Careful, there is cattle on the road!

THE law is clear, but what is not is whether the people living on the Livingstone road know anything about it.

“Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), no person shall leave or permit any animal to be on any road which is fenced or enclosed in any other manner along both sides, and no person shall leave any such animal in a place from which it may stray on to such road,” reads section 209 (1) of the Road Traffic Act of 2002.

This particular piece of legislation looks at the management of animals on and also around the road.

But does it apply to people living on the Mazabuka- Livingstone road? If you have driven on the road, then you may like to think that it does not.

“We bring our animals here because it’s closer to our homes. Most of the areas around here are private farms and the owners can be strict sometimes,” says Derrick Simweemba, 32, a cattle herder of Harmony, in Batoka area in Choma.

That is the only explanation Simweemba is able to give when asked why his animals are made to graze near the road, which is not only against the law but also inconveniences motorists. For Christopher Miyoba, 41, a father of six, who lives in the same area, his only concern is to see an increase in his herd of cattle.

“I am a farmer and these animals have helped me in many ways. From these five, I hope they will keep increasing with time,” he says.

Well, for most people in this granary part of the country, farming is their livelihood. But unlike their counterparts in other regions, livestock is also part and parcel of their livelihoods.

In fact, their wealth is counted in terms of livestock.

Section 209 (1) of the Road Traffic Act of 2002 may not mean much to them; except perhaps to the motorists who feel the inconvenience.

“Big man, this road and animals, you simply have no idea,” says Abel Mulenga, 38, a driver for one of the inter-town bus operators.

“To be honest, driving on this road is not always nice. As a driver, you have to be very careful and keep looking out for animals. You never know where it pops out from.

“Just somewhere after Monze, my friend hit two cows and overturned like no man’s business. He was lucky to have survived. He was traveling alone, on his way to pick up his family in Livingstone. Imagine what would have happened had his family been with him? This issue is actually real.”

The traffic authorities in Southern Province are aware of this problem, having recorded a number of accidents involving animals and motor vehicles.

“We have had a lot of cases of this nature. Many are times when these animals are left uncared for and end up on the road. Sometimes they just stray on the road and end up causing an accident,” says Florence Nyirenda, a road safety educator at the divisional police command in the province.

She says her office is committed to ensuring the trend is minimised.

But the provincial minister is already acting; he recently issued a warning to farmers in the province to ensure cattle does not graze near the road as this is not just an offence but also a danger to both property and human life.

In the company of officers from the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) and the Zambia Police traffic section, Edify Hamukale at one time drove to Batoka area to go and educate farmers on the dangers of allowing their animals near the road.

“As Government, we are very concerned with the behaviour of our farmers here. They let their animals graze very near the roads. This is very dangerous to both the owners of the animals and to the motorists,” Dr Hamukale says.

“It is actually an offence to do so. There is plenty of sufficient grazing land further from the road but we don’t know why people prefer the roadside. It is very dangerous and they must desist.”

The agency believes there is a lot of ignorance regarding the management of animals, and this problem is not unique to Southern Province but is countrywide.

“The Act is clear on that matter. A person in charge of an animal on a road shall attend to it in such a manner that it does not constitute to an obstruction or danger to any other traffic; and any failure to comply with the provisions of Section 209 is an offence,” says RTSA head of public relations Frederick Mubanga.

“It’s not just in Southern Province actually. It seems people don’t really know that we [RTSA], together with the police, have the powers to actually penalise them for not only putting their property, animals in this case, and also motorists, at risk.”

The agency now plans to engage the communities through their respective traditional leaders and sensitise them on the dangers of grazing animals close to the road.

RTSA Choma station manager Moses Nyundu says his office will soon embark on a campaign, together with the police in the region, to sensitise people on matters to do with road safety.

“These farmers should be taking care of their animals. We value livestock too, but when it starts coming closer to the road to interfere with traffic, then it becomes a problem,” he says.

Perhaps, the engagement with the communities should be countrywide.

P.S: This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper of April 29, 2017. You can find it on this link http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/careful-cattle-on-the-road/

Impromptu operation catches drunk drivers

THE thing about drinking alcohol is that it can almost be likened to gambling. You can go out on a drinking night out and not know where you will end up the next day.
It could work out good or it could be disastrous, like the throw of a dice.
Lazarous Siantumbo of Livingstone can at least attest to this. He cannot agree more with the statement because he can definitely relate to it.
The bed he woke up from one Saturday morning earlier this year, was not the one he woke up from on Sunday.
In fact, he never returned to his home that particular night because he ended up sleeping behind bars, in a police cell.
Perhaps you could wonder, “what for?”
Well, Lazarous who was driving a Toyota vehicle had his car impounded, driving licence confiscated and himself detained for driving under the influence of alcohol.

ROAD Transport and Safety Agency head of public relations Frederick Mubanga breathalyses Lazarous Siantumbo of Livingstone whose breath alcohol concentration was three times above the permissible limit of 0.38mg. The agency on Saturday night swung into action and conducted random tests on drivers and about 30 drivers were arrested and charged with drink driving. 

He was pulled over by Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) officers who on that fateful day, in a joint operation with the Zambia Police Service traffic officers had mounted a checkpoint to randomly check the adherence and compliance to road traffic rules and regulations.
Among the issues that the officers were checking was driving licences, motor vehicle fitness certificates and also the breath alcohol concentration, an offence that Lazarous and 30 other drivers were arrested and had their vehicles impounded for.
And it having been a Saturday, it was evidently assured that it was going to be a field day for the road traffic inspectors and the traffic officers.
Lazarous’ reading was 0.99mg, almost three times above the permissible limit of 0.38mg.
“Please bwana [officer]; I am begging you to release me. I won’t do it again,” he begged RTSA head of public relations Frederick Mubanga.
But Mr Mubanga and the other officers who included the agency’s deputy director for road safety Gladwell Banda were not in any compromising mood.
“We are not stopping people from drinking. All we want is to have a cadre of responsible drivers on the roads,” he says.
Mr Mubanga further adds: “If you are going to drink, you either drink within the permissible limit or if that’s not the case, drink your brains out and find someone else to take you home.”
He says the agency aims to reduce the number of road accidents by 50 percent by the year 2020.
“That is why we have partnered with Zambian Breweries to see how best we can work together to scale up this exercise so that we have safer roads. Government has invested so much money on these roads and we have felt the need to have safer drivers on them, too,” he says.
Mr Mubanga hopes the partnership between the agency and Zambian Breweries further reduces the number of road accidents.
“Last year, we recorded a reduction and we want to build on it and reduce the numbers even further,” he says.
“We won’t be announcing where next we go. All drivers with a tendency of driving under the influence of alcohol will be in for a surprise,” Mr Mubanga adds.

ROAD Transport and Safety Agency deputy executive director - road safety Gladwell Banda breathalyses a motorist on the Lusaka road in Livingstone.

From Livingstone, their next stop was Ndola.
There, too, similar check points were mounted and this time around, officers from the Zambian Breweries Ndola plant were part of it.
“We have a dream to create a better world and that can only be achieved with a safe and healthy environment and community,” Zambian Breweries’ corporate affairs director Ezekiel Sekele said.
He added, “The enforcement exercises are a way to go as we continue to get the message across on responsible drinking and the dangers of drinking and driving to our consumers and the community. At Zambian Breweries, we think it’s our responsibility not only to share that message with everybody, but also to back the government and institutions such as the RTSA through such initiatives as the road safety campaign.”
Zambian Breweries signed a memorandum of understanding with RTSA in 2016 aimed at curbing drink driving and ensuring safety on the roads with a view to cutting the number of road accidents.
The company, together with the agency, hopes to see a new Zambia, where motorists and other road users begin to accept that alcohol abuse and drink-driving are socially unacceptable.
With its responsible drinking and don’t drink and drive campaigns in force, consumers are encouraged to be accountable and responsible for the way in which they consume alcohol.

Mr Mubanga and Mr Banda during the operation in Livingstone recently.

The path to responsible drinking and to never drink and drive is a key message the brewing company has dedicated to spread in 2018.
Minister of Transport and Communications Brian Mushimba has been advocating the stiffening of penalties meted on motorists found guilty of drink-driving.
Mr Mushimba said the current K2, 500 fine is not working as a deterring factor to would-be offenders.
“The fine that is given to an offender found drink-driving is not helping in terms of deterring people from drinking and driving because it is so lenient,” he said at the 10 Miles checkpoint in Mazabuka recently.
He feels the traffic offence of drink-driving should go with deterrent penalties such as a minimum of six months to one year imprisonment.
Addressing journalists when Zambian Breweries donated six breathalyzers and a K100, 000 cheque to the agency in December last year, RTSA director and chief executive officer Zindaba Soko said drink-driving is one of the risk factors that contribute to road accidents in Zambia.
He said that when one was driving under the influence of alcohol, they were prone to either miscalculate distances when overtaking or doze off.
He stressed that the offence of drinking and driving has far-reaching implications in that the offender risks his own life, lives of passengers and other road users.
“The agency has identified drink driving as one of the risk factors that contribute to road crashes on our roads. We are pleased that Zambian Breweries, our partner, has provided us with breathalysers that will be used in detecting how much alcohol one may have consumed while driving. This will be done in our routine operations,” he noted.

All joy as Nakatindi maternity annex is commissioned

SARA Katombora, seemingly over 50, is a resident of Livingstone’s Nakatindi township. She has lived in the area for many years.
“This is my home and all these people you see are here to witness something that we have for a long time waited and longed for,” she says. 

 Truly, she is among the many people that gathered at the only clinic in the township to witness the official handover of a maternity annex.
“We are very grateful for this gesture because we used to suffer every time it came to giving birth here,” says Mrs Katombora, who is also the Nakatindi health committee chairperson.
“We tried all we could to have this facility here and today, it is gratifying to see it come to fruition,” she adds.
The maternity annex in question was constructed by two destination management companies: Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy and Sussi and Chuma Sanctuary Retreats in Livingstone.
Furnished with modern medical equipment and supplies of over US$400,000, the actual building is valued at well over US$200,000.
“This is but just a fraction of our many community works we have been doing in not only Zambia, but all the places where we have a presence. This is our way of giving back to the community,” says Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy coordinator Camilla Rhodes.
Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy has full-time community development professionals around the world who are responsible for facilitating its commitment to its community partners and introducing guests to its philanthropic investments.
Other than Zambia, the company also has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Peru, Sri Lanka, India, and south-east Asia.
“We are dedicated to positively impacting lives and livelihoods in the communities where our guests travel. We are equally committed to ensuring guests learn about our philanthropic investments as an integral part of their travel experience.
“From Africa to Asia, Latin America to the Antarctic, we are working with partner communities on education, health care, conservation and enterprise development projects,” says Ms Rhodes.
Ms Rhodes said her organisation has been working with numerous funders from the United States of America to ensure the successful completion of the project.
Sussi and Chuma Sanctuary, on the other hand, is a lodge built on a dramatic bend of the Zambezi River in the Mosi-Oa- Tunya National Park, about 12 kilometres upstream from the Victoria Falls.
It is named after Dr David Livingstone’s faithful friends, Sussi and Chuma.
Its involvement with the Nakatindi community in Livingstone dates as far back as 2010, and, with the help of elders, various projects in education, conservation, and entrepreneurship have been identified and implemented in the community.
And the new 275 square metre maternity annex recently constructed at Nakatindi is the partnerships’ largest investment to date and provides increased capacity for antenatal care.
The facility features a delivery room, sluice, antenatal and postnatal rooms, ultrasound room, duty room for stay-over staff, washrooms and an office.
Facing long distances without access to transportation, the majority of women in Zambia still give birth at home without the assistance of a skilled health worker.
Livingstone mayor Eugene Mapuwo officially commissioned the facility that many hope will be a great milestone in enhancing maternal health care in the district.
Before that, Livingstone only had five clinics offering maternal services. For the Nakatindi community, the nearest health facility is Mahatma Gandhi, which is about 10 kilometres away.
“As you may be aware, Nakatindi clinic was built in 2014 with a catchment area population of about 6,000 and 13,000 as per headcount, according to the Central Statistical Office (CSO),” he says.
He adds: “With this growing population, this facility is very busy and critical in the provision of the primary health care services in Livingstone district.”
He said Government will always value partnerships in the development and provision of health care services.
“This is a clear testimony of our resolution to provide better health services to our people and of course with the commitment of other stakeholders who have gone out of their way to assist Government realise this dream,” he said.
Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy and Sussi and Chuma Sanctuary in 2014 constructed and handed over both the clinic and ablution block fitted with water reticulation.
The Ministry of Health attaches great importance to the provision of health care services to the people of Zambia, anchored by its mission statement: ‘‘To provide equitable access to cost-effective, quality assured health services as close to the family as possible.’’
Acting Livingstone district health director Muchabona Manyaka has assured the community that the newly constructed maternity annex will be fully operational by April.
Dr Manyaka said her office will deploy 15 midwives to the facility.
“This has increased the number of health facilities that offer maternal services in the district,” she says.
Douglas Munkombwe is in charge at the health facility. He too is optimistic about the new facility at the clinic and is looking forward to the day it will be fully operational.
“It is equipped and good to go. It will definitely go a very long way in improving health care services in this community,” he says.