Dear All My Header Is a Dingy Victoria Falls in the Distance from My House. It Is Raining, and Raining, and Cloudy and Then
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Dear All My header is a dingy Victoria Falls in the distance from my house. It is raining, and raining, and cloudy and then raining some more … love it … Spending my days working in my garden … when it is not raining, that is … As it is close to Christmas and the end of the world never happened, I thought it would be a chance for me to be nice. I am occasionally ‘told off’ for being too critical about Zambia, but bad things tend to make news … as in all media. But today I am filled with bonhomie and good will towards everyone. So, I thought I would tell you a bit about the history of the Livingstone Weekly. History of the Livingstone Weekly The Livingstone Weekly actually started about 6 years ago, but there is a lot which went before. It all started in 1994 with Kristin Ese of ‘Historical Guide to Livingstone’ fame. Kristin started the Livingstone Argus under the Livingstone Residents Association. I helped Kristin with a bit of her English – being Norwegian Kristin’s English went a bit squonk now and again. When Kristin went home to Norway the Argus was taken over by Margaret Whitehead for several years. When Margaret became a Councillor for the Livingstone Town Council, she gave up the Argus because she felt that she couldn’t be part of the Council and, at the same time, comment on it. Livingstone Argus, Issue 3, October 1994 It was then, in 1999, that I started The Livingstonian, a monthly newsletter to replace the Livingstone Argus. The name changed because I was printing The Livingstonian as a private enterprise and not under the Livingstone Residents Association. The Livingstonian continued for many years but finally it gave up the ghost in around 2004. The Livingstonian gave a bit of local news and also printed the Council Minutes. People still ask me now ‘Where is the Livingstonian?’ I liked the writing of the Livingstonian but hated the logistics of printing, distribution and accounts. Nightmare. The Livingstonian, Number 1, April 1999 When I was a member of the Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA), I began a weekly newsletter by email for LTA members – there were so many emails and information to disseminate that I decided on a weekly digest of anything which had come in during the week. Then in 2005 I resigned from the LTA and stopped the newsletter … until Karien Kermer from Wild Side Tours asked me what had happened to their weekly news … In March 2006 or thereabouts the Livingstone Weekly began its life and has continued ever since with only a few weeks missed. The Weekly has evolved since its beginning. It was originally meant for Livingstonians only and concentrated on local news. But as I started my travels with the culmination of my book, Beyond the Victoria Falls, I have looked at tourism and the environment in Zambia and beyond our borders. There is a reason for the evolution from purely Livingstone news to wider news in the region on tourism and environment. I believe that Livingstone can only develop as a tourism destination if Zambia cares for the environment and promotes business in tourism. All our four countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia have the same issues – unemployment, poverty, environmental degradation, farming vs wildlife, people vs wildlife, etc. We are all tackling them, but often in different ways – some work and others do not. If we listened to each other, we could find solutions to many of our problems – solutions which work because they are homegrown. Getting back to Livingstone news. Of course, I still report on what I see in Livingstone and Zambia in a general way. I have lived in Livingstone for over 20 years now and have watched and reported on things for many of those years. Things have definitely got better. Life in Zambia My first thoughts about Zambia are that it is a good place to live. I feel that Zambia is developing in a positive way. It is slow but we are becoming an African country to watch out for. Running the country, we have had three political parties without civil strife. Most African countries have retained one party; some have retained one leader! When Zambia became independent in 1964 it inherited quite a good set of infrastructure from railways, roads, several developed towns and good copper mining. ‘Colonial’ rule had been kind to Zambia and had brought the people together which was how Kenneth Kaunda, the first president, could shout ‘One Zambia, One Nation’ and know that it was true. Prior to the British arriving in Zambia the country was home to a diverse range of tribes – over 70 of them – all with their own culture and ways of doing things and, very often, fighting among themselves. Now we definitely are ‘One Zambia, One Nation’. Livingstone as Zambia’s Tourist Capital has seen a lot of changes since I arrived in 1989. Then it was very depressed although most of the old factories still had some output and people had jobs. With the 1991 change to an open economy, things fell apart in the private sector. The factories closed with outside competition and many people lost their jobs. But, because the economy was now open, tourism started. Up until then tourism had only been domestic – foreigners did not like to come to Zambia and it had not been encouraged. Kristin’s map for Livingstone in 1994 included Kubu Cabins, Makora Quest, Chundukwa, Tongabezi, Batoka Sky, Intercontinental Hotel (now Sun) and Bungi Jumping. That was all Livingstone had to offer then. I think we have made huge strides since then! What makes Zambia special, of course, are its people. They are generally pretty amazing – friendly, smiling, optimistic about their future. Unlike The Livingstonian days I don’t have much to do with government offices now, but those that I do have moved on in leaps and bounds. They are generally professional and efficient. A vast change from when I arrived in 1989. My favourite office, believe it or not, is Zambia Revenue Authority. It is the only office where I can leave my paperwork for them to process and know that it will be done when I come back the next day! I know that sounds daft, but in most offices I go to, the officer will expect me to sit and wait while he taps away on a computer which is slow because of the ‘system’ (ie the internet). If you don’t sit and watch him work, it won’t get done. ZAWA is now staffed with professional people who are extremely likeable. I think that my problem with this government department is that it is so centralised. Decisions always have to be made in Lusaka and I have rarely been given information in Livingstone. Whenever I have tried to phone Lusaka I can never find anyone actually to answer the phone except for the secretaries. And, they don’t respond to emails. Roll on decentralisation! What I admire most about ZAWA are the scouts in the Parks and GMAs. They walk. They are given a backpack with some food and supplies and left to patrol for days on end from one place to another. Brave souls. Immigration and Customs at Zambia’s borders are getting much better. Our officers at border posts can be the most friendly of all border officials. They have a natural approach to travellers and can often be found cracking jokes and chatting with people. Recently, passing through the Victoria Falls border, the lady officer efficiently dealt with me and then wished me a safe journey. How nice was that! The only problem with their friendliness is that it cannot be 100% reliable – get them on a bad day and despair … When it comes to utility companies, they have improved too. Both the electricity company and the telephone company process problems quickly. The other day my phone was down (as was my internet – same line). I phoned them before 8am and my problem was noted. A while later I was called back and told that there had been vandals - the lines were broken. Later in the day I found the engineers working with a pile of spaghetti cables putting it all back together again. I know that I am always complaining about the Water Company, but they have an unenviable task. Government and NGOs all say that access to clean water is a basic human right. But most people in the suburbs can’t afford to pay and water is expensive. And then there are people like me who complain because I don’t have water for my garden! If the telephone company or the electricity company switches off a home, they won’t get ‘human rights’ blasted at them. So, although, I think that the water company can improve, I know that they have a huge dilemma on their hands … When I think about ‘now’ and ‘then’ I realise how much Zambia has progressed in my years here. It is a great country to be in … but … next week I will probably start complaining again … So, you guys out there who tell me off for not saying nice things about Zambia, I hope this will show that I am not anti-Zambia. It is just that very few people will have reached the end of this article because it is too nice … they prefer to read nasty stuff … Blue Lagoon National Park I decided to have a look at the Blue Lagoon National Park this week. It was a bit of a mission as there seems to be very little ‘out there’ about it.