Dear All

Aloes in flower in my garden.

Maramba rehabilitation to receive FIFA fundingThe Mast

FAZ has identified Maramba Stadium for rehabilitation to international standards under FIFA funding.Speaking when he inspected the stadium whose rehabilitation under government funding began in 2012 but have since stalled, FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala said the association wants to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Livingstone City Council to lease the facility for 25 years.“We shall work on a report and officially write to the council, but our aim is not to completely take over the stadium. We shall renovate it to international standards through FIFA funding for use by the national teams to camp here, but it shall be used by Maramba Pirates FC which is a council team,” he said. “We think the national team can camp here and since we have an international airport, the team can fly out after training.”

Kashala added that once renovated, the stadium would add value to the tourist capital as it would be able to host international matches. …

G: Maramba Stadium has been in a state of neglect for as long as I can remember. I just hope this happens.

LIVINGSTONE

Here’s our first 30th birthday.Tongabezi

Benjamin Parker and William Ruck Keene were two British boys who fell in love with Africa separately but would change the face of Zambian tourism together.

In 1987 Ben was selling microlights and teaching flying in Zambia and Will was running his company Snack Attack which delivered food on motorbikes in Battersea - he created Uber before Uber was cool!. As soon as they met they started ‘hatching plans’ to run safaris in Zambia together.

Inspired by the local Tonga people and the beautiful Zambezi River, they decided to name their new project Tongabezi.

Did you know that when Ben and Will started building Tongabezi they had no idea whether they would be allowed to open?

There was an unofficial ruling at the time that if you weren’t born in Zambia you might not be able to own land on any of Zambia’s borders. So although they had bought the land they didn’t so much as have the title deeds when they started building. They were far too excited to wait!

It didn’t help that the hippos seemed very keen to destroy buildings as they were almost complete.

It was an immense risk, but both Ben and Will passionately believed that they had found a special place and that the world needed to see and appreciate what Zambia had to offer.

So they invested their time, energy, and money, but more importantly, they committed their excitement and the wild levels of optimism that still make up the soul of Tongabezi today.

Photos in order:

1.) The first-ever Tongabezi Team photo. The land wasn’t even cleared for building yet; these faces are the people who made a space for the Tongabezi we know and love today.

2.) Ben and Will looking very young and content on the Zambezi River.

3.) The first face of Tongabezi! The grass hasn’t even grown in. Can you see Will’s dog Tota in the corner? Tota could famously hang off a tree for an unnatural amount of time.

Who remembers Bob the Bird-Man?

Bob was one of the leading ornithologists in Africa, he had an uncanny ability to recognize birds from the smallest sound or glimpse. But he was also a very strong character. He turned up for his Tongabezi interview in boxer shorts!

LIUWA WILL REOPEN TO VISITORS ON 1st JUNE AFTER BEING CLOSED DUE TO SEASONAL FLOODINGLiuwa Plain National Park

After a wet season with above average rainfall, the seasonal floodwaters have receded and the park can be accessed once again from 1st June.

If you’re in Zambia, we urge you to visit and escape to the vast plains where the camps are ready and the wilds are waiting to welcome you!

ZAMBIA

Royal ChunduTina Aponte

Our love for Chitenge Tablescapes spans many years and has only deepened the more we’ve played with designs and shared our dining tables with lovely guests.

For many years, friends and travellers have asked us where they can find their own Chitenge table setting items. The real beauty of our cloths, napkins and placemats is that they’re locally-made and so sharing them with the world is another wonderful way that Zambian artisans can empower themselves.

We’re excited to say that we’ll be helping connect you with the patterns and pattern makers of Zambia that we work with through A NEW ONLINE SHOP! …

G: These are beautiful, but would be much better if we had Zambian chitenge. All our factories for making textiles have been closed down. In 2019, there were noises that China-Mulungushi Textiles would be re-opened. It has been closed since 2007. Kafue Textiles which made Zambian chitenge was sold in 1994, never to be re-opened. The demise of the factories was because of salaula (second-hand clothes) but surely we could find a way to re-open at least one factory to make chitenge and provide jobs.

North Luangwa Conservation Project

In 2019, our specialized canine unit again proved their worth throughout the year, with detentions including 25 kg ivory, a lion skin, 28 pangolin scales, over 150 kg bush meat, 136 firearms, and 119 rounds of ammunition all destined to the international illegal wildlife trade..

Peace Parks Foundation

Peace Parks Foundation and Commonland, supported by CoMoN Foundation, have partnered to design a clean cookstove carbon project for the Simalaha Community Conservancy in the Zambian component of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. The cookstoves contribute to happier, healthier families, a cleaner environment, and a thriving ecosystem - reducing the consumption of wood and charcoal by approximately 30% and greenhouse gas emittance by 80%, when compared to cooking on traditional open fires. In addition, a carbon credit model will convert this clean cooking into a direct monetary return for the communities.

How does this work?Watch this video, or read more here: https://bit.ly/2TX7hDJ

CANCELLATION OF THE LAFARGE LUSAKA MARATHON (LLM) 2020Lafarge Lusaka Marathon

The Lafarge Lusaka Marathon (LLM) Management has reviewed the trend and guidance of health experts and the provisions of SI 21 & 22 of 2020 on Covid- 19, which is now a world pandemic and resolved to cancel the LLM 2020 which was schedule for September, 26th 2020, and focus on preparation for 2021.

MWATA KAZEMBE FINALLY OKEYS MEGA PALM OIL PROJECT IN NCHELENGEHon. Nickson Chilangwa, MP

Mwata Kazembe of the Lunda people in Mwansabombwe district has given his blessings to the implementation of the palm oil processing plant and oil palm plantation to be implemented in Nchelenge District.

Consolidated Farming Limited (CFL) have been pursuing the project since last year.

A multimillion dollar Palm Oil Processing Plant will be set up in Nchelenge District on a 10,000 hectares piece of land in Mantapala area.

Company Chief Executive Officer Essof Alloo is planning to invest USD200 Million in this project which will create not less than 3000 jobs.

CFL are the owners of Kafue Sugar in Lusaka Province and want to replicate the same model in Luapula Province.

G: Alarm bells began in my head after all the noise about palm oil plantations in Malaysia, Indonesia and South America. Vast swaths of forest have been cleared to make way for palm tree monoculture. Wildlife is being displaced as well as people. So I did some research.

On the good side, palm oil is a cash crop. It is used in all sorts of products from crackers to ice cream to instant noodles. It’s also used in soap and cosmetics. It provides employment, albeit at low wages and seasonal – the kernels have to be picked by hand. Palm oil uses less land than any other substitute plant. Most of the oil is bought by India and China for their manufacturing plants.

On the bad side, natural forests are being destroyed and replaced by the palm trees which reduces biodiversity. Another bad side is that a lot of land is ‘taken’ from indigenous farmers without their knowledge or permission, thereby reducing their ability to plant their own crops for food.

This development near Lake Mweru is not my stomping ground but I am assuming that much of the forests have gone through charcoal burning or otherwise. Also 10,000 hectares is not a large piece of land. (10,000 hectares is equivalent to land 10 km x 10 km in size.) In Asia some plantations are over 100,000 hectares. This plantation in northern Zambia, of course, could just be the start of a massive development.

Other concerns raised are water use and pollution. The palm trees will have to be irrigated and in our times of climate change we have to consider the effects of this. We all know of the effects on the Kafue River and Kafue Flats by reduced water, much of which is extracted by Mazabuka Sugar plantations. Another concern is raised by possible water pollution from a processing plant, fertiliser and pesticide use.

Another good development is that international authorities are keeping a close watch on palm oil plantations making sure that the oil is ethically produced and most companies using the oil have been pressured in to high standards and certification of their source of oil. It is recommended that owners of palm oil plantations, if they wish to expand, do so through out-sourcing to local farmers, giving them the technologies of growing the palm and enabling them to supply the processing facility.

Essof Alloo and his two brothers are from Sable Transport and are also involved in Kafue Sugar. They will, we hope, understand the effect of water extraction for irrigation and be wary of making any damaging effects to the environment around their proposed plantation. Having said that, they are businessmen and profit will be their main concern.

Mantapala is a refugee centre for people displaced from DRC. I assume they are still there and that their lives will not be affected. But who is handing over this land is not stated. If Chief Kazembe is involved, it is likely that it is customary land and, looking at Google Earth, I can see small farms dotted all over the landscape.

I know that our Zambia Environmental Agency will be watching carefully and, hopefully, they will ensure that our environment is not damaged. I also assume that an ESIA will be conducted.

ANOTHER BIG INVESTOR ENTERS FORESTRY SECTOR, WORKERS COMPANSATION GETS LAND FOR PINE PLANTATION IN KAWAMBWAHon. Nickson Chilangwa, MP

Workers Compensation Fund Control Board are the latest investors to have joined the forestry sector in Luapula Province after they acquired over 400 hectares to plant pine and eucalyptus.

Forestry is one of the seven key sectors that the Luapula Expo has been promoting since 2017.

Luapula so far has ZAFFICO who came in 2014 and have set up a 20,000 hectares.

Luapula Province Minister Nickson Chilangwa Thursday led a delegation of Provincial Administration and Workers Compensation Fund Control Board to check on the land in Kawambwa that has been acquired by the company. …

WCFCB has promised to start planting the trees in Musambeshi, Kantu and Mushente areas under the Luena Farming Block.

G: Luena Farming Block is in the same region as the proposed palm oil plantation. I have been in one of the pine forests near Kitwe and they are horrid. There is no sign of life, they are silent. Eucalyptus trees are big extractors of water from the ground and, in my mind, should never be planted anywhere, ever.

But let me give you a quick story from memory about the pine forests around Kitwe.

When the mines started in the Copperbelt, they needed electricity. A coal-fired power station was built and coal was transported from Hwange (Wankie) in Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia). In the 1940s all the coal being produced in Hwange was needed in Southern Rhodesia so the Copperbelt had to look for an alternative fuel. The mines were surrounded by indigenous forests, so the coal-fired power station was converted to use wood. The forests were cut down by hand and the trees dragged onto tractors and brought to the power station. This continued over the years until an alternative source of power was brought on line in Katanga and then finally Kariba Dam was built. But during the time of using wood to burn to make electricity, the mines were surrounded by a barren landscape. The mines, though, needed timber and so the pine forests were planted.

Epic 7,500-mile cuckoo migration wows scientistsBBC

One of the longest migrations recorded by any land bird is about to be completed. Using a satellite tag, scientists have monitored a cuckoo that has just flown more than 7,500 miles (12,000km) from southern Africa to its breeding ground in Mongolia. The bird has survived ocean crossings and high winds after traversing 16 countries.

It has been, say scientists, “a mammoth journey”. The satellite-tagged common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), named Onon after a Mongolian river, set off from its winter home in Zambia on 20 March. Onon is one of five Cuckoos that were satellite tagged in Mongolia last summer by the Mongolia Cuckoo Project - a joint venture between local scientists and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to monitor long-distance migration.

Onon has crossed thousands of kilometres of the Indian Ocean without stopping, flying at an average speed of 60km/h and traversing countries as far apart as Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. Yet out of the five birds tagged, Onon is the only one to have been recorded as finishing its astonishing return journey.

Another tagged cuckoo, named Bayan, which spent part of the winter next to Mt Kilimanjaro in East Africa, got as far as Yunnan in China - but then is believed to have either died from exhaustion or been killed for food. It flew 10,000km in just two weeks, prompting scientists to believe it would have arrived so hungry and tired it may not have been sufficiently vigilant to stay out of danger.

The BTO’s Dr Chris Hewson says the satellite tagging project has revealed much about long-distance migration.“I think the big takeaway is that the birds are able to travel so far and often so fast that they must be able to find suitable conditions for fattening and also know exactly where to go to get favourable wind conditions to help them, for instance, to cross the Indian Ocean,” he said.“So the costs of migration clearly aren’t as great as we thought in the past.”

But the dangers for these migrating birds are ever-present, from predators, including poachers, to storms, to starvation.

Yet - as Dr Hewson points out - at a time when very few of us are able to fly anywhere due to the coronavirus, there is something reassuring about a bird travelling such huge distances, showing that the globe is still working. The birds’ journeys have been avidly followed by many on social media. One user tweeted in response to Onon’s safe arrival in Mongolia: “Love this… the little guy is doing all the flying we can’t do! Bringing us places. Thanks for sharing!”

CECIL RHODES, THE MAN COUNTRIES WERE NAMED AFTERMwebantu

When the imperial dispossession of our territories took formal route, we were named after him. Rhodesia is derived from the surname of Cecil John Rhodes.

Rhodes used his wealth and that of his business partner Alfred Beit and other investors to pursue his dream of creating a British Empire in new territories to the north of South Africa by obtaining mineral concessions, treaties and agreements from the more powerful indigenous chiefs in the areas of his mining interest.

Rhodes obtained a charter from the British Government for his British South Africa Company (BSAC) to rule, police, and make new treaties and concessions from the Limpopo River to the great lakes of Central Africa. By signing these agreements with traditional authorities, he purported to have obtained both legality and security for mining operations in the territories. He obtained the Rudd Concession, in 1889 for Matebeleland, the Lochner Concession with King Lewanika in 1890. He also obtained from Mwata Kazembe in 1890 for the Lake Mweru area. …

Both Oxford University students in London and South Africa’s Rhodes University and University of Capetown began the “Rhodes Must Fall Movement.” They focused their demand on the removal of statues of Cecil Rhodes from their campuses.

At Oxford University to which he has given substantial endowments, the students focused on the statue at its niche at Oriel College. Young South Africans have expressed outrage that his image is unfairly glorified and needs to be removed from institutions. The Rhodes Must Fall campaign yielded results when on 9th April 2015, the statue of Cecil Rhodes was removed from the University of Cape Town following a vote of approval by the University Council. This is aimed at stopping the psychological perpetuation of Rhodes’s white supremacist legacy. ...

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of racist police officers, demonstrations have rocked the world protesting against continued racism and oppression in the world. This week has seen hundreds of protesters in many places. At Oxford in England, the protestors took to the streets outside the famed university’s Oriel College, to demand once again the removal of the Cecil Rhodes statue.

G: This article went on for a long time, and you can read it in full on their website. As I am concerned about Zambia’s tourism and therefore history and culture, I have to add my tuppence worth.

Part of our history is that we were called Northwestern and Northeastern Rhodesia, then just Northern Rhodesia, named after Cecil Rhodes. Cecil Rhodes was a white businessman who arrived in South Africa from Britain and made his fortune. It was, during his time, that history witnessed the Scramble for Africa and all of Africa was divided up into colonies, ‘owned’ by European powers. It was Cecil Rhodes’ money which brought Zambia into the British sphere of influence. Had it not been for his money, we would, more than likely, have become part of the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola or possibly part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), under Belgium rule. For myself, I am glad that Zambia was brought into the British sphere although I have to admit that I am biased as I am originally from Britain. When I think of the years of pain that Mozambique, Angola and DRC have gone through, I can only imagine the state of our country now had we been under Portuguese or Belgium rule.

What was Cecil Rhodes’ money used for? Well, it was used to subdue the slave traders who were decimating the people of Zambia before British rule. We had Swahilis from the north who had set up camps throughout northern Zambia where they collected slaves which were used to carry elephant tusks to the coast of Tanzania and sold to the Arab slave traders who then sold them on as workers on the islands in the Indian Ocean. Then there were the Yao of Malawi who captured slaves selling them to the Arabs. The Chikunda came from Mozambique up the Zambezi River and captured people for the slave trade as far as Tongaland. The Mambari came from Angola and captured people who were trekked to the Angolan coast for sale to be sent to the Portuguese colonies in South America. Finally, the Yeke from Katanga, captured people and sold to the highest bidder to either the east or west coast.

Thousands of Zambian people were captured, many died on route to the coasts and those who survived were sold into slavery.

Cecil Rhodes financed the work of the British who brought in Sikhs from India and trained local people to defeat the slave traders throughout Malawi and Zambia. The slave traders had gone by 1899 but for fifty years the region had been a pretty lawless place with all the farmers stockading themselves in their villages, living in fear of capture.

History is a series of facts and these facts don’t change. I know many Zambians do not like our ‘colonial’ period but that is because it is still in the memories of many of our old folk and has been used in political speeches for many years as something bad. But if we are to use our history as part of our culture and tourism promotion, we have to accept that our colonial past is part of our history. We need to use it for our benefit and not to our detriment.

Cecil Rhodes may have been a very shrewd businessman during his time but he was no different from businessmen all over the world today. He also set up the Rhodes Trust which has sponsored many African students through British Universities, notably Oxford. If “Black Lives Matter”, Cecil Rhodes saved thousands of Africans in Zambia and Malawi from being sold as slaves and through his legacy has educated hundreds of Africans. Surely that is something we should be proud of. We should stand up and tell the Oxford University that the statue should stay because he is a prominent part of our history, a history in which we were named as Northern Rhodesia for for 65 years. Were we to do this, it would certainly put Zambia on the map.

Just as an adjunct to this story: For two thousand years women have been reduced to second-class citizens in most of our societies. It is only now that women in some countries are accepted as being half the human race and are taking up jobs and positions in society which have been the preserve of men. (During Cecil Rhodes’ time it was only men, and an elite of rich men at that, who were involved in the Scramble for Africa.)

There are protests now from time to time that women do not get the same wages as men and that women still take on the burden of looking after children and aged relatives, but the protests are peaceful. Women are plugging away to break down men’s attitudes stating that it is not a man’s right to be the director in companies, to be the president of countries and to take the top jobs. Women do this generally by being better than men in most jobs. So, if “Black Lives Matter”, which they do, black people should just quietly go about making themselves better than white people and be patient, just as women have been over the centuries. (For myself, I was told on leaving school that I should not apply for university because I would never get in and that I should go to a local college and train to be a secretary. Working Class girls like me did not go to university. But I did apply for university and I did get in. Had I followed the advice given to me, I would certainly not have had the life I have had.)

Let’s hope that it doesn’t take 2,000 years to get equality for black people, especially in America, but changing human nature does take time and violence or destruction will never help the cause.

Mbizo Consulting and Tours

We strongly recommend this excellent book on the Kariba story. It is available at various sources in the UK, USA, SA, Zambia and soon Zimbabwe. PLEASE contact the people involved to order yours soon.

ZIMBABWE

Milton Park Policing Area Crime Alerts

Thieves have stolen about US$50 000 worth of solar panels installed to pump water for wildlife in at Hwange National Park.

The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has offered a reward of US$2 500 for information leading to recovery of the panels and apprehension of suspects

The Guards

Lance Corporal Chusa Siwale, aged 29, from Zambia, is fulfilling the role of Lone Drummer for the ceremony, and will deliver the ‘Drummer’s Call’ to instigate the colour being ‘Trooped’ through the ranks.

BOTSWANAPRESS RELEASE –ANTI POACHING OPERATION INCIDENTBWgovernment

The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) in the execution of its mission of defending Botswana’s Territorial Integrity, Sovereignty and National Interests, informs the public about an incident whereby there was an exchange of fire between BDF members and poachers.

The incident occurred on the 21st May 2020 around 0800 hours, in the general area of the Okavango Delta (near Splash areas), where members of a BDF patrol team were involved in an exchange of fire with poachers, resulting in two (2) being killed. As succinctly stated in the past, poachers continue to target endangered species such as rhinos.

Ornis italica

He’s back! A European roller we started following by GPS last summer has produced this amazing track. After losing his partner in June he didn’t reproduce. He then started touring central and northern Italy, and spent the whole of August in Croatia. In September he set off for an incredible journey to stay a couple of months in Chobe National Park, Botswana. After more than 8000 km, flying over the Sahara at over 3000 m, and crossing the Mediterranean in a single night he came back to the same nest as last year.

Gobabeb

Two Namibian Environmental websites go public today, the Environmental Information Service (EIS) and Conservation Namibia. The EIS one has an e-library, a new archaeology atlas in the citizen science section, a new wildlife crimes component and a new section on EIAs out for public review. It also links you to the Namibian Journal of Environment.The Conservation Namibia new website is aimed at making conservation stories and information easily accessible to the general public. Please check them out and tell your networks.www.conservationnamibia.comwww.the-eis.com

NAMIBIA

Peace Parks Foundation

This past weekend, anti-poaching patrols in Nyika National Park, Malawi, saw vultures circling and upon inspection came upon a snared reedbuck close to a stream. The well-trained rangers immediately knew - where there is one, there are usually more. A sweep was done of the area and 47 snares were removed along the riverbanks. The team also removed all logs and small branches used to block crossing points and coax the animals in a specific direction. …

MALAWI

Congo hit by a second, simultaneous Ebola outbreakReuters

Authorities in Congo announced a new Ebola outbreak in the western city of Mbandaka on Monday, adding to another epidemic of the virus that has raged in the east since 2018. Six cases have been detected, four of which have died in the city, a trading hub of 1.5 million people on the Congo River with regular transport links to the capital Kinshasa.

Mbandaka is 1,000 km (620 miles) from an ongoing outbreak that has killed over 2,200 people in North Kivu province by the Uganda border, where containment efforts have been hampered by armed conflict.The new outbreak is Congo’s eleventh since the virus was discovered near the Ebola River in 1976.

“We have a new Ebola epidemic in Mbandaka,” health minister Eteni Longondo told reporters. “We are going to very quickly send them the vaccine and medicine.”The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever and is spread through direct contact with body fluids from an infected person, who suffers severe vomiting and diarrhoea.The discovery is a major blow for Democratic Republic of Congo, which has suffered three Ebola outbreaks since 2017. It is also combating a measles epidemic that has killed over 6,000 and COVID-19, which has infected over 3,000 and killed 71. …

Rafiki, Uganda’s rare silverback mountain gorilla, killed by huntersBBC

One of Uganda’s best known mountain gorillas, Rafiki, has been killed.

Four men have been arrested, and they face a life sentence or a fine of $5.4m (£4.3m) if found guilty of killing an endangered species.

Investigations showed that Rafiki was killed by a sharp object that penetrated his internal organs.

There are just over 1,000 mountain gorillas in existence and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) described Rafiki’s death as a “very big blow”.

The silverback, believed to be around 25-years-old when he died in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, was the leader of a group of 17 mountain gorillas.

DRC

UGANDA

Country Total con-

firmed cases

Total con-

firmed new

cases

Total deaths

Total new

deaths

Zambia 920 0 7 0Zimbabwe 56 5 4 0Botswana 29 0 1 0Namibia 20 1 0 0Mozambique 194 1 0 0Malawi 83 1 4 0Angola 60 0 3 0Tanzania 509 0 21 0DRC No reportSouth Africa 21,343 1,218 407 10

OTHER STUFFCOVID-19 Stats as at 14 June (WHO)

Country Total con-firmed cases

Total con-firmed new cases

Total deaths

Total new deaths

Zambia 1,357 36 10 0Zimbabwe 356 13 4 0Botswana 60 0 1 0Namibia 32 1 0 0Mozambique 553 44 2 0Malawi 529 48 5 1Angola 138 8 6 1Tanzania 529 0 21 0DRC 4,723 87 105 5South Africa 65,736 3,809 1,423 69

COVID-19 Stats as at 24 May (WHO)

SMILEThe Bushcamp CompanyWildlife around the Lodge: with no guests in camp, the animals are trying to stay fit; some are more agile than others!

EXCHANGE RATESUS$1 K18.20

P11.68Nam$17.15Zim$83

WEATHERMin Temp Max Temp

10°C (50) 22°C (72)

Have a safe two weeks

Gill

SMILE

Still cold.

Rex Kelly Just a bit cold in Botswana today !