FORMER Speaker of the National Assembly Amusa Mwanamwambwa says late president Rupiah Banda respected the roles that the Executive and Legislature played.

In an interview, Mwanamwambwa said there was a lot more that Banda did, which had not been documented.

“I had the privilege of being the head of the legislature as Speaker of the National Assembly and he as the Head of State. We worked together so harmoniously and to move for the peace, tranquility and socio-economic development of this country. He respected the roles that each one of us played. The [roles that the] Executive part of government played, and roles that the Legislative part of government played and the need to harmonize our activities to ensure that this country enjoyed peace then, now and the future. The legacy he left has not been documented, there is a lot more that he had done. It is terribly sad that he has left, he still had many more years to go. Remember he is not entirely dead, he moves on in accordance with the words and deeds. I think all of us must pray for his family and of course for the Republic to move on in accordance with his design,” he said.

Mwanamwambwa said Banda was practical in dealing with national issues, further describing him as a humble individual.

“I just want to tell you one aspect of RB’s life which many of us do not realise, he was a very humble individual. Sometime in 2009, he actually went to visit the Liuwa National Park and he spent two, three days in my village. He interacted with the local village people. He was very kind and very supportive of them. You could see the human aspect of RB. Something very important arose out of getting to such a rural part of Zambia. He issued instructions to the Minister of Finance, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, that the Mongu-Kalabo- Angola Road must be built. You know the Mongu-Kalabo Road has been built up to Kalabo and that there are moves to build from Kalabo up to the Angolan border. He issued instructions to have a road from Kalabo into Liuwa National park, moves are being made to implement that project. You see how practical he was in terms of dealing [with] issues, national infrastructure,” he said.

Mwanamwambwa said leaders must learn that working hard for the people was the way to go.

“They must learn that peace is the way forward. They must learn that hard work not for self, but for the people is the way to go in order to advance the socio economic development of a country like ours. They must learn that each one of us must work to leave something worthwhile for the people of Zambia,” said Mwanamwambwa.