Opinion / Columnist
Poor disaster management plan
16 Aug 2026 at 21:11hrs |
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The sentiments by the local government minister Daniel Garwe about the Lake Kariba boat disaster expose the inefficiency of this government in disaster management plans.
It is not enough to inform mourners at Nyamhunga Stadium that the president has directed that a replacement passenger ferry be found and that an impassable road linking Kariba, Siakobvu, and Chalala be urgently fixed. Did the minister of transport not know about this rickety, decrepit ferry that started service in 1985?
People died because the government was careless. Now we must see heads roll. Someone should pay for mass murder and send a strong message to the would-be offenders.
Unfortunately, we are living in a country where thieves and thugs are under the regime’s protection. We'll call it an accident, and people will move on.
We must not always respond to disasters. Ministries should be proactive in mitigation. Nick Mangwana was warned about this Mbuya Nehanda boat sometime last year, but we tend to ignore and politicize every idea and suggestion coming from the common people. We are stuck in our dirty lenses of politics.
We could have missed this had we listened. First, we must not allow blood to be shed and then react. Visionary leaders don’t do this.
Our first people and our first country, before politics and before personal acquisition of wealth over development.
We have seen cars distributed like confetti to church leaders, artists, and comedians just to buy votes, but we haven’t been able to replace an old ferry, which was found in the early 80s.
The ferry passengers did not wear life jackets. People and property were crammed like sardines, and nobody bothered about their safety and security. It is about an insatiable appetite for power and not service delivery.
Or did they have to wait for more than 90 people to die before they acted that way?
Email - konileonard606@gmail.com
X - @Leokoni
It is not enough to inform mourners at Nyamhunga Stadium that the president has directed that a replacement passenger ferry be found and that an impassable road linking Kariba, Siakobvu, and Chalala be urgently fixed. Did the minister of transport not know about this rickety, decrepit ferry that started service in 1985?
People died because the government was careless. Now we must see heads roll. Someone should pay for mass murder and send a strong message to the would-be offenders.
Unfortunately, we are living in a country where thieves and thugs are under the regime’s protection. We'll call it an accident, and people will move on.
We must not always respond to disasters. Ministries should be proactive in mitigation. Nick Mangwana was warned about this Mbuya Nehanda boat sometime last year, but we tend to ignore and politicize every idea and suggestion coming from the common people. We are stuck in our dirty lenses of politics.
We could have missed this had we listened. First, we must not allow blood to be shed and then react. Visionary leaders don’t do this.
We have seen cars distributed like confetti to church leaders, artists, and comedians just to buy votes, but we haven’t been able to replace an old ferry, which was found in the early 80s.
The ferry passengers did not wear life jackets. People and property were crammed like sardines, and nobody bothered about their safety and security. It is about an insatiable appetite for power and not service delivery.
Or did they have to wait for more than 90 people to die before they acted that way?
Email - konileonard606@gmail.com
X - @Leokoni
Source - Leonard Koni
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