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A young gay man who left a well-paid government job and fled from Zambia because of his sexual orientation has been denied refugee status by the South African Department of Home Affairs.
Homosexuality is punishable by 14 years imprisonment in Zambia where sections 155 to 157 of the Penal Code says “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” is a felony. This provision dates from when Zambia was Northern Rhodesia and part of the homophobic British Empire.
Anold Mulaisho realised he was gay when he was 14 at boarding school. In January 2016 he started working for the Zambian Department of Water Affairs but made the mistake a few months later of telling his boss that he was gay and had a boyfriend. The news spread rapidly and he had to leave Zambia in a hurry as he feared being arrested.
He entered South Africa in January 2017 on a bus from Zimbabwe and on arrival in central Johannesburg he received a typical South African welcome: he was robbed, and lost his laptop.
Since 1 July 2017, Anold (then just 22) has had to go often to the Department of Home Affairs in downtown Pretoria, sometimes being given an Asylum Seeker Temporary Permit valid for only one week.
In a sworn affidavit about this case, Anold says, “I was interviewed by a male officer…(who) asked me why I was there. I said because of my sexual orientation. The officer laughed and called another officer. They both laughed….. The officer (said)… that if I claim to be a ‘gay’, why is it that I am not wearing make-up…. He asked if I have sex – am I the woman or the man?”
The contents of the affidavit clearly call into question the qualifications and/or training of staff of the Department of Home Affairs to deal with asylum applications by gay people.
The news spread rapidly and he had to leave Zambia in a hurry as he feared being arrested.
On 30 January 2018 Anold received the decision by Home Affairs which said that his application for asylum was rejected because it is fraudulent. The written reasons given for this rejection were:
He did not play with boys but preferred to play with girls. The officer said in the document that a person who is gay would not enjoy the company of girls.
He would not have chosen to be gay if he was in pain after a rape incident. (He was raped at school)
He could not name LGBT organisations in Zambia. (There are none!)
He failed to give contact details of a previous lover.
That he could not have become a gay and be a Christian. He cannot be gay because Zambia is a Christian country.
He left Zambia to enter the sex work business.
Anold is at present working towards a way forward on the decision made by Home affairs with the assistance of Access Chapter 2, a non-governmental organisation that promotes and advocates for the human rights of LGBTI people, including migrants and refugees.
They are working closely with the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception centre to sort out Anold’s legal documents. Almost any competent lawyer should be able to trash the ridiculous reasons given for the rejection of his asylum application.
Anold’s dearest wish is to be accepted as a gay refugee in South Africa, and he deserves our help and support.
The Ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has beaten the incumbent United Party for National Development (UPND) in Kafue District Council Chairperson By-Election. The PF candidate Simakoyi Moono, beat UPND candidate Beatrice Kayuni by 602 votes. The PF candidate scored 9 252, while the UPND candidate scored 8 650.
The voter turnout for the election was less than 30%
The Kafue Council Chairperson by election was necessitated by the resignation of the incumbent Thomas from the UPND who joined the Patriotic Front.
Mr. Zulu was suspended from the UPND by the Party Leadership for attending the keep Zambia clean, green and health cleaning exercise that was officiated by President Edgar Lungu.
Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba
Government says it will establish a Cyber City meant to promote the growth of Information Communication Technology- ICT- sector in the country.
Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba says the has partnered with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Copperbelt University to construct the cyber city to be based on the Copperbelt.
Mr. Mushimba said this in a speech read for him by Ministry of Communications Director Yese Bwalya during the award giving ceremony of the 2018 ICT Innovation Programme in Lusaka.
He said the Cyber City will comprise workshops, light manufacturing facilities, Data Centre to enhance research and innovations for small and medium enterprises.
Speaking earlier, Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority Director General, Patrick Mutimushi said the authority is happy that some innovations which are part of the programme have become commercially viable locally and won awards internationally.
Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Jean Kapata
Lands and Natural Resources Minister Jean Kapata says government is in the process of formulating the national land policy which will make it difficult for foreigners to own land.
Ms Kapata says government wants to give land ownership to Zambians.
Ms Kapata said there is a tendency by foreigners who come in the name of investment, acquire huge chunks of land ,then demarcate it and start re-selling to Zambian.
She said with this policy, land will only be given to investors for a specific project period after which the land is repossessed.
And Ms Kapata disclosed that government has started the Moringa planting projects in Central and Luapula Province.
She said the Ministry through the women empowerment initiative has planted Moringa seedlings to be given to out growers.
Ms Kapata said the idea behind is that government wants to help people to adopt the culture of growing drought resistant but high value crops.
She was speaking when Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie paid a courtesy call on her at the Ministry of Lands.
And Ambassador Li said China will continue supporting efforts the country is making in fighting climate change.
He said as Zambia continues to grow economically, China will be there to offer support so that lives of Zambians can be improved.
The construction of the Kafue Gorge Lower hydro power plant
Energy Minister Matthew Nkhuwa has expressed satisfaction with the progress on the construction of the Kafue Gorge Lower hydro power plant.
Mr. Nkhuwa says works which have now reached sixty percent completion has seen more than 3,000 Zambians employed.
He told ZNBC News in Lusaka that the project once complete will boost power generation and help the country become a net exporter of electricity.
Mr. Nkhuwa said government is eager to take advantage of Zambia’s central position and abundant water resources to position the country as a major exporter of energy to the sub region and beyond.
The Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro power plant is being built by Sino-Hydro Corporation, at a cost of over two billion United States Dollars and will have a generation capacity of 750 Megawatts.
Nkana made their first return to league action on Wednesday in over a month today with a come-from-behind 3-2 home win over new boys Circuit City.
Nkana took a 1-0 halftime lead but Circuit hit back twice to take a 2-1 lead into the final twenty minutes of the match before Simon Bwalya saved the day with a brace.
Shadreck Musonda put Nkana 1-0 into halftime via a 27th minute penalty but Biston Banda equalized in the 47th minute and Albert Ngosa made it two-one in the 68th minute.
It took Bwalya to hit the target in the 77th and 88th for Nkana to collect the win in their first league game since losing 2-0 at home to Power Dynamos in the Kitwe derby on February 16.
Since then, Nkana have been busy at home and on the road with group stage commitments in the CAF Confederation Cup that has seen them accrue four games in hand from five matches played.
Nkana stay third from bottom on 8 points at number eight and are seven points behind Pool B leaders Nkwazi.
Meanwhile in Pool A, defending champions Zesco United were held to a 0-0 away draw by Kitwe United at Garden Park.
Mwila Phiri missed an 11th minute penalty for Zesco while teammate John Chingandu hit the post in the 53rd minute before overcoming a stubborn Kitwe United whom they runnto exhaustion in the last 30 minutes of the game.
Zesco are fifth on 9 points from six games with three matches in hand and eleven points behind leaders Zanaco who beat bottom placed Prison Leopards 2-1.
Kitwe United stay second from bottom in Pool A on 7 points after nine matches played.
Elswhere in Pool A, Zanaco opened a three point lead thanks to goals by Ernest Mbewe in the 13th minute before striker Chitiya Mususu in the 19th minutes to score his fourth league goal of the season.
Prisons striker Tshite Mweshi scored his sides’ consolation goal in the 25th minute as the promoted side sustained their first home loss of the season where they had been unbeaten in their opening four games.
FAZ Super Division Week 9 Results
27/03/2019
POOL A
Green Buffaloes 0-Mufulira Wanderers 0
Kitwe United 0-Zesco United 0
Prison Leopards 1-Zanaco 2
Lusaka Dynamos 2-Nakambala Leopards 0
Red Arrows 0-Kabwe Warriors 0
POOL B
Buildcon 2-Power Dynamos 1
Nkana3-Circuit City 0
Green Eagles 1-Napsa Stars 1
FC MUZA 0-Forest Rangers 0
The Governance, Elections, Advocacy, Research Services has observed with concern voter apathy and spates of violence that characterized the Kafue By-election especially in the afternoon of the voting day.
The queues and calm that characterized the morning voting waned out in the afternoon when polling stations started recording trickles of voters and when incidents of violence started being witnessed.
For example, out of about 900 registered voters at Kafue Day School only about 170 had voted by 15hrs while at Nakatete School, about 200 had voted out of about 700 voters registered.
It is likely that less than 50% turn out will be recorded in this Kafue by-election, according to Organisation Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi.
Mr. Chipenzi said GEARS Initiative recorded violent confrontations between UPND and PF cadres in the afternoon.
He said at Kafue Day School around 15hrs UPND and PF cadres clashed.
Mr. Chipenzi said according to the investigations done by GEARS Initiative, the genesis of the Kafue Day School fracas was that about 10 PF youth camped behind one of the polling streams within the prohibited area.
He said the youth carried a “box” which, when the report went to the UPND camp, raised suspicions that PF youths had carried a “ballot box containing suspected ballot papers” when in fact not.
Mr. Chipenzi said the youth claimed they were a security wing for the ruling party and effort to remove them failed and in the process, UPND responded by mobilizing themselves and overpowered the 10 PF youth, cornered them and hacked one of them with a panga who almost fainted.
He said Police apprehended one person and later calmed the situation while the PF youth left heading towards turnpike.
Mr. Chipenzi said GEARS Initiative also received a report of another violent confrontation between UPND and PF at Lukolongo Ward.
He said another violent confrontation happened at the Council Hall and our monitors report that this happen when Minister of Lands, Jean Kapata, visited the place and allegedly confronted the ECZ officials who told her that she was not accredited and should not be in the hall.
Mr. Chipenzi said this is said to have angered the Minister and later, she was joined by her PF cadres causing commotion an incident which attracted UPND cadres who went on rampage beating all those around the hall accusing them of contributing to the confusion triggering a fight. One PF cadre is said to have been hit by an object by the UPND cadres right there.
However, Mr. Chipenzi said GEARS Initiative has not yet established the cause of the violent confrontation in Lukolongo.
He however said GEARS Initiative is happy with the manner with which the Police have handled the confrontation and hope would continue in the same manner up to the end of the process.
Topsy Sikalinda taking question from journalists during the press conference
The Zambia Revenue Authority has projected reduced revenue collections in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai which has killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of others in Mozambique, Mozambique and Malawi.
ZRA Corporate Affairs Manager Topsy Sikalinda said Zambia being a landlocked country receives significant volumes of imports through Beira in Mozambique and other seaports in southern Africa
Mr. Sikalinda said the impact of the cyclone has left customs ports of entry into Zambia at low operational levels due to reduced traffic flow with Chanida and Chirundu being the most affected.
He said the cyclone has caused disruptions to the international supply chain for most businesses and industries leading low revenue projections from trade taxes.
Mr. Sikalinda said the Cyclone Idai has left some infrastructural damage in the neighboring countries with some roads being closed during the period. While at sea, various ship vessels were diverted or delayed due to bad weather.
He said with Mozambique having had the worst impact, neighboring countries Malawi and Zimbabwe experienced heavy rainfall, flooding and damage caused by high wind speed. Madagascar also experienced bouts of heavy rainfall during the storm’s pathway to Beira.
Mr. Sikalinda said most of the goods that come to Zambia through these routes include fuel, mining machinery, hardware, groceries and foodstuff that are destined for Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said the Authority is urging traders and transporters to consider using alternative routes into Zambia during this period.
The PF says it is concerned that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his allies have continued on their usual path of attempting to frustrate every effort Government would make aimed at engaging the people in reforming the Constitution and other laws based on the Siavonga agreement to which the UPND were a part of.
PF Media Director Sunday Chanda said the behaviour by Mr. Hichilema is not strange as history can attest to how he has never supported any progressive bills that come from Government.
He said what Mr. Hichilema and his allies who are attempting to frustrate this process are forgetting is that the current National Dialogue Bill is much better that than the failed Church-led process which was unprotected by any legal framework.
Mr. Chanda said even if the church-led dialogue had succeeded, nothing was guaranteeing that Parliament, which is the only body mandated to make laws, would be compelled to adopt the resolutions without any question.
He said those who say that Government has not consulted the people when coming up with the Bill must also appreciate that in coming up with the many Bills Government continues to present to Parliament, no public consultation is done as is the case now on this Bill but consultation always happens when the Bill has been presented to Parliament.
Mr. Chanda said those desirous of seeing a better National Dialogue Bill have an opportunity now to make submissions to Parliament to alter the current Bill so it could reflect the input from the public.
He has reiterated that the People of Zambia have an opportunity to now conduct a well-structured national dialogue that is protected by the law to ensure we can deliver the Constitution and other law reforms.
Mr. Chanda said the people of Zambia can trust and have confidence that President Lungu and the PF mean well on this process and it is incumbent on stakeholders to seize this opportunity by making suggestions on how to improve the current Bill than just play politics to shoot it down.
Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo has challenged National Democratic Congress Consultant Chishimba Kambwili to desist from using insulting language against President Edgar Lungu.
Mr. Lusambo has noted with regret that Mr. Kambwili has continued to disrespect the Office of the President by continuously insulting the President.
Mr. Lusambo who is also Kabushi PF Member of Parliament said the PF will not take kindly the continued insults on the Head of State by Mr. Kambwili and his newly found partners, the Opposition Alliance.
He said it is the duty of every Zambian Mr. Kambwili inclusive to respect the Presidency.
Mr. Lusambo said no well meaning Zambian should rejoice in bringing the Presidency into disrepute hence the need for Mr. Kambwili to tone down.
He said Mr. Kambwili’s outbursts in the media are a clear indication that he is not a patriotic citizen who thrives on lies to win sympathy from the Zambian people.
Meanwhile Mr. Lusambo has challenged Mr. Kambwili to tell the nation where he took the railway infrastructure which has disappeared between Ndola and Luanshya.
He accused Mr. Kambwili of having stolen the infrastructure to benefit himself at the expense of all the people of Luanshya.
HH addressing the media
The UPND has instructed its Members of Parliament to vote against the National Dialogue Amendment Bill when it is taken to Parliament at Committee stage today.
And UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema said the opposition Alliance position on this proposal by President Edgar Lungu and his PF is that it is fraud and non inclusive and meant to abrogate Zambia’s democracy.
Mr. Hichilema said the Alliance is aware that this bill is meant to stifle freedoms such as freedom of association, assembly, expression and speech adsing that the Bill is also meant to illegally give President Edgar Lungu another 7 years as President of Zambia.
He said this proposed bill is illegal and as a people that want democracy to continue flourishing, the Alliance will not allow it to go ahead.
“In order to stop this illegal action by Mr Edgar Lungu and the PF as they dearly need numbers of members of parliament to pass this law, we have since held meetings with our members of parliament not to support such a bill meant to stifle people’s rights and our country’s democracy”, he added.
Mr. Hichilema however said Alliance partners remain committed to an open and church led dialogue which will encompass among other things electoral reforms, public order act, and all fundamental rights.
Sean with opposition leaders shortly after he was released
Opposition PeP leader Sean Tembo has declared that he is ready to die for speaking out against the social and economic ills afflicting Zambians.
Mr Tembo who was released from police custody on Tuesday after he was arrested for defaming President Edgar Lungu said Police can arrest him anytime that they want for any period that they want.
“They can even kill me if they so desire, I cant help that either,” he declared.
“But even if I was to be arbitrarily arrested again, I will spend my time in jail or police cells with pride, knowing fully well that my only crime has been to stand up and speak on behalf of my downtrodden fellow citizens. Even if I was to be killed tomorrow, I will die with a smile on my face knowing fully well that I dedicated my life to the betterment of humanity in general and my fellow citizens in particular,” Mr Tembo said.
ABOUT MY UNLAWFUL INCARCERATION
By Sean Tembo
Good Morning Fellow Country Men and Women.
I was released from police custody yesterday afternoon around 3pm on police bond. This was the second police bond that the police gave me, after the first one was withdrawn on Monday, for unknown reasons.
The police have charged me with defamation of the president on the basis of the statement that I issued on behalf of the Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) on 20th March 2019, in which we demanded that a Medical Board be constituted in accordance with article 107 (4) of the Republican Constitution, and that the President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu be subjected to a mental exam for purposes of determining his mental fitness.
The matter is coming up in court on 15th April 2019. I wish to state that as far as I am concerned, I did not commit any offence and my arrest was based on emotions and not the law.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the citizens of this beautiful nation who rallied behind me and gave me moral support during my 4 days incarceration. To those who believe that my incarceration was justified, I wish to refer you to one of the proverbs from Eastern Province: chaona mzako chapita, mawa chili pa iwe. Loosely translated this means; the challenge which your friend has faced today has passed, tomorrow it will be you facing the same challenge.
I wish to make it very clear that as Party President for the Patriots for Economic Progress, I have always and will always abide by the laws of this nation. Even those that I do not agree with. However, in a country such as ours, fully abiding by the laws of the land is not a guarantee that you shall not be arrested because we have a Government that has a witchcraft mentality towards opposition figures, and are willing to make arbitrary arrests even when they know fully well that their case cannot stand in court.
Their objective is to punish you as much as possible despite their knowledge of your innocence. That punishment comes in the form of the prolonged detention by arresting you over the weekend, and reluctance to take you to court, as well as you having to bear the cost of legal representation in this biting economy, together with lost productivity due to the numerous court appearances.
At the beginning of my political career, I used to think that opposition leaders such as President Hakainde Hichilema and Honourable Chishimba Kambwili, who were often arrested were trouble makers. But the moment that I was first arrested in 2017 together with Laura Miti, Pilato and others, for the lawful fire tender protest at Parliament, and after witnessing the propensity of the various police officers to lie on the stand in court, I realized that HH and CK have merely been victims of state harassment.
Suffice to mention that myself together with my colleagues were found with no case to answer by the court, in the fire tender protest matter, but that was after wasting 2 years going to court and spending more than K200,000 in legal fees.
I must be quick to mention that when I decided to become an opposition politician, I was fully aware of the consequences of my chosen path. I could have easily joined the ruling PF party and become one of the AAAs or triple As or 3As (Abakwata Akasaka Akandalama). But of course my conscience would not allow me to be living in total opulence using poor people’s taxpayers money, and even boasting at rallies that you are triple A, and yet you are failing to pay the salaries of your employees the civil servants, council workers, university lecturers, parastatal employees etc. How could I possibly eat such kind of money and still sleep well at night? I can’t. And that is why I chose to be an opposition politician, with all the trials and tribulations that come with this job.
Make no mistake about it, being a genuine opposition politician in Zambia is a tough job. But someone has to do it and I chose to be that someone. I became an opposition leader not by accident, but by choice. In Eastern Province, we have another proverb: ukaziputa limba. Loosely translated, this means; when you take up a calling, you need to live up to the demands of your chosen calling. If you choose to be a plumber, you need to live up to the foul smell, if you choose to be a mechanic, you need to live up to the dirty oily hands. I chose to be an opposition leader, so I am going to live up to the state harassment and arbitrary arrests.
However, the people should be rest assured that I shall always be law abiding. I am fully aware that the state is very powerful and has unlimited resources.
They can arrest me anytime that they want for any period that they want, I cant help that. They can even kill me if they so desire, I cant help that either. But even if I was to be arbitrarily arrested again, I will spend my time in jail or police cells with pride, knowing fully well that my only crime has been to stand up and speak on behalf of my downtrodden fellow citizens. Even if I was to be killed tomorrow, I will die with a smile on my face knowing fully well that I dedicated my life to the betterment of humanity in general and my fellow citizens in particular.
My appeal to my brothers and sisters in the ruling PF is that all this harassment of one another is absolutely unnecessary. If President Lungu dedicated as much energy and effort towards running the Zambian economy as he does towards harassing political opponents, this country would have been very prosperous.
Let us dedicate our energies to the things that matter to our people. Things such as job creation, education, health, paying salaries for civil servants, council workers, university lecturers, parastatal workers etc. After all is said and done, we are all brothers and sisters wanting to build a better Zambia for our children.
Sean with opposition leaders shortly after he was releasedSean with opposition leaders shortly after he was releasedSean with opposition leaders shortly after he was released
Women’s History Museum of Zambia today premieres “Leading Ladies”, a short animated Zambian podcast web series that tells the story of historical women between 17th and 19 th century who held significant positions of leadership.
The animated podcast is a collaboration between the Women’s History Museum and Hivos Southern Africa Region. The museum sourced the stories from the documents of the National Archives of Zambia and partnered with local artistic talent to bring these stories to life. The stories depict women from all the 10 provinces of Zambia and have been given archetype titles that include: “The General”, “The Innovator”, “The Feminist”, “The Warrior”, “The Secretary of State”, “The Diplomat”, “The Peacemaker”, “The Head of State”, “The Politician” and the “The Power Broker”.
The stories were written by Mulenga Kapwepwe and the podcast was produced by Samba Yonga, both who are co-founders of the museum. The soundtrack features Esther Chungu with the song “Mama”, produced by Mag 44. The illustrations were done by the young up and coming illustrator Black Rose the Artist. “These stories challenge the idea that, in the past, women were not capable of being leaders or contributing significantly to our societies”, says co-founder of the museum and story writer Mulenga Kapwepwe.
The plan is to have it as a travelling exhibition which can be shared on many platforms such as radio and TV both locally and internationally.
“The aim of the series is to highlight and mainstream these stories so Zambia’s historical narrative gains new knowledge and perceptions of women are influenced positively”, says partner co-founder and producer of the podcast, Samba Yonga.
The series will start airing on the 27th of March, 2019 on all the museums online platforms. The web series will be free and available for everyone to access.
About the Women’s History Museum
The Women’s History Museum of Zambia was set up to document and revive narratives of African history with a specific focus on women.
Mission Statement:
• To research, preserve and restore African indigenous knowledge and living histories focused on women.
• To introduce new cultural and historical knowledge through demystifying, popularising and functionalising indigenous knowledge.
• To set an agenda of how African history on women is learned, how it is consumed and functionalised.
Zambia’s economy has experienced considerable growth, but still needs a significant push in the entrepreneurship sector. In response to this, the government has earmarked the agriculture and tourism sectors to boost the economy.
A few organisations are facilitating in farming projects to help mitigate adverse economic conditions. One worth noting is the Mushingashi Conservancy; a project with USD 40 million invested in infrastructure, sustainable community enablement and animal restoration.
Home to serene sunsets along the Kafue river, the Mushingashi Conservancy is part of a plan to transform the location into a premier conservation area. The conservancy is north of Mumbwa and its goal is to empower people from the district through training, and facilitation of responsible land use farming and to preserve endemic animal species. The investment in the project will help create an ecosystem that links the betterment of surrounding communities, conservation and tourism.
The conservancy shares a boundary with the Kafue National Park, which hosts a number of animal species including near-endangered ones. This makes the park a tourist attraction ad though this provides employment prospects for the communities in districts like Mumbwa, their sources of income need to diversify. Subsistence farming affords the people basic needs, but are their agricultural efforts sustainable?
Conservation Farming
Conservation farming
“We feel that for the project to succeed, the local communities need to be uplifted first,” says Damian Newmarch, of the Mushingashi Community Project. “We’re enabling people by holding workshops that teach them not only conservation farming techniques, but income generation through a sustainable model”.
The agricultural aspect of the project was initiated in August 2018 and invited people from the Kaindu area to learn how to use their land more efficiently, as well as how they could make more income. Currently the area has about six groups, with one from Kalenda Hill consisting of 13 families
“This plot’s maize can feed a family of seven for the entire year,” said group member Brenda Muke. She and her brother, Willie are eager to acquire new knowledge that they can put to practical use.
Though the Kalenda Hillside group is learning crop rotation and mulching on a small-scale demo plot, the idea is to apply the group teachings onto their own private plots.
“Once we see success, we’ll expand the training,” says Damian.
Community members predominantly grow maize for sustenance, but the project introduced them to soya beans for crop rotation purposes, as well as for sale. Another emphasised conservation technique in the project is mulching. It uses grass cuttings from cleared fields, and maize stalks from previous harvests to improve nutrient and water retention in the soil; also preventing erosion.
The Mushingashi community project supports the demo plots with inputs such as seed and fertiliser as well as training. Group members can also apply for soya seeds on loan as part of a business development effort to boost cash crops in the area.
A Defence for the Community
The Conservancy is planning to construct a fence around its area for three main benefits. To begin with, for agricultural activities and the aforementioned cash crops to flourish, the fence must be erected to help reduce the human-animal conflict that occurs when crops are ready for harvest.
“Elephants are a big threat to us,” said Adam Mphande, a beneficiary of Mushingashi’s soya seed business development scheme. “We even have to sleep in our fields at night to keep them out.”
The large mammals have been known to walk into people’s maize fields and are a danger to residents of Kaindu. A fence would keep elephants, and other potentially dangerous animals at bay.
Another benefit of the fence is it would significantly inhibit poachers in the area. Unfortunately the very same poachers have been inciting community objection, claiming that the activities of the Conservancy are infringing on people’s freedoms. Clearly this is contrary to the work being carried out by Mushingashi, which provides sustainable skills and revenue that people are earning.
The third benefit to the area is that if animals are protected from poachers and potential killings from conflict with community members, they will serve as a tourist attraction and contribute to the industry’s earnings. In addition, all wildlife acquired to restore the population in the area has been freely given to the state as a part of their contribution to the neighbouring Kafue National Park.
Beekeeping
Pests like armyworms can pose a challenge to the community’s crop yields and farmers are reducing this risk through diversification into beekeeping, an added value activity run by Mushingashi. Iran is an active beekeeper, managing five hives like his colleagues working under the project. Though, one of the first to train as a beekeeper in the community was one, Moses Mubambe.
“I started in 2003 [with a Danish development agency],” Moses says. He’s area coordinator in Kaindu and was recruited by Mushingashi to help train those who were interested. Four hundred beehive kits were distributed amongst the community members after their workshops.
Flowering trees are essential in the honey making process, and an aspect of the type of farming taught emphasises the importance of tree conservation, with the two agricultural activities complementing each other. Poor flowering of trees can result in a weak honey harvest, but there remains another hurdle.
“Actually getting money from the honey is the biggest challenge,” Damian emphasises. The honey sold here is unprocessed comb honey, and this fetches a lower price on the market. Mushingashi helps to overcome this by engaging wholesale buyers to purchase the produce.
The small-scale conservation farming is providing income and teaching residents of Kaindu some business acumen. More people in the area have become curious about the project and are gradually joining the cause. In time, the conservation farming and tourism eco-system that the project is developing will sustain and benefit even more community members, and in turn, the country.
Voting is underway in Kafue District where people are voting for a new Council Chairperson.
Poling stations opened at exactly 06 hours in the morning and are expected to close at exactly 18 hours in the evening.
Voter turnout was not impressive as at 06: 30 at a number of poling stations checked among them Beit Hall, Estates Hall, Labour Office and Kafue Civic Center among others.
The only two political parties PF and UPND who are contesting the election are confident of scooping the seat having extensively campaigned.
The Kafue Council Chairperson by election was necessitated by the resignation of the incumbent Thomas from the UPND who joined the Patriotic Front.
Mr. Zulu was suspended from the UPND by the Party Leadership for attending the keep Zambia clean, green and health cleaning exercise that was officiated by President Edgar Lungu.
Kafue has about 62, 685 registered voters.
President Edgar Lungu yesterday advised youths to desist from being used as tools of political violence as the people vote today.
He expressed hope that the election will be free and fair and that no cases of violence will be recorded.
PF Final Kafue rallyVoting Underway in Kafue DistrictVoting Underway in Kafue DistrictVoting Underway in Kafue DistrictVoting Underway in Kafue District
