Dear All Have you missed me? This is the revival of the Livingstone biWeekly. Sorry, we are going to lose one newsletter every other week ... The revival is all thanks to sponsors. All my sponsors are listed at the end of the newsletter. My header is of the Victoria Falls from the newly-tarred Botswana Road from the airport through Dambwa. It is a stunning view and when the spray disappears into the lowering clouds it is almost magical. Since my last Weekly it has been the rainy season. It still is the rainy season. It has not been a good one, but we are still experiencing some late rains. I have been in my garden having a great time. Reoganising, replanting and generally getting dirty. I have had the company of my kingfishers who continue to entertain. LIVINGSTONE Problems with rain When it rains in Livingstone it can bucket down. And all the rainwater has to go somewhere. Livingstone is on sand, so when the rain gushes down the hillside it takes the top soil with it. The roads become rivers and after the rain has stopped some of them have become gullies. This was shown dramatically on a road near my house. The situation has been made worse by the new roads which are channelling the rain run-off down the drains. Surely we need to make a plan against this.
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LIVINGSTONE · 2014-03-18 · When David Livingstone arrived in the area he met Sebitwane, king of the Kololo, in present-day Botswana. It was Sebitwane who assisted David Livingstone
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Dear All
Have you missed me? This is the revival of the Livingstone biWeekly. Sorry, we are going to lose one newsletter
every other week ... The revival is all thanks to sponsors. All my sponsors are listed at the end of the newsletter.
My header is of the Victoria Falls from the newly-tarred
Botswana Road from the airport through Dambwa. It is a
stunning view and when the spray disappears into the
lowering clouds it is almost magical.
Since my last Weekly it has been the rainy season. It still is
the rainy season. It has not been a good one, but we are
still experiencing some late rains.
I have been in my garden having a great time. Reoganising,
replanting and generally getting dirty. I have had the
company of my kingfishers who continue to entertain.
LIVINGSTONE Problems with rain
When it rains in Livingstone it can bucket down. And all the rainwater has to go somewhere. Livingstone is on sand,
so when the rain gushes down the hillside it takes the top soil with it.
The roads become rivers and after the rain has stopped some of them have become gullies. This was shown
dramatically on a road near my house. The situation has been made worse by the new roads which are channelling
the rain run-off down the drains. Surely we need to make a plan against this.
Our local entrepreneurs are not against making use of the top soil run-off. A lot of it is ending up on the road and
they are out shovelling it up and waiting for a sand truck – good for building. Inyatsi, the road contractor, sent a road
sweeper along one of the new roads in Dambwa to clear the road of sand. This is definitely what the Council needs.
Chickens and dogs
According to reports the Lusaka Council is clamping down on stray dogs. Dogs which are found roaming around the
streets with no sign of an owner will be euthanized. Some people are saying that this is cruel. From my side it is not.
Many dogs in Livingstone scavenge from rubbish tips because they are not fed properly. They are not vaccinated
against rabies. People are afraid to walk the streets. Dog owners have to have a sense of responsibility towards their
dogs and, if they don’t, then it is the dogs who suffer. It is better that they are put down.
Similarly, Lusaka Council has banned the rearing of chickens in residential areas. Three cheers from me too. This year
the flies have been almost uncontrollable. My neighbours have chickens and I know that the flies are breeding there,
coming over to my house and giving me a huge problem. Flies carry diseases apart from being irritating. I have been
forced to put poison around my house just to kill the flies ... and I hate using poison.
There has to be standards in towns in Zambia. Most of the rules governing life in each town are indicated in the
bylaws. Isn’t it time that we revised the bylaws for each town so that life is tolerable for the majority?
ZAMBIA Kangaluwi Mine in Lower Zambezi National Park
Zambezi Resources, a Zambian company started by a big Australian mining company and based (for tax purposes?) in
Bermuda wants to mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park. The area within their licence is shown in red on the
map. (I have tried to take the coordinates from the Zambezi Resources map and put them into the park. I hope I
have it right).
Last year I reported that
the Zambia Environmental
Agency (ZEMA) had turned
down the application by
Zambezi Resources to
mine in Lower Zam stating
that it would damage the
environment. We were all
happy (except possibly the
mining company). In a
surprise turnabout the
Minister of Lands and
Environmental Protection
overturned the decision by
ZEMA and stated that the
mining can go ahead. The
next bit of drama was that Environmental/Conservation NGOs organised themselves to put a court injunction on the
decision by the Minister. And this is where we are now. We await the court decision.
Two of the proposed mines within the licence
area will be open pit. The photograph is a of
open pit mining in Nchanga from:
m.inmagine.com
Mining is an extremely thirsty business with the
‘used’ water having to go somewhere and we
assume that wherever it goes it will end up in
the Zambezi River. No doubt it will be treated
before it enters the river but we have seen
mining pollution in the Kafue River. Can we
protect the Zambezi?
Opposite Lower Zambezi is Mana Pools and
neighbouring safari areas which make up a
World Heritage Site. There were hopes that Lower Zambezi can join in this World Heritage site.
And, what about the noise and dust? The trees and plants will be covered in dust for miles around. Remember that
the rain only comes for a short period between November and March to wash the plants clean. The noise will
reverberate across the Zambezi River into the Zimbabwe. Noise affects the habits of wildlife and as people, we don’t
like it much either.
According to the news, Zambezi Resources has put together a series of mitigating measures which persuaded the
Minister that the mine would be ‘green’. From an article in the Mining Weekly:
“Zambezi (Resources) has the utmost respect for the Zambian legal process and with the hearing now concluded, [the
company] awaits the decision of the presiding judge. Zambezi remains positive about receiving a favourable outcome,
Zambezi chairperson David Vilensky said.
He added that the company was disappointed by the lack of support from the conservation movement, with which it
would like to proactively engage to ensure that the Kangaluwi project, if it was allowed to proceed, was at the
forefront of a new generation of environmentally sustainable mine developments.
Government has stated that the mine will provide thousands of jobs. But this also causes problems. The people who
live and work around Lower Zambezi National Park are mostly subsistence farmers and fishermen. Maybe a few of
them can find low-paid jobs but the majority of the new workforce will come from already trained miners in the
Copperbelt. It has been suggested to me that men will flock to the area to find work. All these people will have to
live and survive somehow as they await the chance of a job. Shanty compounds will sprout up around the edge of
the park and ... where will these men find food? Chances are that the animals in the park will provide ...
From Lower Zambezi Conservation Society
Human wildlife Conflict: Challenges and
mitigation
Human wildlife conflict has been peaked this
month - with crops at a healthy stage,
elephants and hippos have been carrying out
regular raids on farmland in the villages of
Chiawa GMA. Thanks to the International
Elephant Foundation and ZAWA, we have
been able to place a permanent Village Scout
team in the Chiawa communities to respond
to Human Wildlife Conflict. These scout
teams have been battling the elements in
uncomfortable and dangerous situations and
have been performing incredibly well.
Congratulations to all officers!
This month we have also collaborated with
Game Rangers International - Britius and
Noddie from GRI's Kafue Community
Outreach Project visited Stephen Kalio in Mushonganende to learn how to build felumbus - elephant proof granary
stores - for food security for people living alongside elephants.
Workers Compensation Fund wastes money
From the Zambia Weekly
The Workers Compensation Fund has released audited accounts for the past four years (2010-2013). During this
period, the fund raised a total of K508.5 million in assessments (contributions from employers), of which 10% was
paid out in claims to sick, debilitated or dead employees or their relatives. Meanwhile, the fund’s expenditure,
excluding claims, came to K357.2 million, equivalent to 70% of assessments raised. The fund’s nearly 200 employees
accounted for a large part of expenditure, equivalent to 34%of assessments raised, receiving an average monthly
salary of K20,221 in 2013 – five times higher than the national average earnings calculated by NAPSA.
ZIMB ABWE
Victoria Falls Town to become Mosi-oa-Tunya?
Robert Mugabe has declared that he wants to change the name of Victoria Falls Town to Mosi-oa-Tunya. He does not
like the name Victoria Falls because of its colonial connotations. I have considered the name of Mosi-oa-Tunya to see
if this is a good choice for a Zimbabwe town.
Let us set the scene prior to David Livingstone’s arrival in our area – 1850s and before. At the time the people of this
area of central Africa were in a constant state of flux. The people moved villages constantly to find better farming
land; they attacked or were attacked by other clans. The land was wild, full of lions and other predators; there was
also lots of food to be had from wildlife – the people often dug pits to trap them. This area was also full of disease
which killed the people – smallpox, leprosy, malaria. Tsetse flies were all over the land in pockets which stopped the
ability of many people to have cattle and other domestic animals. The people believed in ancestor worship and
witchcraft. But they were tough; they would have to be tough to endure the hardships of their environment.
In 1838 the Kololo arrived in Barotseland (western Zambia) and took over the people there. The Kololo were an
offshoot of Zulu kingdom and were a warrior tribe. However, their king, Sebitwane was a clever man and he reigned
over the people controlling many neighbouring tribes including some in present-day Namibia and Botswana.
Meanwhile in 1840 the Matabele people had taken control of the area around Bulawayo. They were a warrior tribe,
another offshoot of the Zulus in South Africa. The men formed Impis (regiments) which were sent out by their king,
Mzilikazi, to find food by conquering neighbouring tribes and stealing whatever they needed. Mzilikazi was very
warlike. He was considered second only to Shaka Zulu.
The sphere of influence of the Matabele and Kololo rarely overlapped, the Zambezi River forming a border between
the two tribes around the Falls.
When David Livingstone arrived in the area he met Sebitwane, king of the Kololo, in present-day Botswana. It was
Sebitwane who assisted David Livingstone on his travels through central Africa. When, in 1855, David Livingstone
returned to the area, Sebitwane had died and his son, Sekeletu was now king. It was Sekeletu who organised the trip
for David Livingstone to the great falls on the Zambezi River. The Kololo people called these falls, in their language,
Mosi-oa-Tunya.
David Livingstone renamed the falls ‘Victoria Falls’. In his journals he mentions the name Mosi-oa-Tunya and states
that he has renamed them in honour of the then British Queen. Because his stories were published the name Victoria
Falls has stuck and has worldwide renown.
By 1864, after 24 years in power, the Kololo people lost control; the Barotse people retook their throne. They were
then known as the Lozi. Interestingly they took on the Kololo language. So the name Mosi-oa-Tunya is part of
present-day Lozi language.
In my opinion the name of Mosi-oa-Tunya is a purely Zambian name which comes from the Lozi people. It is part of
our history. Is it suitable for a Zimbabwe town?
Water Spout over Lake Kariba from Matusadona. Photo: