News of the death of Zambian president Levy Patrick Mwanasa did indeed
hit hard.
Some say that, “by his death,
Africa has lost a practical, principal and political brain.”
He stood up
against corruption. He broke with tradition when he spoke out about the crisis
in Zimbabwe.
So how big is
the loss of Levy Mwanawa to Zambia, in particular, and to the rest of Africa in
general. For an answer, VOA’s Akwei Thompson turned to Oliver Saasa, an
economic and political analyst based in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
The enormity of the man, really, is more to do with the policy stances he adopted, Saasa said.”
Mwanawasa was
a man who recognized, among other things, that economic growth is important,
but not sufficient. “As a result, he put up very clear welfare intervention
through, and supported by, the property reduction strategy,” the political and
economic analyst said.
He said in Zambia people are crying at the moment because they “saw a man who had a human face…”
