A view like no other: The Victoria Falls in Indian President Kovind's eyes

WHEN Indian President Shri Ram Bath Kovind touched down at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport in Livingstone recently, almost everyone knew what he had come to do in the tourist capital.
The itinerary that was availed to the local media team was clear: he wanted to see with his own eyes the magnificent Victoria Falls – a natural wonder that he only used to read and learn about during his school days.

VISITING Indian president Shri Ram Bath Kovind viewing the Victoria Falls Site Map during his visit to the natural wonder.

“I’ve seen with my own eyes the greatest and mighty Victoria Falls. I used to learn about it and read about it during my student years and through my dedicated theme to see and visit the Victoria Falls, I am very happy,” was all he said after a guided tour of the world heritage site.

President Shri Ram Bath Kovind, his wife Savita and son Prashant Kumar at the Victoria Falls in Livingstone

Well, he might not have been to the best points such as the Knife Edge Bridge, the Boiling Pot or indeed the Devil’s Pool, but he surely came close to one vantage point that gave him an equally exceptional view of the waterfalls.
The timing was perfect, too; it is during this time of the year that the Victoria Falls is gushing out abundant waters fed into the Zambezi River from many tributaries.
It was therefore not surprising for President Kovind, who was accompanied by his wife Savita Kovind and their son Prashant Kumar, to see how ecstatic he was to have visited the site which Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone described in 1855 as “scenes so beautiful, must have been gazed upon by angels in flight”.
According to Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale, the idea to visit the falls was ‘sold’ to President Kovind by President Edgar Lungu when he was in the country on a State visit.
“We, as a province, we are honoured to receive a dignitary of that status to come and interact with us. That shows that the co-operation between India and Zambia is not something at a lower level but also at the highest level, at the presidency level,” he said.
For Dr Hamukale, the visit was timely because it was an opportunity for him to ‘sell’ the province to the visiting President and the world.
“We’ve actually submitted a written document on development opportunities and investment opportunities in Southern Province and also the guidelines as outlined in the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Act,” he said.
“We feel there is a lot of room to co-operate with the government of India in the area of culture, processing of timber into timber products and also agricultural products processing such as livestock products and also crop products into semi-finished and finished goods.”
In short, Dr Hamukale wants the co-operation between the two countries to spill over into the manufacturing industry.
“Construction of factories and plants here in Zambia to exploit our raw materials and turn them into finished products. We have indicated to President Kovind that we would be very happy to have a plant that can produce generic medicines in Zambia,” he said.
“Otherwise, it was a very exciting experience and on behalf of government, we feel really honoured that President Lungu has chosen Southern Province as the destination for his Indian counterpart, President Kovind.”
President Kovind flew into the tourist capital around 11:45 hours aboard the Presidential Challenger jet and flew back to Lusaka the same day around 16:47 hours.
He was received at the airport by Dr Hamukale, Minister of Arts and Tourism Charles Banda and Minister of Community Development Emerine Kabanshi.
Others were Zambia’s High Commissioner to India Judith Kapijimpanga, Southern Province permanent secretary Mwangala Liomba, Livingstone Mayor Eugene Mapuwo and acting district commissioner Harriet Kawina.
Instead of taking a souvenir, President Kovind, his wife Savita and son Prashant left one — they planted a Tamarind tree near the waterfalls.

President Shri Ram Bath Kovind and his wife Savita plants a tamarind tree.

“We hope you will come back and check on it one day,” Richard Mbewe, the senior archaeologist at the National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC), told President Kovind as he smiled as if to give an assurance that he would be no stranger to the site.
In his address to the Indian community here, President Kovind urged them to help strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries, which date as far back as 1964.
He said India, which is ranked as the fifth fastest growing economy, enjoys warm relations with Zambia.
“I have been welcomed warmly by President Edgar Lungu and I also had the opportunity to meet Kenneth Kaunda, who was very close to Mahatma Gandhi. Help make this partnership between the two countries a success and also remember your country India’s development agenda,” he said.
Indeed the trip to the tourist capital, even though it was just for less than five hours, raised the country’s profile and more so that of the Victoria Falls.
President Kovind is the first sitting President to come and view the Victoria Falls with his wife and son.
United Kingdom’s Prince Harry, his fiance Meghan Markle, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Ghanaian First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Hollywood actor Will Smith and also British football icon David Beckham are among the 149, 630 visitors recorded at the site in 2017.
Stretching back in time, the first European to visit the falls was Dr Livingstone precisely on November 16, 1855.
He remarked: “The most wonderful sight I had witnessed in Africa. No-one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes…”