zambians had essential amenities like schools, hospitals, roads, decent shelter and food on their tables.
“That is why soon after independence, Dr Kaunda embarked on various national programs and projects to take development to all parts of the country for the benefit of the people,” Her Honour the Vice-President said.
She has recounted that Dr Kaunda was remembered for numerous landmark achievements in Lusaka including the building of the University of Zambia (UNZA), Lusaka International Airport and the Luangwa Bridge in the infrastructure sector which helped improve and sustain people’s livelihoods.
She further stressed that the establishment of the Independence Stadium, Mulungushi International Conference Center (MICC), National Institute for Public Administration (NIPA), Natural Resources Development College (NRDC), Kanakantapa Resettlement Scheme and Inter-city Bus Terminus are all testimony of his desire to liberate Zambia socially and economically.
Mrs Wina added that the industrialisation sector also witnessed significant developement with the establishment of the Kafue Nitrogen Chemicals and the Kafue Textiles.
“Dr Kaunda was also a strong proponent of the role of the media in national development hence he constructed the Mass Media Complex which houses the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) located on Alick Nkhata road,” Mrs Wina said. “It is against this background that I urge the media in the country to uphold the peace, love and unity in their reporting that Dr. Kaunda stood for.”
Her Honour the Vice-President has since reiterated that though Dr Kaunda was gone, his legacy of selflessness, unity, peace, love and patriotism would live on for many years to come and should be passed on from generation to generation do that Zambia can remain bound and united by the values and principles that the nation’s founding father espoused.
And Chief Mourner Lt. Col Panji Kaunda has thanked the government of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and the Zambian people for the support they rendered to the bereaved family. Lt. Col Kaunda has since called on Her Honour the Vice-President and the traditional leadership to help maintain the peace and unity of the country.
Speaking at the same event, Her Royal Highness Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II of the Soli people of Chongwe District said Zambians would always be grateful for Dr Kaunda’s collaborative approach to development where he never segregated any tribe or region in delivering development.
“He was a committed and selfless leader determined to take development to all parts f Zambia without segregation. Every part of this country received some development during his tenure as president,” Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II said.
The traditional leader has since thanked President Lungu and Her Honour the Vice-President for making it possible to hold provincial funerals for all Zambians to pay their last respects to the liberation icon of Africa.
And Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Elias Kamanga has revealed that the provincial administration would be planting 97 trees at the National Heroes Stadium in honor of Dr. Kaunda so that through those trees Zambians shall continue to remember and celebrate his life.
And in his homily, United Church of Zambia (UCZ) St’ Pauls Minister-in-Charge Reverend Chayana Nkonde called for unity and love because that was what God expected Zambians to follow as a people.
“Oneness is something that we need to pursue if we are to be someone in this life. Oneness is the language of God and it is not about what men and women have achieved but something which God desires to see in the world,” Rev Nkonde said. The clergyman has since urged the Zambian people to use Dr. Kaunda’s death as a reminder that unity and peace was what he and others fought for.
The service was also attended by Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) National Coordinator Chanda Kabwe, other senior government officials, members of the defence forces, representatives from the Islamic Comunity in Zambia, Christian’s from different denominations and a limited number of members of general public in respect to COVID-19 health guidelines.
