The Zambezi River Basin Initiative Project (ZRBIP) which seeks to reduce the impact of disasters and other challenges on communities living along the Zambezi River has been officially launched in Sesheke yesterday.
Officiating at the launch, Sesheke District Commissioner Mwiya Wanyambe expressed gratitude that the launch of the project comes barely seven months after the new Disaster Management Act was assented to by President Rupiah Banda.
Mr. Wanyambe explained that the new Disaster Management Act provides for the maintenance and operation of a system for the anticipation, preparedness, prevention, coordination, mitigation and management of disaster situations.
He said government is very excited at the initiatives being introduced by the Zambia Red Cross Society aimed at not only saving the lives of the most vulnerable communities but also promoting their dignity as well.
The District Commissioner stressed that the Zambia Red Cross Society has demonstrated to be a true partner to government in the humanitarian field adding that the Society has done a number of interventions in Sesheke where a number of communities have been assisted with farm inputs while orphans have been assisted with school requisites.
Mr. Wanyambe also mentioned that early this year, the Zambia Red Cross Society also played a pivotal role in the relocation of flood victims from flood areas of Lusaka to the temporal Independence camp site and managed the camp for five months in a very professional manner.
He said it is for this and many other reasons that for the first time in the history of the country, under the new Disaster Management Act that the Zambia Red Cross Society has been given a permanent seat on the newly created National Disaster Management Technical Committee largely because of the organization’s crucial role in disaster management programmes.
Mr. Wanyambe disclosed that other than Zambia, the Zambezi River Basin Initiative Project targets other countries like Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe adding that the project is targeting to reach more than 600, 000 acutely vulnerable people in the next three years.
He said the programme reflects a regional approach along the river basin recognizing that communities in the seven countries share many of the same challenges and resources and could therefore, benefit from similar solutions, including regional support systems for the provision of information, methods and tools and the sharing of the lessons learnt.
“We all know that the Zambezi River offers tremendous health, agricultural and economic benefits for the 32 million people living along its basin as a source of drinking water, fishing, irrigation, transport, hydro-electric power and tourism,” the District Commissioner explained.
Mr. Wanyambe however, said the Zambezi River is known for some of the most pronounced vulnerability in sub-Saharan Africa saying climate change coupled with environmental degradation has worsened the annual flooding seen along some stretches of the river displacing and affecting hundreds of thousands of people each year.
He said once the water recede, impoverished communities are then exposed to outbreaks of water borne diseases such as cholera and vector-borne diseases such as malaria adding that countries and communities along the Zambezi are also faced with exceedingly high rates of HIV infection and other communicable diseases.
Mr. Wanyambe said it is against this background that government fully welcomes and endorses this project by the Zambia Red Cross Society which will on the pilot basis be implemented in Sesheke and Kazungula Districts.
Earlier, Zambia Red Cross Society National President Kelvin Chiposwa said his organization will always work with government in handling cases of disasters in affected communities across the country.
At the same function, Zambia Red Cross Society Public Relation Manager James Zulu said in order to manage the project effectively, there is need to come up with a sustainable initiative to be driven by the people affected.
And in a vote of thanks, Sesheke Branch Red Cross President Masiliso Kufakwandi said there is need to work as a team in order to succeed in the implementation of activities under the Zambezi River Basin Initiative Project.
ZANIS
Why is this thing now being launched? I thought Zambia had refused to be a member of this Zambia River Basin initiative, especially if we are going to have the same voting power as countries like Malawi and Namibia. In the first place, why is Malawi interested in the Zambezi River?? Zambezi has no physical connection with Malawi and they should have no say in it!! Same for Namibia and Botswana, everyone is clamouring for our water, and we are gladly sharing it around. 85% of the Zambezi’s water is from Zambia. With our lack of foresight, we’ll soon be fighting for rights to the water in the same way Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan are fighting for the Nile. Lets think forward. Zambezi River Basin should just be Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and maybe Angola if they pay us…
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