WHEN LOCAL IS THE 'LAKA' ANSWER: Tough times prompt incentives for tourists

AS the coronavirus grounds aircrafts and stops international travels, the hospitality industry which is one of the most hit sectors, will remain in ‘comatose’ unless they bring local tourists on board.

In Livingstone, some tour operators, in their quest to sustain their businesses and prevent further job losses, are responding to the calls to shift their attention to local tourists as opposed to foreigners, since the world is unlikely to relax travel restrictions anytime soon in view of the global pandemic.

Abseil Zambia is one such tour operator.

It is one of the tour operators that provide nerve-racking activities that call the adrenaline to action such as abseiling or rappelling, gorge swing, high wire and also the flying fox.

The high wire is said to be the world’s first commercial high wire. In this activity, a cable is spanned across the gorge 135 metres long and 75 metres above the ground and a full body harness is attached securely from your back to the cable, allowing a client to take a running dive off the edge of the cliff and soar across the deep gorge like a bird in flight.

The ‘flying fox’, on the other hand, is a cable slide across the gorge and rather than jumping off into thin air, you slide or ‘fly’ across the gorge attached to a special harness before being pulled back.

There is also abseiling, which is a sport of descending a rock face into the Batoka Gorge by using a doubled rope fastened round the body and fixed at a higher point. If one wants to try a change from the more traditional abseiling, they can also try rap jumping, where they descend the rock face facing the ground and keep pushing off from the rock face as they head towards the bottom of the gorge.

Whereas all the mentioned activities are nerve-racking, there is also the gorge swing which the tour operator is famous for.

In this activity, one will freefall for about 50 metres before swinging out into the middle of the gorge.

After several pendulum swings, they will then be lowered to the ground where they can take a track back up to the top of the Gorge.

All these activities are operated on a spectacular site above rapid number seven in the Batoka gorge.

Mulele Sikaneta, who is operations manager at Abseil Zambia, says the company which has suffered huge losses due to the coronavirus that has grounded flights and restricted foreign travels is now focusing on local tourists.

“Abseil Zambia is the only adrenaline provider at this present moment in Zambia and we are trying to promote local tourism for our people in Zambia by making all our activities, including the famous gorge swing affordable for our locals in the absence of international tourists who are highly adrenaline seekers or junkies as they are known,” he says.

Mr Sikaneta said the company has since slashed the prices to as low as K150 for an activity.

“We are currently running attractive specials for our locals with hopes to revive and maintain a normal life as many people in the tourism industry in Livingstone depend on tourism for their income and livelihood,” he says.

He says the company has also gone further to introduce special deals for clients.

“We also have a spectacular site for private functions like dinners and braai parties. Our site overlooks the gorge at rapid seven, viewing the Zambezi river from the top of the gorge - it’s a must see breathtaking view that one will treasure for the rest of their life,” he says.

On any normal day, prices ranged from K550 to K1200 for an activity.

“The site is also good for taking iconic photos such as sunset views and the like,” he says.

Mr Sikaneta who is happy with the Government's decision to relax restrictions and open up the tourism industry says more could be done to make the industry even more sustainable.

“You know, most of the tour operators here, including us, make money from foreign travelers. But since the pandemic and the travel restrictions in some countries, it has been hard to make money and this has threatened many jobs in the tourism sector.

“We are of the view that the Government should consider making this town a tax free zone so that we can be very competitive with our neighboring countries in terms of room and activity rates. As it stands, activities and room rates are cheaper in Victoria Falls Town in Zimbabwe and Kasane in Botswana because of the policies there,” he says.

He wants the Government to come up with conducive stimulus packages for small and medium enterprises in the tourism sector that have been badly affected by the coronavirus.

“It would be nice to have a tax concession from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to enable the tourism industry to rebound from the pandemic,” he says.

Laurie Burr is Minor Hotels Zambia general manager. Minor Hotels owns the Avani Victoria Falls resorts and the Royal Livingstone Hotel in Livingstone with a combined workforce of 520 employees.

He says there too the situation is no different.

“...we are optimistic we are doing everything we can in creating packages which will encourage people to return to livingstone. But in the same vein, we are also looking at post-coronavirus and how Livingstone and Zambia are getting ready to adapt to the new normal,” he says.

The two hotels have also slashed their room rates by 40 percent.

Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) board chairperson Rodney Sikumba recently announced that the association has resolved to continue incentivising local tourism through reasonable pricing for enhanced access to tourism services.

Mr Sikumba said that the influx of local tourists and holiday makers during the Heroes and Unity Day long weekend is a clear indication that the tourism sector can thrive with the support of Zambians even under challenging circumstances such as COVID-19.

The Victoria Falls had a record high of 5,200 visitors whereas the Livingstone Museum and the Mosi-oa-tunya National Park had an impressive 608 and 2, 800 visitors respectively.

“...and enhance its resilience for sustained job creation and economic development, and as such, as LTA, we shall continue to incentivise local tourism through reasonable pricing for enhanced access to tourism services and further invest in the development of additional tourism products for all to enjoy,” he said.

#Check the video of me and my wife indulging in the same activities sometime in July last year.

LIVE PERFORMANCE: T Sean performs Mayeso (live) on stage at Livingstone's Club Connect

This is a snippet of Zambian celebrated dance-hall musician and producer T Sean performing his then hit song Mayeso at one of the night spots in Livingstone. This was in 2018, a couple of years back, before the global corona-virus befell us.

The night spot (Club Connect) has since closed shop in the tourist capital, citing loss of business.

I shot the video and uploaded it on my YouTube Channel where I post interesting and sometimes random videos that I come across.

Shot and edited by Ndangwa John Andrews Mwittah - straight outta Livingstone, the tourist capital of Zambia. T Sean is one of the most accomplished acts to ever come out of Zambia. Big up to him and his team at Baila Empire Music. 

AT HOME WITH NGUZU'S MAI GURU: Wanga Zulu has been in the film industry for over 15 years

PLAYING mai guru (first wife), a mother figure to her husband’s other five wives, was not going to be a challenge for Wanga Zulu, alias Junza, who has done TV series and commercials for over 15 years.

Yes! She has literally seen it all in the Zambian film industry.

We caught up with the 46-year-old actress and mother of five and she did not shy away from letting us in, on her journey in the film industry.

“Before I joined the film industry, I used to be a teacher at a family owned school in Mazabuka,” she says.

Wanga signed up for her first TV series, Brothers, in 2003. Thereafter she featured in a number of movies – both drama and series, adverts and musical videos.

“I have previously worked in productions such as Hopes and Dreams which aired on M-Net, and done a number of movies with Mingeli Palata such as Maliposa, Not My Family and even Foolish Me,” she says.

“So, yes, I have been around where film and acting is concerned,” she adds.  

Her journey in the film industry can be traced as far back as 2003 when she first enrolled at Henry Kapoko’s Media House for a film training course.

“I trained there for three years and in the process, I featured in two productions, one of which was Hopes and Dreams,” she says.

She then later responded to a MUVI TV advert for the Brothers series, ‘lo and behold’, she was picked for the main character of Lindiwe Mawele, a role she was to execute with excellence, earning the moniker Mrs Mawele.

The years of acting and doing radio drama for BBC were apparently preparing her for a bigger role of mai guru in Mpala, Zambezi Magic’s drama series in which she features as the first of Nguzu’s six wives.

“When we were working on Zed Man, Frank Sibbuku and Henry Joe Sakala told me about this new and big thing coming in the name of Mpali. I was excited and in no time, I was signed up for it,”she says.

What’s even better is that she was asked to recommend someone that was going to play the role of Nguzu - within a blink of an air, she recommended Monde Mutale, who also happens to be her husband's cousin.

“It wasn’t easy for him at first because he was just debuting in the industry. But with time, he has gone on to nail the role without any difficulties,”she says.

Born in Mazabuka on April 1, 1974, Wanga is married to Daniel Mutale with whom she has two children.

“I also have three other children from my previous marriage with my late husband Felix Ntokota,”she says.

Ironically, none of her children are into acting but she stresses that they have been very supportive of her acting career.

“The time I quit teaching to join acting, it wasn’t easy. My husband would always discourage and ask me to quit because it was not paying. I couldn’t stop because of the passion I had for it. But I am glad that my family is very supportive of me now, albeit it is because they have seen what it has done for us,” she says.

Having been in the industry for a long time, Wanga says the coming of Zambezi Magic in the fold has been life changing to many industry players.

“The journey has been really great now. Of course there will be ups and downs here and there, but look at us now. We are where we are today because of game changers such as Zambezi Magic. The film industry is today a lucrative industry so much that almost everyone can now drive, build and live a comfortable life off film,” she says.

She says playing the role of Mai Guru has been very thrilling much as she doesn’t fancy the role in real life.

“Of course, no one would like to share their husband. But it has been really fun looking at where we are coming from,” she says. 

She adds: “We relate very well with everyone on and off the set, We are like one big family.”

Wanga owes it all to Zambezi Magic for changing the landscape of the film industry in Zambia.

“Before they came on board, most people and actors never used to get paid for what they do. Mostly, it was just about providing content and it ends there. But since the emergence of Zambezi Magic, that has started to fade off, we are seeing actors and content providers being appreciated more for what they do,” she says.

Wanga went to Kaonga primary and Mazabuka Girls secondary schools in Mazabuka. Mpali airs on Zambezi Magic every Monday to Thursday at 20:30 hours.

IN CONVERSATION WITH SINGER, SONGWRITER SCARLET: she is back in the studio after taking a break

AFTER being quiet musically for a while, singer and songwriter Scarlet announced her comeback at the start of the year.

The Munisungile Banja singer recently featured on Radio Phoenix’s programme Weekend Conversations with Mumba where she opened up, giving listeners the chance to get to know what she has been through.

But first it was about music.

“I love music, music is something that has always been in my life,” Scarlet, who was born Jemimah Lerato Chulu, said.

“This is something that I really loved doing and maybe giving up on it wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

Scarlet is back in the studio working on an album titled Finding My Way.

“I am actually a big planner,” she said. “Before the coronavirus, I sat down with my best friend and literally planned my shows for the whole year. There was supposed to be a show every three weeks, there was supposed to be one in September, October, November and another one at the end of the year in December where I wanted to feature a bunch of other artistes.

“I just can’t pull them off right now because I won’t fill the room because now we are social-distancing. So, it doesn’t make sense for me to do that now, I am kind of held back and when it comes to shows, I am waiting for the world to open, but they are already planned.”

She said her album will be produced by Lazarous Zulu, her long-time music director who has been part of everything she has done the past decade.

“We’re going to work with other people as well,” she said. “Yes album, yes shows, yes videos!”

Scarlet named some of the songs on the album as Ilyashi, Ulipo, Find Your Way and K10 (Stella’s Song), among others.

The theme is around inspiration and self-discovery. “It’s basically about finding my way with love, family, myself and getting to a certain level of acceptance,” she said

Her next album after this will be called something else but will be a continuation on the one she is currently working on.

Ulipo was the first single she released this year. “I wrote it in 2015 and was just sitting on it. I have a lot of material that I was just sitting on,” she said. Ilyashi was also written in 2011. Apparently, Scarlet has a lot of unrecorded songs.

“These are like really old songs but never pushed or promoted and Ilyashi is one of those old songs that was initially recorded with Taz at Goemi Records and the original featured Samba but got lost when the studio was robbed and never really had the time to re-do it,” she said.

“Otherwise, it is basically talking about people’s marriages falling apart. I think all of us have experienced and seen a lot of stuff in homes. I am not married but some of us have experienced certain things in homes and this is just a song that we wrote as a scenario that many people have probably seen, maybe not as strong as this one.

“To have it come out nine years later and people still love it, is why I love doing what I do.”

The other song is K10 (Stellas Song), which she says is close to her heart. It is inspired by late Lilly T’s Mvela Mwana and features her late grandmother.

“When I started playing around the title, it was about money,” she shared. “I wanted to write a song that would encourage people not to complain about the fact that they don’t have money. So, I drew a lot of inspiration from Lily T’s song because the pattern of the song is similar.

“The chorus is taken from a conversation I had with my late grandmother when I was in the depth of my depression.

I wanted it to be about money, but it ended up being about dreams and being grateful – but the video is totally going to be about a K10.”

Did she say depression? Yes, fortunately, she overcame it.

Scarlet is also able to share how to overcome depression. “Everyone’s say is valid, but you also have to understand that everyone’s situation is unique to them,” she said.

“Don’t tell people that they should be grateful with what they have and how they should pray about it, don’t do that. I think it’s extremely insensitive to do that.

“I think talking to somebody helps. Therapy helped me and to others medication is the one that can help. But as far as I am concerned, getting out of it is entirely dependent on oneself. For me, I have an amazing therapist.”

Scarlet describes her music journey as very enlightening so far. “I think I have a lot about myself, people, music and I knew absolutely nothing about music before this,” she said.

“I still know very little, but I have realised that when you do something you love, and you do it really well, it leads you to places and people that you’re supposed to experience or encounter in your life. To me, it opened a lot of doors and experiences that I wouldn’t have opened had I been something else.”