• The Post Boat is the only means of transport to the islands on Lake Bangweulu.

By JACK MWEWA –
TRAVERSING the breadth and depth of Lake Bangweulu islands in Luapula and Northern provinces has become tedious as the Post Boat continues to run on a single engine.
With worrisome travelling arrangements, life and living on the Islands dotted all over Lake Bangweulu, is all confined to the waters.
Chilubi is the furthest island after Mbabala and Chishi, though located more than 100 kilometres from Samfya harbour, takes 11 long hours by Post Boat to reach, instead of the stipulated four hours.
At such a snail’s pace, travellers to the islands board the barge at 09:00 hours from Samfya to endure the whole day’s journey arriving at Chilubi around 19:00 hours.
This situation has been caused by the break down of the boat’s twin engine leaving it to operate on one other engine which runs at an agonising 15 Kilometres per hour.
Zampost director of operations Alex Mayeya said in an interview that the corporation was aware of the problem which has been identified as a fault on the engine’s gear box and require K150,000 to repair it.
He attributed the delay in repairing the engine to the fact that the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication who facilitate and owns the barge, were responsible for its maintenance.
“The boat was facilitated by Government through the Ministry of Transport, Works and Supply, Zampost always seeks the intervention of the ministry for maintenance,” Mr Mayeya said.
He said Zampost has already requested for funding from the ministry and still waiting for the release of the funds.
With the capacity of about 200 passengers at K40 and K60 charge per person, running such a boat is considered purely a service whose proceeds fall far below its expenses.
“We are aware that the boat is running on one engine, you may wish to know that the boat was provided by the Ministry of Transport, Works Supply and Communication and we operate it on behalf of Government as a service to people of the islands,” Mr Mayeya said.
Forcing the boat to operate on one engine, maybe a strain but Mr Mayeya said grounding the boat completely would disadvantage the islanders who would resort to using smaller speed boats, thereby, risking their lives.
“It is better to run the boat at such a speed and transport people safely to their destinations, rather than grounding it completely, a move that would force people to risk travelling by smaller speed boats,” he said.
The boat being the only means of transport to the islands is, therefore, important to the people of Chilubi who pride themselves in the fish from the lake.
By Post Boat, islanders have to move from their base to the mainland and the rest of the country for them to make ends meet and mingle with the outside world.
Chilubi is home for about 80,000 people with a lifestyle different from those who live on the mainland.
A recent visit to Chilubi showed that inhabitants, who are Bisa people under the chiefdoms of Chiwanangala and Matipa, have taken fishing as more significant than crop farming.
Walking from the habour, which is the entry point to Chilubi at Muchinshi boma through the villages to Santa Maria, and beyond to Bukotelo, more than a 100 kilometres stretch, showed no single maize field in sight.
From Yusufu Mwansa Village, lives a retired miner who attributed the failure to grow maize to poor soil which he said was only good for cassava growing.
Mr Leonard Senge said cassava growing was most preferred to maize because it was easy to manage and did not require other farming inputs.
“We have grown cassava from time immemorial because it is easy to grow and manage, unlike maize which would require a lot of attention,” he said.
Cassava is cultivated everywhere by everyone, on round beds which are said to be adequate base for the retention of the tuber.
If fishing was the mainstay of Chilubi islanders, one wonders why fishermen shifting to fishing camps on the lake have compromised the conditions of such outings.
Compromised fishing in the sense that you find fishermen in camps like Kashimulowa, Mulu wabatwa, Nakalima, Katete and Chikosa, dead drunk on beer as early as 08:00 hours.
For one who has never been on Lake Bangweulu, fishing camps which are small pieces of land about 10 square metres would shudder to imagine campers risking being drunk while fishing.
Campers who shift to swampy areas for a period of eight months from March to November carry along their families with children as young as two roaming by the camp edges.
Mr Senge said it was strange that fishermen today would resort to drinking as early as 08:00 hours, a practice he said was risky for those living on water bodies.
“Drinking alcohol on fishing camps is like a soldier taking beer while at a war front, or miners drinking in the tunnels underground,” he said.
Living in fishing camps with their parents for that long, means that children who number about 100 at each camp miss out on school, yet they pick up fishing skills from their parents.
What a spectacle it was to see a six-year-old boy freely paddle a canoe with his 12-year-old sister and three-year-old brother on the waters as their mother did other chores.
Chilubi has a social side of it, for those who like venturing in the night, bars and guest houses dotted around Muchinshi area come alive at dusk.
Football fans alike would watch matches from Santa Maria Primary School grounds like one played on the weekend of September 27, 2014 in which a visiting Nsumbu team beat Santa Maria 1- nil.
Though the local reserve team beat their counterparts 2- 0 in the earlier encounter, Chilubi fans did not take the loss of the main team lightly.
The fans who included young mothers, blamed the loss to among other reasons poor refereeing and rough play by the visitors.
Chilubi, being a unique village set up, requires reliable connectivity to the mainland, improved transport and sensitising fishermen on lifestyle dynamics would be beneficial to the inhabitants.