25 Aug 2020

Kazungula ferry has a rich history. For many years the ferry, which has been facilitating the transportation of goods and services between Botswana and Zambia played a very significant role in enhancing regional trade, integration and spur global competitiveness. However, at one point the South African apartheid regime labelled its services of transporting goods and people to Zambia illegal.

The regime claimed that Botswana and Zambia did not share a border and that only a quadripoint existed. It seemed the South African regime suspected that the ferry was used to carry weapons to freedom fighters in Zambia, Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia and Namibia, then South West Africa.

According to sources, Botswana firmly rejected the South Africa claim. At one point, in the 1970, the Rhodesian army attacked and sank the ferry, saying it was serving military purposes.

The exact year in which the ferry service began cannot be ascertained except for Kgosi Josephat Mwezi of Kavimba village who has some scanty memories of the ferry. Kgosi Mwezi who is regarded as a walking encyclopedia says the ferry boat might arrived in the early 1960s.

The arrival of the ferry or pontoon as it is popularly known, was widely welcomed as it was the modern mode of transport to ever reach Kazungula village. Residents of the then small Kazungula village nestled at the Zambezi River awaited eagerly the arrival of one of the most important mode of transport in their area-the pontoon.

A few days later, cars and trucks began loading onto the boat bringing heavy cartons aboard, and the operators of the boat who were regarded then as super human beings were explaining the various parts of the ferry.

Mr Mwezi explains that as the engine below deck starts to rumble and throb, the operator blows his whistle and steers the ferry carefully out of the harbour. Once underway, the people on board watch with amusement until the time the ferry pulls up to the river pier.

“Nowadays many travelers view ferry transportation as an adventure and an experience that cannot be obtained from other modes of transportation,” said an observer.

In the Chobe District during those early days, the ferry strengthened the district’s economy by assisting in the transportation of cattle to the abattoir in Zambia for slaughtering as well as goods and services to support local businesses and tourism.

Kgosi Mwezi recalls the days when the ferry was not only a necessity but a paying proposition.

He said the ferry provided critical transportation to communities, and a convenient travel bypass to avoid congestion on some other highways in the SADC countries.

Mr Mwezi explained that the ferries played an important role in the cattle industry because it was the only source of transport used to transport cattle from Botswana side to Zambia for slaughtering as the Botswana abattoir in Lobatse was very far.

“Cattle farmers in the district used to trek their cattle from as far as Maun, Mabele, Kavimba, Kachikau, Satau and Parakarungu villages to be crossed into Zambia using the ferry because the country was the only one near with a cold storage,” he added.

He said the cattle were not loaded on the ferry but rather were tied on the side of the ferry and the ferry will be driven to cross the river.

Kgosi Mwezi explained that in 2010, Botswana introduced her ferry which augmented the two from Zambia making crossing to and from Zambia quicker.

“Even today, the vegetables that are sold in our shops and by street vendors are from Zambia. The ferry plays a very big role in the improvement of our lives as a district,” he added.

Kgosi Mwezi explained that at that time Zimbabwe, which was a little bit nearer, was inaccessible because of the then Ian Smith regime which was fighting ZANUPF for independence.

Thirty-Five year-old Ms Thatayaone Banika, who is a regular visitor to the Zambia to buy vegetables for sale in Kasane, narrates her experience of the ferry, noting the glorious views across the Zambezi River.

“The first time you enter the water using the ferry, you will feel that your life is on the line, but two days later or so, you find that the river (Zambezi) offers both adventure and joy” she said of her first time riding  the pontoon in 2011.

She had accompanied her mother to the market side in Zambia.

Ms Banika said fear engulfed her because it was her first time to use such a big machine which carries heavy trucks, crowed with people and other machinery.

She said as soon as they boarded the ferry, she closed her eyes until it reached the other side because she was afraid of the waters. “I did not even hear the sound of the engine when the ferry was navigating through,” she added.

Ms Banika said the Zambian pontoons were regularly experiencing accidents citing that at some point during her regular visits to Zambia using the Zambian pontoon, the ferry collided with another one and passengers were scattered in the waters.

She said the problem with the Botswana pontoon was that it regularly experienced breakdowns though comfortable. “E ne e kete o ntse mo lwapeng la gago,” literally meaning that it is like you are resting in your own yard.

She says with the facing out of the ferry, she would miss those moments in which she would spot some crocodiles, hippos and other animals.

However, she comforts herself that the construction of the Kazungula Bridge would provide the same scenery when the pontoon service ends this year.

One of the pontoon operators, Mr Unaswi Seemule, said working on pontoon was not only tough physically but mentally as well. “You are dealing continuously with conflicting opinions and racing nerves when you are a pontoon operator. Pontoon operators are made, not born, “he added.

He said it was the operator’s responsibility to look after the safety and security of both the ferry, the trucks, the crew and the people in the pontoon.

“It is akin to a military experience. Sometimes it is a matter of life or death,” adding that operating a pontoon was a strenuous job.

He explained that the river on its own was unique.

“Decisions come hard and fast and leave little room for error or second-guessing. In a tough situation, the operator is compelled to call the shots,” said Mr Seemule.

Mr Seemule however, is thankful for the experience he gained working as an operator.

He is however sad that he will miss his “friend” as he now goes back to the Central Transport Organisation to work as a driver adding that operating a pontoon was his learning curve in life even though the job was less paying.

The life of the pontoon will come to an end in August this year following the construction of the multi-billion Pula Kazungula Bridge across the Zambezi River, a joint project  by the governments of Zambia and Botswana.

The aim of the project is to reduce transit time for freight and passengers, boost regional economy and even increase global competitiveness of goods from the SADC trading blocs and the rest of Africa.

The total construction of the bridge, which include a railway line portion between two roads, and a walkway passage from pedestrians will cost the two governments a total of US$ 174 million and is currently  98 per cent complete. ENDS