Condolences to Mr. Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of the Republic of Zambia
Alliance Forum Foundation (AFF) would like to express our deepest condolences to Mr. Kenneth Kaunda who passed away on June 17, 2021. He was the first president of the Republic of Zambia in southern Africa and had a close relation with AFF.
Mr. Kenneth Kaunda led independence of Zambia, then called “Northern Rhodesia”, from British in 1964. He also supported independence of neighboring countries such as Republic of South Africa, Republic of Zimbabwe, Republic of Namibia, etc. Since Zambia had been exploited in a way that, for example, profits of copper, the main export product, were leaked to foreign investors, he nationalized companies after the independence so that the profits could be retained inside Zambia. As a result, University of Zambia and other educational institutions, hospitals and medical facilities were established. However, around the 1970s Western countries criticized these policies as “socialism” and imposed economic sanctions to Zambia, which made it fall into a sever situation and ended up to the political regime change.
Mr. Kenneth Kaunda met with AFF’s Africa Business and Student Delegations, saying “if I knew Public Interest Capitalism when I was president, they wouldn’t have misunderstood me as socialist. I wish I knew earlier. Neither socialism nor shareholder capitalism can realize a healthy and well-educated middle class. But, Public Interest Capitalism can do so. It is the solution.” Also mentioned that “the biggest problem was that our language has been replaced by English. Language is culture. People whose language is replaced shall lose his pride and become colonized.”
With Mr. Kenneth Kaunda’s understanding and cooperation, since 2008 AFF has worked to sustainably solve problems; about 40% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished, by a high-protein edible algae (spirulina) native to Africa. In addition, in 2014-2016, in collaboration with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which headquarter in Lusaka, Zambia, AFF conducted financial policy and regulation reform training for central banks and microfinance institutions practitioners and proposed policy recommendations.
AFF expresses deep gratitude to Mr. Kenneth Kaunda for his great contribution to our activities, mays he rests in peace and AFF continues to carry on his will.
In 2009 at Lusaka, Zambia (left; George HARA, Chairman of AFF, right; Mr. Kenneth Kaunda)
2021.June
Alliance Forum Foundation