SIAVONGA, Zambia / KARIBA, Zimbabwe, Jun. 8 (NewsDay Live) — In a historic first for the Southern African region, the waters of Lake Kariba will soon feature a physical border line.
Over the weekend, the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe wrapped up a series of major community workshops aimed at preparing locals for the imminent installation of floating buoys along the lake's international boundary.
The pilot project will see giant floating beacons placed along the first 10 kilometers of the lake, starting from the Kariba Dam wall and heading upstream.
For years, the invisible line splitting the world's largest artificial lake has been a source of conflict mostly among fishermen and boat operators.
Kelvin Chibangula, Zambia’s assistant surveyor-general Kelvi. Chibangula told stakeholders during a recent sensitisation workshop unmarked boundary lines had led to endless clashes, arrests and vessel seizures.
"These markers will make the boundary visible and allow fishing activities to continue without fear of conflict," said Chibangula
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His Zimbabwean counterpart Edwin Guvaza assured stakeholders that the floating markers would not change the map, restrict traditional fishing grounds, or alter territorial rights.
"We want to firmly assure you that as the two surveyor-generals, we are not putting up barriers between the two countries on the lake, rather, we are enhancing the visibility of the boundary to facilitate bilateral cooperation and peaceful coexistence," said Guvaza.
The boundary marking is part of a larger, continent-wide push by the African Union Border Programme (AUBP) to improve border governance and promote peace across the continent.
The initiative is a collaborative effort between the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), and the AUBP, with financial and technical backing from Germany’s development agency, GIZ.