ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON PLOT 1473/M
IN THE MOSI-O-TUNYA NATIONAL PARK
FOR THE PROPOSED “MOSI-OA-TUNYA HOTEL AND COUNTRY CLUB ESTATE PROJECT”
IN LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA
11th November 2006
As a Zambian resident in Livingstone for 26 years and a City Councillor from 1998 to 2006, I was very concerned when I heard earlier this year about the proposed development of two hotels and a golf course on a major and vital part of our National Park and World Heritage Site. The Council was neither informed nor consulted about this major project. I was even more concerned when I heard that the President was coming to lay the foundation stone when none of the normal procedures for development in Livingstone had been followed, and when I found out which portion of land was involved, which had been kept secret.
I informed my fellow councillors of what was going on as far as I knew. Most of them had never heard of this project. The Director of City Planning also said he had not had anything official on the project but only learnt about it from the newspaper. We decided at an informal meeting that the mayor should either boycott the event or should explain to the President our concern that the Council had not officially heard of it and felt that procedures should be followed. Unfortunately before the event took place the councils were dissolved prior to the elections.
The Livingstone City Council is the planning authority for the whole of Livingstone District, which includes the whole of Mosi-o-Tunya National Park and the World Heritage Site. No land can be changed in use, leased out or developed without Council approval. I do not believe the ZAWA Act takes away the powers of the Council in this respect. ZAWA’s job according to the Act is “to ensure the sustainability, conservation and preservation in the natural state of eco-systems and biodiversity in the national parks”. Any change to this requires legislation.
This proposed development is a change of use of the Park, which at a minimum requires public advertisement for objections, followed by Council approval. As this is a National Park and World Heritage Site, Council would not give approval without consultation with appropriate authorities including National Heritage Conservation Commission, IUCN and the Government of Zimbabwe, and approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment by ECZ. It would also be guided by the Livingstone Development Plan, which was approved by Council in 2006. It includes the Vision of the Council to guide future development:
“Livingstone, as the main tourism destination in Zambia, must strive to become the preferred tourism destination in Southern Africa, through provision of a quality tourism experience, by resolutely protecting the World Heritage Site and its surrounds, and actively promoting this unique environment, thereby improving the economic situation and quality of life of the residents.”
And the mission is given as:
“The mission of the Livingstone City Council is to provide minimum level of services that are affordable and to ensure that the costs of such services are recovered in order to protect the environment of this World Heritage Site and promote sustainable development.”
The laying of a foundation stone normally takes place once all the necessary approvals have been obtained and construction is ready to begin. In itself the construction of the foundation stone pillar, which involved the cutting of trees in the national park, should have had planning permission from the Council.
I have read the Environmental Impact Assessment produced by and on behalf of the proposed developers. It contains a vast amount of material lifted from the Internet and other documents, much of which is inaccurate and/or irrelevant, and has not even been intelligently read by those who compiled it. For example on Page 116:
“The Proposed project may disturb some established human corridors, which are used by the natives as ‘short cuts’ from one community or village to the other.”
On Page78:
“…bounded on the north by Dambwa Forest Reserve and the town of Maramba (formerly Livingstone) and the trust land to the south.” (lifted from the UNEP web site)
On Page 118:
“In 2000, Livingstone’s unemployment situation was estimated to be 30.7% of which 28.5% were males and 35.2% females.” (What are the other 40.8%?)
All this material appears to be an attempt to cover up the main issue, which is that such a development should never be allowed in the national park and especially in the World Heritage Site, on which we depend for the future of tourism in Livingstone.
The National Park was not created to protect animals alone but to protect the whole environment of the Victoria Falls, which is one of the natural wonders of the world. We in Livingstone are very privileged to have such a wonder within our district and under the jurisdiction of our City Council, which represents the people of Livingstone, and we must do everything we can, together with Victoria Falls Council of Zimbabwe, to protect it for the benefit of future generations of Livingstonians, Zambians, Zimbabweans and citizens of the world.
Tourism is becoming a major source of jobs and revenue for our city and we must ensure that the Falls, which are the entire basis of our tourism activities, are not in any way degraded, so that tourist and residents alike can continue to enjoy the natural wonders of our environment as God gave it to us.
The World Heritage Site was created to assist us in protecting our marvellous natural resource, by international bodies which are able to advise us on how we can preserve the environment while allowing tourists to come and see what we have to offer them. Funding for preservation can also be obtained through these bodies. We must not lightly throw away this status.
We are not against increasing the tourism facilities in Livingstone. We desperately need more jobs for our people. But this must be done in a transparent, controlled, legal and sustainable manner. There is other land available for hotels and golf courses and there are other companies keen to develop such facilities.
The EIA states on Page 235 and 236:
“The researchers believe that the Livingstone local communities should not only be consulted on their views on tourism development in their area right from the onset of such projects, but should also be fully integrated into the process for instance by providing labour and services.”
“To be sustainable, tourism requires an open dialogue between the government, the private sector, civil society and local communities to ensure consensual decisions and the generation of economic benefits for a broad spectrum of the population.”
Why was no-one in Livingstone consulted from the onset of this project?
The National Park does not belong to ZAWA or the President. It belongs to us the people of Zambia.
We as Livingstone residents must not allow our heritage to be destroyed for the sake of short-term money-making, by ZAWA, Legacy Holdings Zambia Ltd, private individuals or political leaders.
Mrs Margaret Whitehead
29 Airport Road, Livingstone
P O Box 60648, Livingstone
Phone 260 3 323565
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