Part Two: Land and Life

Zambia: Life in an African Country

Author: Godfrey Mwakikagile

Paperback: 258 pages

Publisher: New Africa Press (27 April 2010)

ISBN-10: 9987160115

ISBN-13: 9789987160112

Part Two:

Land and Life

LAND is inextricably linked with life in all societies round the globe but even more so countries such as Zambia and others in the Third World which are heavily dependent on agriculture, unlike industrialised nations.

And a lot has to do with geography, including climate, as well as availability of arable land and other resources such as rivers.

Zambia has all that: plenty of arable land, a good climate conducive to agriculture, and enough water from some of the largest rivers on the African continent. In fact, one of the most important assets Zambia has is its rivers. Millions of people live along the banks of the major rivers such as the Zambezi. And millions more live in the valleys which are sustained by these rivers.

Geography itself has been a blessing to Zambia in terms of life sustenance. The country does not have a harsh climate. It has no desert. It has little barren land.

Zambia is located only a few hundred miles from the equator. It has a tropical climate and consists mostly of high plateau with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys.

Therefore, although the climate is tropical, it's not harsh because of the high altitude in much of the country, providing a moderating influence.

In some cases, the geographical contrasts within the country make Zambia unique in the region of southern Africa and on the continent as a whole.

It has the majestic Victoria Falls shared with Zimbabwe. It also has the Zambezi River which starts in the northern part of the country and across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Zambezi is the largest and longest river in southern Africa. It's also one of the largest and longest on the entire continent. It's 2,200 miles long and empties into the Indian Ocean.

Zambia also is home to Kariba Dam, one of the largest dams in the world built in the 1950s. The lake formed by the dam is the largest man-made lake in Africa and in the entire world.

The dam was completed in 1958, forming Lake Kariba. The lake is 1,900 square miles. It's one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.

Zambia has two major river basins. There is the Zambezi basin in the southern part of the country. It covers about 75 per cent of the country's total area. And there is the Congo basin in the north which covers about 25 per cent of Zambia's territory.

In other words, two among the largest rivers on the continent, the Congo and the Zambezi, have a direct impact on life in Zambia.

The Zambezi basin also has some of the largest rivers in Zambia and in Africa. One of these rivers in the Kafue. And it plays a very important role in Zambia's national life including the environment. It not only provides sustenance to millions of people; it also sustains some of the world's most important wild life areas.

The Kafue River bisects Zambia and is the most centrally located river in the country. It's also the only river in Zambia with the largest number of urban areas. Many urban centres in Zambia claim the river as an integral part of those areas. It's the longest river in Zambia. And its entire length is also within the country's territorial borders.

The river is an integral part of a number of towns in the Copperbelt Province. It flows within the geographical limits of some of the towns. And in some cases, it's very close to a number of urban areas.

The Kafue River flows through the outer limits Kitwe and Nchanga. It also flows to close to Chingola, Chililabombwe, and Mufulira. All these are major mining centres in the Copperbelt Province which use the Kafue River in a number of areas including provision of water, drainage, fishing, and recreation.

It's a very important means of livelihood in the Copperbelt Province which is also simply known as the Copperbelt. Water from the river is used to irrigate small farms and market gardens which produce vegetables, fruits and other commodities. It's also used for cooking, washing, cleaning, and building. To many people in the Copperbelt Province, the Kafue River is what the Nile is to many Egyptians.

The kafue River also plays a very important role in sustaining the Kafue National Park. It flows through the park. The park is named after the river. It's the largest park in Zambia and is an integral part of three provinces: North Western, Central, and Southern provinces. But it's mainly in the Central Province.

Establishment of the park by th British government in 1924 disrupted the social and economic life of the indigenous people, members of the Nkoya tribe, forcing them to move to other parts. The area where the park was established was the traditional hunting territory for Nkoya tribesmen Expropriation of the land by the colonial rulers was one of the worst injustices perpetrated against the indigenous people and it their disrupted traditional way of life and even institutions.

Even after Northern Rhodesia won independence in 1964 and became the new nation of Zambia, the injustice was not corrected. And there are still a lot of complaints in the Central Province about the slow pace of development in the area.

The people also complain that they don't get any share of the revenues generated by tourism in the park. The leaders of the Nkoya tribe and some of their people have even demanded the creation of a new province which they want to call Kafue Province. But their demands have fallen on deaf ears, ignored by the national government.

They lost their independence and means of livelihood when the colonial rulers evicted them from their land. And they still have not regained their rights even under their own government, an African government which is predominantly black.

There have been a lot of changes in life in Zambia after the country won independence. One of those changes is the enjoyment of equal rights under the law regardless of race, tribe, religion or or national origin.

But there are some injustices which have not been corrected. The Nkoya case is a good example of that. And there are others, including one involving the eviction of the local people in the area where the Kariba Dam was built on the Zambezi River in the late 1950s.

While the rivers are a major asset to Zambia, their use has had unintended consequences in some cases as we have just seen. But, in general, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, although there is an imperative need to corrected the injustices inflicted on some of the indigenous people who were deprived their rights.

Some of the major benefits derived from using rivers such as the Kafue have also trickled down to the grassroots level, for example, in terms of employment for the local people who live along or near these major waterways. The Kafue River is a typical example in this case.

The water from the river is used to irrigate vast expanses of farmland and support other agricultural activities including large estates and sugarcane plantations in the Southern Province.

And besides the Copperbelt Province in the northern part of the country where the Kafue River is an important lifeline to many mining towns and cities, the river also plays a major role in the survival and prosperity of other urban areas such as Kafue – a town located on the northern bank of the river – in Lusaka Province; and Mazabuka, a town which grew around sugarcane plantations in the Southern Province.

But the river also has had environmental problems, mainly pollution, through the years. In the Copperbelt Province in the northern part of the country, the Kafue River has been contaminated by urban waste and discharges from the copper mines in the region.

There has, however, been some improvement as the river continues to flow south. Swampy areas have helped filter the water. These swampy areas have trapped some of the polluted material, acting as a filter and making the river somewhat clean and clearer as it continues to flow south.

There have also been some problems in the area known as the Kafue flats. The Kafue flats are an area of a flat plain through which the river flows as it continues its long journey before it empties into th Zambezi further south and east.

Excessive phosphates discharged from fertiliser used in commercial farming have provided nutrients to algae and other plants, leading to massive growth of weed which has interfered with fish reproduction. The result has been a severe reduction in the population of fish in the river in some of these areas, although fish still remain abundant in the river as a whole.

And in spite of all these problems, the Kafue River is a major source of irrigation for commercial farming in Zambia which in turn provides employment, hence a means of livelihood, for tens of thousands of people in the country.

Commercial plantations especially those bordering the Kafue flats use large quantities of water for irrigation. One of the biggest beneficiaries is the Nakambala Sugar Estate in that area. It uses a lot of water everyday, irrigating the land to grow and sustain sugar cane.

Besides, the Kafue, another major river in the Zambezi basin is the Luangwa. It's one of the four largest rivers in Zambia and plays a major role in supporting large segments of the human population and wildlife.

The Luangwa is also the largest river in the eastern part of Zambia.

But the river's valley has formidable physical barriers which have played a major role in preserving wildlife. The barriers have stopped people from migrating into the area; they would face formidable obstacles if they decided to settle there.

The physical barriers of the valley have also discouraged the construction of roads across the valley. No road crosses the valley. All this has helped to preserve wildlife in the area.

Very few people live in the valley. It's virtually forbidden territory, cordoned off by Mother Nature, especially by physical barriers and abundant wildlife including dangerous ones like elephants and crocodiles which discourage human settlement.

The river itself is home to large populations of dangerous animals, mainly hippos and crocodiles.

One of the main tributaries of the Luangwa is the Lukasashi River. Also known as the Lukusashi, the tributary flows through some of the most important conservation areas in Zambia.

Another important tributary is the Lunsemfwa which merges with the Lukasashi before flowing into the Luangwa River.

Apart from being popular for fishing, the Lukusashi is also a major source of hydroelectricity for the mining city of Kabwe, serving the mines and surrounding areas.

As the Luangwa continues to flow south, where it's identified as the Lower Luangwa, the river finally flows in the Zambezi at the town of Luangwa.

Once known as Feira, the town of Luangwa is the district capital of a district also named Luangwa in the administrative region of Lusaka Province.

Located at the confluence of the Luangwa and Zambezi rivers, what is now known as the town of Luangwa was probably the first European settlement in Zambia.

Around 1720, the Portuguese who colonised neighbouring Mozambique were the first Europeans to establish a settlement at Zumbo on the opposite bank of the Luangwa River in their African colony.

They established the settlement as a trading centre for their commercial activities with members of the Bwila tribe in the area. By 1820, some of the Portuguese had settled in Feira, now Luangwa. The settlement was named Feira by the Portuguese. It's a Portuguese name.

After Zambia won independence from the British colonial rulers in October 1964, the new African government changed the name of the town from Feira to Luangwa.

The town's location is of great strategic significance. It's at a confluence of two major rivers both of which form national boundaries. The Luangwa River is a national boundary separating Zambia from Mozambique; and the Zambezi forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

During the liberation struggle in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the town of Luangwa was a centre of guerrilla activity, used by the African nationalist forces fighting against the colonial rulers. The town was also a focal point during the civil war in Mozambique, serving as a transit point for refugees fleeing from the conflict.

Zambia strongly supported the freedom fighters, triggering reprisals from the white minority regime in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and from the Portuguese colonial forces in Mozambique.

During the liberation and civil wars in the sixties and seventies which devastated Rhodesia and Mozambique, the Great East Road in the eastern part of Zambia which links the Eastern Province with the rest of the country, proved to be highly vulnerable to attack and disruption; being only a few miles from both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. And because of Zambia's support to the freedom fighters, the white minority regimes cut off the road at the Luangwa Bridge. They also destroyed the bridge.

Life in Zambia during the liberation struggle in the countries of southern Africa was profoundly affected in a number of ways. The country as a whole suffered because of economic sanctions imposed on Rhodesia. This meant that Zambia could no longer trade with its white-ruled neighbour. It also meant Zambia goods could no longer go through Rhodesia and through the sea ports in Portuguese-ruled Mozambique.

Life in Zambia, especially in the southern part, was also affected because of security concerns since the country was in a state of war with the countries of southern Africa dominated by white minority regimes.

But all that changed after the countries won freedom and Zambia re-established links with them.

In addition to the Kafue and Luangwa, another river in the Zambezi basin is the Kabompo. Like the other two rivers, it plays a major role in supporting human and animal life. It's also a very important source of fish, supplementing local diet.

There is also a town named after the Kabompo River. Located in western Zambia, the town of Kabompo was built on the river. It's only a small town but one of historic importance. It was in this town that the colonial authorities kept nationalist leader Kenneth Kaunda from March to July 1959.

The restriction was imposed to prevent him from carrying on his political activities in the quest for independence. And the house in which he stayed during that period is now a national monument.

The Kabompo River finally flows into the Zambezi north of the town of Lukulu. The town is on the Zambezi River. It's a market town and is also located in the Western Province. One of the most important commodities sold in this town and sent to other parts of the country is fish from the Zambezi River.

The other rivers in the Zambezi basin are the Lungwebungu and the Zambezi itself. The Lungwebungu is the largest tributary of the upper Zambezi.

It's a valuable source of fish especially for local people. But it's almost useless as a water highway because of meanders. It's only during the rainy season that it can be used for transport when canoes and small boats are used on the flood.

The biggest and most important river in the Zambezi basin is, of course, the Zambezi itself.

The Zambezi, also spelled Zambesi, is the fourth-longest river in Africa. And among all the rivers on the continent which flow into the Indian Ocean, the Zambezi is the largest.

On its long journey to the Indian Ocean, the Zambezi flows through Angola, then along the borders of four countries – Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe – before it enters Mozambique where it empties into the Indian Ocean.

One of the most striking features of the Zambezi River is islands. It has a very large number of islands covered with trees. But the river's most spectacular feature is the Victoria Falls of majestic splendour.

There are other major waterfalls in Zambia, although not as important as the Victoria Falls. They include the Chavuma Falls on the Zambian/Angolan border, and the Ngoye Falls near Sioma in the western part of Zambia.

The Victoria Falls, which are known in one of the local languages as Mosi-oa-Tunya which means “The Mist that Thunders”, are located between Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are some of the largest in the world.

The Victoria Falls are considered to be among the Seven Wonders of the World. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary-doctor and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to see the Victoria Falls.

In Zambia, the falls are officially known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, while in Zimbabwe they're still officially called Victoria Falls.

They're not the highest falls in the world. And they are not the widest. But they are the largest. The falls are 5,600 feet wide and 360 feet high, creating a spectacular sight of falling water.

Victoria Falls is roughly three times the height of North America's Niagara Falls. And it's rivalled only by South America's Iguazu Falls in height and width.

The area of the Victoria Falls is inextricably linked with the history of the Tonga, one of the major ethnic groups in southern Africa found in a number of countries, especially South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia.

When the southern Tonga people known as the Batoka/Tokalea settled in the area, they called the falls Shungu na mutitima. The Ndebele, who came later, named them aManz' aThunqayo. And the Batswana and the Makololo called them Mosi-oa-Tunya. All these names mean essentially “the smoke that thunders.”

The falls became an increasingly popular attraction during British colonial rule when the British ruled Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, and South Rhodesia, renamed Zimbabwe. The town of Victoria Falls became the main tourist centre. And it's still an important tourist centre today.

During the liberation wars in the seventies, the number of tourists and other visitors going to see Victoria Falls dropped tremendously, especially on the Rhodesian side. But Zambia was affected as well.

Military reprisals by the white minority regime in Rhodesia against Zambia for its support of the freedom fighters led to the imposition of security measures by the Zambian government including the stationing of soldiers along the border to restrict access to the gorges and some parts of the falls.

When Rhodesia won independence in April 1980 as Zimbabwe, peace and stability to the area returned. The number of tourists also increased, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.

By the end of the 1990s, more than half a million tourists were visiting the area every year. And more visitors were expected.

But not all these visitors are foreigners; not even the majority.

There is a misconception that most tourists who visit Victoria Falls come from Europe and North America as is the case in many other parts of Africa. But that is not the case with Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls have more Zimbabwean and Zambian visitors than international tourists. The main reason is that it's easy to go to the falls by bus and by train. Therefore, it's not very expensive to go there. You don't need tourist dollars.

Historically, visitors to the Zimbabwean side of the falls have usually far exceeded those visiting the Zambian side. That's because Zimbabwe is more developed than Zambia, relatively speaking. The people have more money and their country has better facilities. But the political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe since the late 1990s has had a devastating impact on tourism in that country.

However, the Zambezi River continues to help sustain life on both sides of the border especially in these hard times on the Zimbabwean side. Unfortunately, many lives have also been lost through the years from attacks by crocodiles and hippos found in abundance in this majestic river.

The Zambezi also has a lot of fish. It's also a major source of electricity.

There are two main sources of hydroelectricity on the Zambezi. These are the Kariba Dam which provides hydroelectric power to Zambia and Zimbabwe; and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique which provides power to both Mozambique and South Africa. There is also a smaller power station at Victoria Falls.

Kariba Dam, which is in Zambia, is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi River basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world. It's about 1,900 feet long and 420 feet high.

The dam was built by an Italian company between 1955 and 1959. Final construction was completed in1977 after adding another power station. And at least 86 men were killed in accidents when the dam was being built.

Lake Kariba, created by the dam, is 174 miles long.

The creation of the artificial lake forced tens of thousands of the members of the Tonga tribe to leave their traditional homelands to create room for the project. Almost 60,000 people living along the Zambezi in both Zambia and Zimbabwe were forcibly removed.

They were forced to leave their homes and fertile lands that had been used by their ancestors for hundreds of years.

The water reservouir flooded the communities where for centuries the people of the Tonga tribe had farmed, fished, worshipped, raised their children and buried their dead. They were resettled in barren and infertile areas and left to fend for themselves. According to anthropologist Thayer Scudder, who has studied these communities since the late 1950s:

“Today, most are still 'development refugees.' Many live in less-productive, problem-prone areas, some of which have been so seriously degraded within the last generation that they resemble lands on the edge of the Sahara Desert.” – (Thayer Scudder, “Pipe Dreams: Can The Zambezi River Supply The Region's Water Needs?” in Cultural Survival Quarterly, 31 July 2007).

Little has changed through the years. The Tonga have remained victims of injustice perpetrated by their own national government in the name of modernisation. Where local and national interests clash, the government prevails because national interest is paramount.

Although the dam has indeed been a major asset to Zambia through the years in terms of providing electricity and employment, there is also no question that the project was, from the beginning, a curse to the local people. And it still is one of the most tragic resettlement schemes on the African continent and in the entire world.

In a quest to restore their lives and find justice, the Tonga formed their own advocacy group in 2000 known as the Basilwizi Trust.

The group sees itself as the culmination of numerous efforts by the victims of this injustice who have always wanted to be heard by the government.

In 2005, Basilwizi conducted extensive research on the socio-economic status of the Tonga people and came up with this report:

“The Gwembe Tonga on the Zambian side and the Zimbabwean Tonga are one; but due to separation brought about by the dam, they are now considered different people.

Their languages have become slightly different over the years. Some, especially on the Zimbabwean side, no longer speak Tonga, the language of their ancestors, due to dominance of other indigenous languages.”

Basilwizi has also launched initiatives to promote Tonga culture, including preservation of the Tonga language. Efforts include provision of education. and facilities. Other major concerns include food security and access to electricity – still unavailable to the local people more than 50 years after the dam was built.

The group is also calling on the World Bank and other parties involved in building the dam to bring justice to the Tonga. “Calls for reparation, coming many years after the displacement of these people from the land of their ancestors, have not yielded any significant benefits,” according to Basilwizi in its recent report, which goes on to state:

“Such compensation could be in monetary terms, decommissioning of the dam, official recognition of past and current injustices suffered, or complete restoration of the ecosystems. A new dialog to correct the wrongs committed should commence.

The Tonga are … trying to find solutions to their predicament and to rise out of the imposed poverty. The perpetrators should not look at this as a social obligation but a realization that this could have been done better....”

Thus, while the members of some ethnic groups have benefited from development projects which have been carried on in their local areas through the years, there are those who have not only benefited; they have also suffered. The Tonga of southern Zambia are a typical example of that. And the lives of tens of thousands of them were changed permanently when the Kariba Dam was built.

On 6 February 2008, BBC reported that heavy rain might lead to flooding, creating a massive outflow of water from Kariba Dam which would force tens of thousands of people downstream to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.

That was in the southeastern part of Zambia, an area that borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The torrential rains which led to flooding also affected Mozambique. According to a report by BBC entitled, “Flood Gates to Open in Mozambique”:

“The authorities in Mozambique have begun evacuating thousands more people from the Zambezi river valley.

The move follows an announcement by neighbouring Zambia that it would release water from the Kariba dam.

The water is expected to flow down the Zambezi into areas of Mozambique already struggling to cope with high flood waters. Aid agencies are describing the growing crisis along the Zambezi river valley as going 'from bad to worse.'

Just as the authorities thought the floodwaters had stabilised, the rains have started up once more, says the BBC's Peter Greste. Controllers of the massive dam say they will have to release water or risk having the dam burst in the next week to 10 days.

In Mozambique there are already almost 100,000 evacuees and the reception centres are full to capacity. But with the river already at a record high, they are now looking to move another 40,000 as well as having to re-evacuate people sheltering in centres they thought were safe.

Chris McAiver from the aid organisation Save the Children says the Mozambican authorities have managed the crisis admirably so far, but the pressure from the continuing rainfall is putting immense strain on the already overstretched resources.

Countries across southern Africa - Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia - have been affected by the floods and more people will have to be evacuated.

More rain is forecast to fall this month and it could continue into April, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Torrential rains in Zambia and Zimbabwe have swollen the Zambezi river to well above the flood limits. Valleys in Malawi and Mozambique are bearing the brunt as the waters flow down to the Indian Ocean.”

Releasing the water from the Kariba Dam is still one of the options the government can still use, although it can also have tragic consequences in terms of lives lost and property destroyed, wreaking havoc in the affected regions.

The name Kariba is thought to be a corruption of the Shona word for a trap. Kariva is a little trap and it's believed that when those who wanted to build the dam tried to explain the nature of the project to the indigenous people, they emphasised that they wanted to build a little trap – hence Kariva – to trap the water.

But the builders of the dam were foreigners and could not pronounce the letter “v” in the word “Kariva.” This led to the corruption of the term, replacing “v” with “b” for easy pronunciation, leading to the adoption of the word “Kariba.”

In its long course from the northwest where it originates, the Zambezi traverses a vast expanse of territory which includes some of Zambia's most important historical and cultural landmarks. One of the areas of such significance is the residence of the litunga, the king of the Lozi or Barotse in western Zambia.

One of the king's capitals, Lealui, is located near the place where the Luanginga River flows into the Zambezi. It's about eight-and-a-half miles west of Mongu, the capital of the Western Province.

Although the Zambezi is one of the major rivers in the world, it's not navigable in most areas. The most navigable part is the lower Zambezi from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.

As the river gets close to its final destination, the Indian Ocean, it branches out in several parts forming a vast expanse of several branches creating a very large delta. But the size of the delta has been profoundly affected by the construction of two major dams on the Zambezi.

The delta of the Zambezi is today about half as big as it was before the two dams, the Kariba and Cahora Bassa, were built, reducing the outflow.

The Zambezi River is a source of sustenance for millions of people in the region through which it flows for more than 2,000 miles. About 32 million people live in the Zambezi valley, heavily depend on the river for survival.

They're involved in various activities but most of them are engaged in farming and related activities. About 80 per cent of the people who live in the valley depend on agriculture. It is a fertile valley, and the upper river's flood plains are known for their good agricultural land which produces a wide variety of crops including export commodities.

The Zambezi River also is a major source of fish. People who live close to the river catch a lot of fish for their own consumption and for sale. Some people also travel long distances to go and catch some fish from the river.

Local communities sometimes benefit from taxes imposed on outsiders who go to catch some fish from the Zambezi. A number of towns on roads leading to the river demand 'fish taxes' from outsiders who take the fish to other parts of the country. The fish are considered to be a local resource which should benefit local communities the most; hence the need to impose taxes on outsiders who go in to get some fish.

But the tax is not officially sanctioned by the Zambian government, although high government officials look the other way instead of intervening to stop this activity. And there is no guarantee that the money is spent well by local leaders for the benefit of their communities; it's probably not. It's most likely pocked by the officials themselves who claim to work in the best interest of their local communities.

Besides fish caught for local consumption and for sale to other parts of Zambia, a lot of fish are also caught by people involved in game fishing which takes place in some parts of the river. In fact, fishing is a a very important part of tourism in Zambia and its full potential has not yet been exploited.

Some fish are also sold to other people who are involved in business providing fish as pets. It's a large market with international customers and is regulated by the government and international laws.

The Zambezi River valley is also rich in minerals, although not all of them are being exploited. One of the most important activities in the mineral sector in some parts of the valley is coal mining.

The valley also has fossil fuels. The fuels are another potential source of economic growth in the region and for the country as a whole.

The dams on the Zambezi are also a very important source of income for local people because of the employment opportunities they provide. Employment opportunities include maintenance jobs, with many people working on the dams and at the hydroelectric power stations to make sure they function well.

Many parts of the Zambezi River are major tourist atractions. Victoria Falls alone draws more than 1.5 million people every year. Lake Kariba and Mana Pools also attract large numbers of visitors from different parts of the world and from within Zambia itself.

Mana Pools is an area in the western part of Zimbabwe constituting a national park. It's a region of the lower Zambezi River where the flood plain turns into a vast expanse of temporary lakes at the end of the rainy season. Many animals flock to the area in search of water, making it one of the most popular tourist areas on the entire continent. Tourists from many parts of the world go there to see the animals. It's a spectacular sight.

Although the Zambezi River plays a very important role in the economic wellbeing of the people and the countries of southern Africa, it has never been a major water highway despite its size. It's navigable in some parts. But it has many rapids and has never been used as a means of transport for long distances.

Still, it some times plays an important role in transport. For example, in some parts in the region, it's better to travel by canoe along the river than to use bad roads which are often in very poor condition. The roads are submerged in floods a lot of times. And many small villages along the banks of the Zambezi are accessible only by boat.

The river has also been a victim of pollution through the years. The cities and towns in the region don't have water treatment facilities and release untreated sewage into the river. This causes a lot of problems, spreading diseases such cholera, typhus and dysentery.

Chemicals and other industrial waste discharged into the river also have had a negative impact on the environment. Animals in the river have also been affected in varying degrees. Fish are some of the main victims.

And the construction of two major dams – Kariba and Cahora Bassa – the reduction in the water flow has led to a number of problems. It has affected animals and people in the lower Zambezi region in varying degrees. Some animals have been forced to migrate to other parts. The water reduction has also forced many people to adapt to new ways of life and survival.

Although the Zambezi valley is mostly rural, there are many important towns in the area. It's also not heavily populated but has small populations here and there spread along much of the river's length.

Important towns or urban centres in the valley include Katima Mulilo in Namibia; Mongu, Lukulu, Livingstone, and Sesheke in Zambia; Victoria Falls and Kariba in Zimbabwe; and Songo and Tete in Mozambique.

Although the Zambezi is the main river with important population centres a number of which have developed into towns, some of its major tributaries are also associated with the development of important urban centres; for example, the Kafue on the Copperbelt where the river flows through or near a number of mining towns and cities in that province.

Life in these mining towns is very much at the centre of national life because of the importance of the Copperbelt region as the nation's industrial hub.

But the industrial sector in the country as a whole is very small although it plays an important role in the lives of millions of people in Zambia.

Still, Zambia is an underdeveloped country. And in an underdeveloped country like that where technology does not play a major role in life the way it does in developed nations, survival and development depends on Mother Nature more than anything else. That is why the country is heavily dependent on agriculture. And that is why climate and seasonal changes play a very big role in the lives of millions of people across the country.

In fact, almost the entire the economic, cultural and social life of the country is dominated by seasonal changes. It's a matter of life and death. If there is not enough rain, many people face starvation. But too much rain also causes disaster.

Flooding during the rainy season is common in Zambia, especially in the flood plains, disrupting life including destruction of property as well crops, roads and bridges.

While the rainy season is one of mixed blessings, the dry season also has its advantages and disadvantages.

Bush fires are common during the dry season. The fires are deliberately started by the people in the rural areas for a number of reasons. They do so to flush out animals they want to kill for a meal. They also start fires to clear the land for the next planting season.

But in many cases, the fires are not destructive because there is not much left to burn. Such fires are an annual occurrence, making it impossible for large quantities of dry material – such as grass – that can be burnt to pile up. But they do sometimes kill animals and destroy crops especially when the rains end early and when fires are started before crops are harvested.

Although the fires can destroy almost everything they touch, there are plant which they can not completely destroy. There also fire-resistant plants in Zambia. The presence of these plants shows that such fires – used to clear the land – have been an integral part of life in traditional communities across the country for centuries.

The use of such fires is an integral part of the traditional practice of farming known as chitemene.

Chitemene, also spelled as sitememe, is a word from the Bemba language – one of the main languages spoken in Zambia – which means a “place where branches have been cut for a garden.”

The term chitemene is used in a larger context to describe a traditional system of slash-and-burn farming practised in different parts of the country. It's commonly used in Northwestern, Copperbelt, Central, Northern, and Luapula provinces.

All those provinces are in the northern part of Zambia where the Bemba and members of related tribes are dominant.

Crops planted in the burned area include maize, cassava, millet and sorghum. And they're all dependent on rain. There are no irrigation canals to sustain them.

The ability to grow enough food during the rainy season which will enable the people to survive during the long dry season is also a major factor in population growth and distribution throughout Zambia.

Seasons regulate almost everything. Even prayers are offered, invoking the power of the ancestors to intercede with the Almighty on behalf of the living. The people pray for rain and for plentiful harvest. They also pray for abundant meat.

In many fundamental respects, life in Zambia is typical of life in other countries across the continent whose level of development is not much different from Zambia's.

Traditionally, members of some tribes in Zambia – as well as in many other parts of Africa – divide their activities based on seasonal changes.

They grow crops during the rainy season. And they fish and hunt during the dry season when animals are easily found near rivers and lakes, drinking water, making it easy for the people to kill them for meat. The people also start fires during the dry season to flush out animals they want to catch. The animals also run into traps when they try to escape the fires.

Although Zambia has a moderate climate, without extremes in temperature, it's considered to be vulnerable to climate change which might lead to differences in amounts of rainfall. The changes may also reduce the length of the rainy season.

Such changes will have profound impact on the lives of the people and the wellbeing of the nation as a whole because it's mostly an agricultural country.

The vast majority of the people earning a living from subsistence farming. Few have large farms like many farmers, especially whites, do in neighbouring Zimbabwe. But the country also has significant quantities of minerals which have not been fully exploited.

There was a time when copper was king. It was the biggest foreign exchange earner for many years; and it still is even today. But it has lost much of its value through the decades, although it still remains a very important export commodity and source of employment.

Other major minerals are cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, gold, silver, and uranium. Zambia also has a lot of hydroelectric potential, with most of the electricity being generated by the Zambezi River.

Although Zambia is potentially rich in terms of farmland, minerals, tourism and other resources, poverty remains a major problem across the country. About 70 per cent of Zambians live below the poverty line.

In the rural areas, the percentage of those who live below the poverty line is higher. Almost 80 per cent of them do.

The number of Zambians who live below the poverty line is lowest in towns and cities. About 53 per cent of Zambians in urban areas live below the poverty line.

Deforestation, soil erosion and desertification are also major problems in Zambia.

Zambia's economic performance has not been very good through the decades since independence in 1964. When the country won independence, it was one of the richest in Africa. In fact, Zambia's per capita income was higher than South Korea's.

Today, South Korea's per capita income is much higher than Zambia's. South Korea's per capita income was about $28,000 in 2008, and Zambia's, only about $400. It's a glaring contrast in the economic performance between the two countries.

But such dismal performance is not peculiar to Zambia. It's a continental phenomenon. As one African writer, Godfrey Mwakikagile, who comes from Tanzania – his home region, Mbeya, in the Southern Highlands in southwestern Tanzania borders Zambia – states in his book, Africa is in A Mess: What Went Wrong and What Should Be Done:

“Since independence in the sixties, Africa has performed poorly in most areas because of bad leadership and bad policies, not because of weak genes.

Most countries on the continent won independence by 1968. Yet, an entire generation later, they have little to show for all those years they have ruled themselves.

No one expects a country to develop in 30 or 40 years. But no one expects it to do nothing either. There is no excuse for the kind of economic retardation that has taken place in most countries across Africa since independence. A generation is not a week. When compared with other parts of the developing world, Africa has performed miserably in every conceivable way. And statistics tell the story, a sad story.

In 1965, Nigeria was richer than Indonesia, and Ghana richer than Thailand. Today Indonesia is three times richer than Nigeria, and Thailand five times richer than Ghana.

In 1965, Uganda was richer than South Korea. And in 1967, Zambia also was richer than South Korea. Zambia had a per capita income of $200, and South Korea, $120. After 30 years, South Korea's gross domestic product per person was more than $10,000 in 1998, and Zambia's $400.⁴

Yet, by African standards, Zambia is considered to be one of the richest countries on the continent in spite of all the misery, hunger and starvation ravaging this country endowed with abundant minerals and arable land more than enough to feed its entire population.

And all African countries combined have a smaller gross domestic product than that of Belgium, a country of only 10 million people, and one of the smallest in the world. By contrast, Africa's population is more than 700 million on a continent endowed with abundant natural resources.

The gross domestic product of African countries is not only smaller but a mere fraction of Belgium's. What is even more depressing is that Indonesia, a developing country which in 1965 was poorer than Nigeria, has a bigger gross domestic product than that of all the black African countries combined. Yet, Indonesia itself was a colony like the African countries and won independence roughly around the same time that African countries did during the post-World War II era.

It is just as sad, probably even more so, when we look at the dismal performance of black Africa from another perspective.

There are 40 black African countries out of 53 on the entire continent which includes the island nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, the Comoros, and the Seychelles, all on the Indian Ocean; Cape Verde, and Sao Tome & Principe on the Atlantic.

More than half of the gross domestic product of the black African countries is contributed by only two countries: South Africa and Nigeria. That means a total of 38 black African countries – almost the entire sub-Saharan region - have a combined gross domestic product which is only about a third of Indonesia's.

And the devastating impact of AIDS, civil wars and corruption makes things worse, much worse, with no relief in sight. Now, an increasing number of people across Africa are turning to churches calling for divine intervention to alleviate their plight.

Something is wrong, terribly wrong. But unlike in the past when it was fashionable for many Africans to blame colonialism and imperialism for almost all the problems our countries faced after we won independence, an increasing number of them today, especially those of the younger generation, insist on accountability within Africa itself as they apportion guilt accordingly; instead of blaming colonialists and imperialists for the perpetual misery - thanks to tyranny, corruption, poverty and disease - hundreds of millions of Africans have to endure all their lives.

To these millions, independence has remained an abstract ideal without any concrete benefits in their lives as they remain trapped in poverty and continue to be ravaged by disease while billions of dollars in foreign aid and taxes paid by the toiling masses are being stolen and squandered by unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats together with their cronies and mistresses. It is clear where the problem lies. It lies within, not without.” – (Godfrey Mwakikagile, Africa is in A Mess: What Went Wrong and What Should Be Done, New Africa Press, 2006, pp. 12 – 14).

Zambia's per capita income is about one-half of what it was at independence in 1964 and has earned the country the unenviable distinction as one of the poorest in the entire world.

Compounding the problem is the fact that population growth outstrips economic growth, thus perpetuating poverty. And the devastating impact of the AIDS pandemic has made things worse. AIDS has killed a very large number of the most active members of the labour force and it continues to do so.

Also, the country's economic policies pursued along socialist lines since independence failed to fuel economic growth through the decades. The situation got worse when copper prices fell sharply in the 1970s, seriously damaging the economy of a country that almost solely depended on copper.

The decline of the copper industry continued for decades And it has not fully recovered, although there has been some improvement in the copper market since 2002, leading to an increase in revenues and foreign exchange earnings.

The government is also trying to diversify the economy and reduce its heavy dependence on a single commodity, copper, as the engine of progress. Agriculture, tourism and gemstone mining are expected to contribute substantially to the nation's economic growth.

Other minerals such as nickel, tin and uranium, besides copper, offer bright prospects for the country. And it's expected that nickel will take over from copper as the country's main export among minerals.

Zambia also has significant amounts of other minerals in commercial quantities which have not been fully exploited. They include cobalt, zinc, lead, emeralds, gold, and silver.

Although Zambia is one of the most urbanised countries in Africa, the urban population – about an entire half of the nation's total population – is concentrated in a few urban zones strung along the major transport corridors. That's in sharp contrast with the rural areas which have a low population density.

Zambia is also one of the few countries south of the Sahara whose unemployment problem is compounded by the fact that an entire half of its population is urban; thus, almost totally dependent on a wage economy since people who live in towns and cities can not be self-sufficient the way their counterparts are in the rural areas where people grow their own food and live in their own houses or huts – without buying food and paying rent.

But it is agriculture which remains the backbone of the economy. It accounts for 85 per cent of total employment, formal and informal, thus eclipsing the other sectors of the economy.

The main cash crop is maize. It's also Zambia's staple food in the urban and rural areas.

In addition to maize, sorghum and cassava, other important crops include soybeans, sugar cane, sunflower, wheat, cotton, tobacco, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Another important agricultural sector is floriculture. It's a growing field and it's expected to contribute significantly to the nation's economic wellbeing. In fact, agricultural non-traditional exports – including flowers – now rival the mining industry in foreign exchange earnings.

The country also has bright prospects in terms of agricultural output because all of its arable land is not used. Less than 20 per cent of Zambia's arable land is used for growing crops and for the production of other agricultural commodities; which means there is plenty of land left for expansion of the agricultural sector.

Unfortunately, the agricultural sector has suffered through the years from low prices for commodities, shortage of high-skilled manpower and lack of investments, among other problems. And all these problems continue to impede progress in one of Africa's potentially richest countries.

But prospects are bright because the country can not afford to ignore agriculture which constitutes the back bone of its economy. Agriculture also is the major means of livelihood for the vast majority of Zambians whose lives and destiny are inextricably tied to land.

That's the only life insurance they have. Almost everything they do has to do with land.

Even the country's struggle for independence was based on land. The people fought to get their land back. There is no independence without land.

Land also has spiritual significance in the lives of Africans as their ancestral home and as the dwelling place of their departed ancestors.