Maravi

Luapula: sleeping giant

Luapula: sleeping giant
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Mansa
Tue 06 July 2010, 18:00 CAT

At the risk of being misunderstood to be championing religious cynicism or tribal fascism, I can say that the natives of Luapula Province will, one day, have to answer before the Creator for allowing the province to be so poor and desperate despite its vast natural resources endowment.

Perhaps, the first person to take issue while agreeing with my statement would be Charles Kabamba, a local businessman of Luapula, who declared that “now is the time for Luapula to start moving.”

To lay my case bare and probably preaching to the already converted, the profile of Luapula Province reads as follows: The province is located in the Northern part of the country and covers an area of 50, 567 square kilometers, about six per cent of the total area of Zambia.

Luapula shares its borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo in the south, South-Western and North, in the east with Northern Province and in the South-east with Central Province.

From Lusaka, the province can be accessed either through Central Province via the Tuta Road or through the Copperbelt via the infamous Pedicle Road – our modern ‘Hell run.’

The four major physical features of the province include the valley along the Luapula river, the plateau running parallel to the river in the north-south direction, then lake Mweru in northern Chienge and Nchelenge districts and Bangweulu in Samfya district. The last characteristic feature of Luapula Province is the swampy areas to the east and south of Lake Bangweulu. And the beautiful and clean white sand makes the Samfya beach on Lake Bangweulu one of the best beaches in the world, a prime area for any type of resort facilities.

In fact, 30 per cent of Zambia’s water resources are in Luapula…talk about abundant water resources, one would be excused to state this water haven has been nothing but a curse in some countries who boast high aqua concentration. Zambia is a case in point because despite the country boasting 40 per cent of water resources in Southern Africa, this advantage continues to be a mere piece of statistics, at worst, a curse.

Perhaps Luapula is not very different from Zambia if viewed from that perspective.

The vast water resources of Luapula provide potential for all economic activities associated with responsible or is it sustainable water usage, apart from, of course, excessive plunder of fish species.

The province is estimated to be sitting on hydropower potential of 950 megawatts, thanks to its large number of rivers and numerous waterfalls.

Name them…the Lumangwe water falls in Kawambwa, affectionately called the Young Victoria Falls due to its stark resemblance to the mighty Victoria Falls in Southern Province. There is also the Kabwelume waterfall just a few kilometres downstream. This piece of divine architecture is another spectacle of natural gift which has gone begging for attention and investment. In-between the two waterfalls is a natural typical Savanna grassland which can compete with all the tourism hot spots in the entire Africa…but alas, it is deserted, neglected and poached to the bone!

One only needs to stand in-between the two waterfalls to appreciate the rhythmic sounds emanating from both ends as the Lumangwe waterfall pours its excitement into the Kalungwishi river while the three powerful cascades at Kabwelume, each spilling into the next fall in tune. And there is the Ntumbachushi Falls, also in Kawambwa…

Apart from providing hydropower potential, these beautiful sceneries could easily be transformed into tourism hot spots – only if there is will from the Luapulans.

Despite the heavy poaching that has depleted most game parks in the area, Luapula boasts some animal sites in Lusenga National Park in Kawambwa: the Black Lechwe of Bangweulu Wetlands and the Shoebill stock of Bangweulu Wetlands.

According to the locals, some animals found in the game parks in Luapula include Zebra, Sable, Anetlope, and Elephants…the monkeys of course. I certainly did not get a chance to verify this ‘good news’ as time was not my best ally on this trip.

Lest we forget, the internationally renowned Umutomboko Ceremony of the Lunda people is also found in Luapula.

Away from tourism potentials, the province also boasts huge reserves of mostly base metals, as well as semi-precious minerals. Luapula has enormous reserves of copper ore deposits and several other mineral deposits. Among the prominent minerals in the areas are copper, iron, gemstones, silver, gold, iron, ruby, emerald, green tourmaline, blue sky among others while manganese seems to be trailblazing the growth of the mining sector in the region.

Already, Luapula Base Metals Limited and Genesis Group of Companies, two local Zambian companies have jointly invested US $3 million to develop 3 manganese mines in north-eastern Zambia with a projected annual output of 60,000 tonnes and boost exports to its main market of China.

This is the work of Willie Crook, the managing director of Genesis Group and Kennedy Sakeni, the chief executive officer of Luapula Base Metals Limited.
Crook MD says the JV project wants to ramp up output at its three mines at Kansambo, Kabulu and Kabasa mines in view of the improving global metal prices in the aftermath of the global economic crisis.

Against the backdrop of the activities by JV of Crook and Sakeni, Indonesia's Earthstone Metals Group last April started mining for manganese after it acquired mining rights for three manganese concessions in Luapula Province with a total combined area of 140,000 hectares, and planned to peak production at 1 million tonnes a year within three years.

Simply stand at Mukuku bridge on Tuta Road every late afternoon and watch the number of 60-tonne trucks exiting Luapula and laden with all sorts of mineral ores. Then you will fully appreciate the extent to which mining has developed in the area.

“The mining sector is yet another sleeping giant that needs to be tapped in order for the province to contribute to economic development of the country,” are the words of provincial minister Dr Boniface Kawimbe.
“However, the mining activities need to well coordinated to avoid loss of revenue to the government as well as environmental degradation,” he adds.

Plenty of water, tourist spots and mineral deposits…perhaps Luapula is the only province which can brag about having enough potential to effectively spearhead the development of this country from three fronts: tourism, agriculture and mining.

Despite this seemingly beautiful picture on paper, the reality on the ground for the over 784, 613 dwellers of Luapula province is harsh.

The province is one of the poorest in the country with extreme poverty levels estimated at 69 per cent, the HIV prevalence rate is at 16.5 per cent whereas national rate is at 14 per cent…an experience on the ground reveals hopelessness and despair.

On my latest tour of duty to the province, I joined other journalists from different media houses as we accompanied Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) on its sensitisation tour and interaction with the business community in the area.

The problems retarding development in Luapula province are in the public domain. However, they are not insurmountable. According to Dr Kawimbe, the growth of Luapula is inhibited mainly by poor and weak connectivity infrastructure and lack of power infrastructure.

Although the provincial minister laboriously tried to peddle the issue of attitude among the inhabitants of Luapula, to a large extent, the mighty choir of Luapulans has continued to sing for a long time – at least for current dwellers there.

According to the government and its praise singers, agriculture development in the province has been prioritised with the establishment of the Luena Farm bloc to house large-scale agriculture activities in sugar growing, palm oil growing and banana plantation among other things.

But as Dr Kawimbe would confess: “Just the Luena alone needs about 40 to 60 megawatts to be fully operation and yet as a province, we only produce 13 megawatts...”

Thanks to the indiscriminate plunder of the water bodies of the province, the need to diversify from mono-dependence on the fishing industry has never been more urgent. After all, even if the natives wanted, where would they find the fish in abundance any way? Those days are certainly long gone.

If you are to measure growth of the tourism sector in Luapula by the number of lodges – I mean classic lodges springing up in the area, especially in Mansa which boasts two classic lodges: Teja Executive Lodge and Henry Courtyard with a combined investment of over US $3 billion, one would certainly think the ‘Visit Luapula campaign’ is taking shape.

But as the owners of the exclusive lodges confirm separately, most room occupants are business travellers, prospective mine investors, and of course, government officials on official duties.

Very few are flocking to Luapula for tourism. At least if the statistics from the two lodge owners are anything to go by.

The potential of the province needs to be harnessed as a matter of urgency and to achieve this, it will require pragmatism and realism…no room for fantasies and praise singing.

“The first thing is the decision by the business community in Luapula to exploit this potential in the province and then wealthy creation will happen,” Kabamba says. “There is always time for everything and now is the time for Luapula…”

According to sources on the ground, apart from the mineral resource-hungry Asians pouring into the province, the Russians are touting to pour their Ruble into rubber plantations and also hydropower developments.

Granted, Zambia’s growth in most sectors has been characterised by poor planning and lack of leadership from our ‘able’ leaders as everything is left to the whims of foreign capital in the name of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Luapula should pioneer the shift from this ill-conceived economic theory which any first-time visitor to Zambia would be forgiven to think is the only topic taught at economics schools.

As Kabamba rightly put it, “Since we have got people interested in investing in Luapula…then once we cement all these relationships, then we can turn all these potentials into reality.”

FDI is okay but for a change, let the people of Luapula take full responsibility for their own course of development.

I know of enough Luapulans from within and in the Diaspora who are capable of spearheading development in their province.

The time is now.
Failure to act immediately will have grave consequences. It may be just a matter of time before you realise that your right of ownership to the province does not go beyond the information on your green National Registration Card (NRC)!

While most of the time the province is in the media for ‘wrong reasons,’ foreigners are taking possession the province’s most critical area... and single handedly so - not in partnership with locals.

No wonder the province is so insanely highly politicised despite non-activity on the ground… ask the Patriotic Front where the bulk of ‘rebel MPs come from.”
The need for Luapulans to partner with investors going into the area will certainly need a proper incubation machine and a platform.

“We are holding these sensitisation workshops to get the people understand what foreign direct investment means and local participation because…it’s all about partnerships and if the people don’t understand, they don’t accept and that investment won’t be successful, so, there we need to do some work,” says Margaret Chimanse, ZDA communications manager.

According to Chimanse, the seminar drew participation from 148 Luapula-based entrepreneurs. It also attracted input from Investrust Bank Plc, Zanaco Plc, Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission and Bank of Zambia.

“For us, it was a successful seminar,” declares Chimanse.
The government support, through agencies like ZDA, will be crucial in providing a platform for harnessing investments in the area but ultimately, the people of Luapula will need to take full charge of their own destiny.

The talk of establishing a northern corridor, a link from Dar es Salaam to DRC through Luapula and not Copperbelt; the establishment of a stable and lucrative mining sector to contribute to making a dent on high poverty levels in the province; the development of the Multi-Facility Economic Zones at the Levy Mwaanawasa Bridge and subsequent development of the Luena farm blocs to take advantage of the 12.5 million market in Katanga province will forever remain a fantasy and fleeting illusion if the basic fundamental bottlenecks are not immediately dealt with.

In this case, I am talking about power blues and the poor road network linking the province to key markets.

Already, Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) has shown willingness to put up a power line from Copperbelt to Luapula through the pedicle stretch. Certainly, CEC need to be encouraged in this vein while at the same time foster efforts to make Luapula Province self-reliant in power supply – the 950 megawatts the province is sitting on!

By the way, Pedicle Road is only a 68-kilometre stretch which sadly takes two and half hours to be cover in good weather and using a roadworthy vehicle.
For sure, in the abundance of water, only a fool is thirsty…maybe, it is too early for me to take this position?

» More from Business Post » Homepage

Labels: LUAPULA PROVINCE

posted by MrK @ 4:20 PM