'Mysterious lion is a spirit, leave it,' says a sangoma

THE International Traditional Healers' Association (ITA) representative in Zimbabwe David Muhabhinyane Ngwenya yesterday warned authorities and members of the public to leave the mysterious lion which has reportedly been spotted in some parts of Bulawayo, as long as it has not harmed anyone.

Ngwenya said the lion might be a spirit visiting King Mzilikazi and Lobengula's territory and hunting it down would end up causing problems for people.

Ngwenya, a traditional healer residing in Gwabalanda, Bulawayo, said it was worrying to think that a real lion which had been seen by people had still not been captured or spotted by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) more than three weeks later.

The lion has been on the loose since the end of April and it is still not clear where it came from. The Chipangali Wildlife orphanage has dismissed suspicions that the cat could have escaped from them saying they have all their lions.

Ngwenya said a lion that has not been seen or killed anything for food cannot be a real lion.

"It has something to do with traditional culture. It is a mirage (lilinda leli). It is a lion for the kings showing that the ancestral spirits are visiting the land and they must not trouble it or bother looking for it, otherwise it will cause us some problems," said Ngwenya.

He said if it was a real lion, it would have caused a lot of damage by now.

"Look at the time it has taken for them to find it. It shows that it cannot be a real animal. They have taken about three weeks looking for it; they must forget about it," Ngwenya said.

Zimparks southern regional manager Arthur Musakwa said they were maintaining a presence on the ground through the leads they got, but had not yielded anything.

"A lone lion generally would not stay in a place for a long time. Lions stray, but do not travel alone. They seek companionship. We have also not received any reports where animals have been killed by the lion," Musakwa said.

The hunting team went to Burnside, Waterford, Douglasdale and Hope Fountain asking members of the community if they had spotted the lion. Source: 'Mysterious lion is a spirit, leave it,' says a sangoma (Bulawayo News24 - 15-05-14)

Chief Mukuni rides long

SENIOR chief Mukuni has bought himself a Lincoln Royale Town Car limousine from the US at a cost of US$200,000 (K1.2 million).

He has further ordered a boat also worth US$200,000.

In an interview yesterday at Lumpasa Palace in Mukuni village in Livingstone, chief Mukuni said the limousine was a 2012 make and he bought it three months ago.

He explained that he also wanted to leave a legacy by purchasing a private jet in the next 12 months. Chief Mukuni said the limousine had an inbuilt intercom, a fridge, television, a transparent retractable roof, as well as a state-of-the-art music system. He said the vehicle was not a guzzler and, in fact, consumes less fuel than his BMW.

"My intention is that once I leave (chieftainship), I will donate that (limousine) to the Mukuni Royal Establishment for the next chief to use. It's not for my members of the family. Once I leave, it will remain for the next chief to use," he said.

Chief Mukuni said the left-hand drive, which is driven by his son, Siasiloka, has a 60-litre fuel capacity. Chief Mukuni also owns a Toyota Land Cruiser. He said the limousine was ordered through his close associates in the US. Chief Mukuni said the limousines were in the range of US$200,000 to US$400,000.

He said his subjects were happy with the limousine initiative as it gave them pride.

Chief Mukuni said he was now planning to purchase a jet and another limousine, white in colour.

He said the limousine entered Zambia sometime in January through the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia. On tourism investments, chief Mukuni said Zambia needed to take a new approach to tourism development if it was to earn a lot of foreign exchange from the sector.

"There are countries like Seychelles and Kenya; they have no mines, but they are doing better than us because of tourism, nothing else!" he said.

Chief Mukuni also said he intended to expand his tourism business in Livingstone by venturing into boat cruises on the Zambezi River, using a boat and three amphibious buses, which would be driven onto the Zambezi River after game viewing. In addition, he plans to invest in Ghana, using his Mukuni Big Five tourism sanctuary, which offers lion walks, cheetah interactions and elephant rides.

Chief Mukuni said a Ghanaian tourism team, which was in the country recently, had invited Mukuni Big Five to open up branches in that country.

"They (Ghanaians) invited me, and I will be going there in July. I don't want to just invest in Zambia. I want to invest in what I know best - handling lions and elephants. So, I want to spread over and I have also ordered a boat which should be landing anytime from now to be called the 'Lion King of the Victoria Falls'. But the Ghanaians are saying 'Why not bring it to Accra?' " he said.

Chief Mukuni said the 100-seat capacity US$200,000 boat will not only be for sunset cruises, but will also do weddings, luncheons and conferences on the river.

"We are looking more at local tourism. We want to have an African touch to it as most of the boats here have a European touch other than the names," he said.

Chief Mukuni, however, said he was having problems acquiring docking space on the shores of the Zambezi River from ZAWA. "The application that we had done as Mukuni Big Five is that we wanted Mukuni Development Trust to own the docking space. We will build it for them and they will rent from ZAWA, and we would rent from them Mukuni Development Trust... the money will then trickle down to the local people. That is the arrangement, but I'm being told that the application letters are lost. I did others and sent by DHL and they also got lost," he said. <[>Chief Mukuni said he had approached ZAWA to train elephants which could be rented out to tour operators countrywide for elephant rides but that the paperwork for his suggestion went missing too.

"The Ghanaians want me to take lions and cheetahs since they don't have them, and that since they have elephants, they will give me 100, even more, to train and that they would give me 20 for free. So the way to go now is that I want to invest in foreign countries so that I can bring back some foreign exchange," he said.

Senior chief Mukuni said recently, he invited former tourism and arts minister, Sylvia Masebo, so that he could learn more on tourism from her vast experience. <[>He also revealed that the road to Mukuni village had been tarred as payment for the gravel which was being collected from the village by Inyatsi Construction Company.

Source: Chief Mukuni rides long (The Post, Zambia, 12-05-14)

ZANU PF gloats over ‘dubious’ tourism award

A European tourism award that has been described as ‘dubious’ and lacking in credibility, is now being used by ZANU PF as an endorsement by Europe of its leadership.

The Bucharest based European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) announced this week that it was presenting Zimbabwe with the award of ‘Best Tourism Destination for 2014’, in a press release that strongly praised ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe.

The Council, which claims on its website to be made up of 27 European Union (EU) tourism organisations, said it would be presenting the award to Robert Mugabe in Harare, describing him as “the most outstanding personality of today Africa.”

ZANU PF’s Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi has since said that the award justifies its efforts in pushing for the removal of the EU targeted sanctions, which now only remain against Mugabe and his wife Grace.

“When you are endorsed from Europe, you are being endorsed by those who placed us on sanctions and this shows that we have successfully succeeded in the negotiations,” Mzembi said.

But questions about the credible nature of the award and the Council itself have been raised, with some observers stating that the Council is not affiliated to the EU leadership bloc.

Former Zimbabwean diplomat Clifford Mashiri told SW Radio Africa that the award is “highly dubious.”

“The credibility of this is questionable, especially since the host of the awarding body has strong links with the regime in Harare,” Mashiri said.

Mashiri also questioned the role ZANU PF might have played in Zimbabwe being chosen for the award, with the party trying to prove its legitimacy.

“There is every reason for ZANU PF trying to gain legitimacy by the back door, considering they are not a legitimate government,” he said.

Source: ZANU PF gloats over ‘dubious’ tourism award (08-05-14)

Bulawayo lion mystery deepens

THE Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) has increased manpower to hunt a mystery lion that has for the past weeks been roaming different parts of Bulawayo's eastern suburbs and surrounding areas.

The increase in manpower hunting the lion follows the spotting of the big cat's spoor at Criterion Farm in Douglasdale on Sunday.

Zimparks spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo yesterday told Southern Eye that nine rangers, including a professional hunter, were now on the ground pursuing the adult lion.

"What we have now is that spoor was spotted at Criterion Farm? From the spoor, it was determined that the lion is an adult," Washaya-Moyo said.

"We have called for extra manpower from the Hwange National Park.

"As it is, we have a team of nine on the ground that includes a professional hunter."

There has been growing speculation among Bulawayo residents that there are possibly two lions on the loose, but Washaya-Moyo said evidence on the ground so far suggested there was only one.

"The spoor that was spotted was for one lion. However, we are not turning away any information from members of the public," she said.

Bulawayo residents are now living in fear of possible attack from the lion.

Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo posted on his Facebook wall: "Maybe I am paranoid, but surely there should be an official response or information about the lion or we are waiting for it to maul somebody.

"In the absence of information, rumours abound or do they think it will cause alarm and despondency? The problem is that there is already fear, alarm and despondency because there are now all sorts of stories with some saying there is more than one lion, others saying some people could have been attacked and others saying it's now in Hillside, Matsheumhlophe and Leeside."

However, some residents of Burnside who spoke to Southern Eye yesterday gave conflicting details about the lion.

"We heard that it was seen along Bulawayo Road, but it's all just stories," James Jubane said.

"Some are saying one resident saw it and chased it away with a catapult yet some say they saw lion droppings just next to Bulawayo Road.

"The stories are just too many now and it's confusing."

A Southern Eye news crew drove along Bulawayo Road and saw residents walking freely without any sign of fear.

"What we heard is that it was seen in Waterford. We have not heard that it has come to this side.

"I doubt if it is in this area," said a worker in one of the plots in Douglasdale.

Source: Bulawayo lion mystery deepens (Bulawayo News24 - 15-05-14)

Mosi-Oa-Tunya Rhino snare removed

ZAWA has reported that it successfully removed and treated a pregnant rhino that was recently caught up in a snare in Livingstone’s Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park.

The Rhino, known as Inonge was caught in a snare set by unknown poachers last week. Since Inonge is eight moths pregnant ZAWA Head of vet Dr David Squarre had to only partially anaesthetise her to avoid any complications that the use of drugs could cause to the pregnancy.

ZAWA is warning members of the public to desist from setting up snares - if caught they will be arrested and prosecuted by law.

Source: Mosi-Oa-Tunya Rhino Rescued (Zambia Tourism, 09-05-14)

Zimbabwe settles $30 million debt owed to Zambia

Zimbabwe has settled the outstanding $30 million owed to Zambia as principal debt accrued through the acquisition of power generation equipment under the defunct Central African Power Corporation (CAPCO) which the two countries co-owned.

Zimbabwe owed Zambia $70 million after acquiring power generation assets when CAPCO was dissolved to form the Zambezi River Authority(ZRA).

The two countries agreed that the debt be settled in installments by not later than April 30, 2014.

Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister Christopher Yaluma said the debt had been settled in full as agreed upon by the two Governments.

Yaluma however, said interest of $114 million accrued on the debt but both Governments have reached a mutual agreement that this should be settled through a devised settlement plan.

"The Government of Zimbabwe has settled the remaining $30 million, completing the $70 million owed to Zambia after the dissolution of CAPCO which was reconstituted as the Zambezi River Authority," Yaluma said.

Source: Zimbabwe settles $30 million debt owed to Zambia (Bulawayo News24, 09-05-14)

Batoka hydro-electricity project on course

PARIS - Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) board chairperson Partson Mbiriri says there is progress in the public tender process for the construction of the Batoka hydro-electricity project.
Mr Mbiriri says the results of the feasibility studies are expected to be submitted by the end of this year. “Those are important documents going forward in terms of engaging potential contractors,” he said.
Mr Mbiriri was speaking in an interview with journalists from Zambia and Zimbabwe in the French capital Paris yesterday. He added that ZRA has already called for expressions of interest and 25 companies applied for the tender process out of which nine were shortlisted.
Mr Mbiriri also said that the construction of access roads in the Batoka project site has started. “All the processes towards developing Batoka hydro-electricity scheme are underway,” he said.
The construction of the Batoka hydro-electricity scheme has been triggered by high demand for power in the region. The Batoka hydro-electricity scheme is a three-phased project which includes the construction of the dam, construction of a power station and construction of transmission lines.
Apart from operating and maintaining the Kariba dam, ZRA also has a mandate of developing new hydro-electricity schemes on the Zambezi River, on behalf of the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
And according to its 2010-2014 strategic objectives, ZRA will undertake dam maintenance and develop the Batoka hydro-electricity scheme.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s Mines, Energy and Water Development permanent secretary Charity Mwansa has said that the Kariba dam is a strategic asset for the two governments.
Ms Mwansa is also co-chairperson of the ZRA board. The Kariba dam supplies about 40 percent of electricity to the region. The ZRA delegation has left France for Venice in Italy.
While in France, the delegation attended presentations on the Bimont dam and the Malpasset ruins dam. The delegation also visited the Verdon gorges in south-eastern France.
Batoka hydro-electricity project on course (The Daily Mail, Zambia,