THE death of 25 people after a boat capsized on Lake Kariba in Southern Province has ignited debate on the need to effectively regulate water transport in Zambia to enhance safety.
With more than 40 per cent of water in the SADC region, it is inevitable that a good number of people are using boats and other water vessels to move from one point to another.
In this regard, inland water transport plays an important role in the movement of people and goods, especially in those areas where the movement depends entirely on water.
The 25 people, most of them pupils and teachers from Henga Community School drowned as they were crossing the lake to Kalelezhi Primary School to join others in celebrating Zambia’s 50 years of independence.
It is understood that water transport was the only alternative to cross on the other side of the lake and the use of the canoe is not new to everyone in the area.
Although this was the first time that Gwembe was experiencing a tragedy of that magnitude, reports indicate overloading of people by those who operate canoes is not uncommon.
It is against this background that the Sunday Times took time during the week to talk to various individuals and institutions to find out how safe it is to move on water in Zambia.
According to the Police, the water vessel was carrying 33 people against its capacity of just 14.
While authorities believe that the canoe capsized due to overloading, there is a strong perception among the local people that the accident was caused by a strong wave.
Koffi Chafuka, 14, a survivor and one of the paddlers of the capsized boat, said the boat capsized because of waves on the lake which had been caused by strong winds.
“My friend and I were paddling the boat but my friend got tired and relaxed leaving it to me to paddle,” he explained.
“At this moment, a strong wave hit the boat and water entered causing panic, most of the passengers on the boat stood up causing the boat to lose balance.”
As stated earlier, the use of boats and canoes is widespread in Zambia and one would expect a strong regulatory framework that would guarantee safety of water travellers.
However, many believe that regulation is not done as much as it is in the road transport.
“There is no regulation by the Government as far as I am concerned,” said Alfred Banda, a regular user of a canoe on Lake Kariba. “The owners are the only regulators because they have a sole responsibility to say how many people they will carry.”
Mr Banda noted that the accident on the Independence Day in Gwembe would have been avoided if there had been serious regulation of water transport particularly with regards to canoes.
Residents in the area say that the movement of canoes and the number of people to carry is determined by the owners – in many cases driven by the desire to make profit and not the safety of human life.
“Firstly, you must realise that this is not the first time that a canoe is carrying so many people to cross the lake,” said Bernard Simanego, a former resident of Gwembe who is now based in Lusaka.
“It has been going on since time immemorial and everyone is used to it. As you can see that it was the pupils themselves who were paddling.”
Mr Simanego noted that unlike vehicles where traffic officers were mounting road blocks on roads the canoes were free to move without any hindrance and restrictions.
Admittedly, the fact that the appropriate capacity of the vessels is determined by the owner has left room for abuse in that owners are at liberty to carry the number they wish.
In this regard, although the boat is said to have had the capacity of just 14 people, it is hard to establish who ratified the figure! In other words, it is possible that even 14 people could have amounted to overloading.
The Department of Maritime and Inland Waterways was established in the Ministry of Communications and Transport in mid 1994 as an overall authority to be responsible for Maritime (Ports and Shipping) and Inland Water Transport.
While its role was to check on the infrastructure development such as the maintenance and development of canals and waterways, Ports and Harbours the department appears to have gone under.
Assistant police public relations officer Levy Lilanda said the officers were still investigating the matter to establish whether there was any violation of the law in the accident.
“We have the Inward Water Shipping Act Chapter 466 which regulate the water transport,” Mr Lilanda said. “We are currently investigating if there was any violation of that law.”
Interestingly, while the Act requires that the owners of the vessels provide necessary equipment such as life serving jackets, it is understood that none of such provisions on the capsized vessel.
Like vehicle drivers, the Inward Water Shipping Act requires that qualified personnel are allowed to paddle on water.
The Act also requires that the owners register their vessels with the Ministry of Transport, Communications, Works and Supply which is expected certify the fitness of the boat.
Unfortunately, nothing at present suggests that the pupils who were peddling the canoe met such requirements.
The fact that there was no life serving jackets while the pupils themselves were in charge of driving the boat is a confirmation that there is literally no enforcement of the law, at least in this case.
It could be factually argued that all this illegality has been going on for a long time, or since time immemorial, but that does not make it legal.
Then Vice-President Guy Scott who rushed to the scene noted that there is need to look into appropriate transport means for the area, the first step should be enforcing the current law on water transport.
If traffic officers are busy waylaying public buses on almost every highway, the same could be done on water shores and harbours to ensure that those who travel on water do that within the confines of the law.
The Department of Maritime and Inland Waterways in the Ministry of Transport, Communications, Works and Supply which appears dead should be more visible and active in every lake.
It is hardly indisputable that there is no effective regulation of water transport and unless maritime officers emulate Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA), it would be hard to avoid more accidents in future.