Chitambo, November 23, ZANIS—Government has expressed concern with the state of the monument at the David Livingstone Memorial site in Chitambo district of Central Province.
Central Province Permanent Secretary Edwidge Mutale who toured the site recently, noticed that the monument was cracking and required attention before the cracks went deeper.
Ms. Mutale said this when she toured the site together with Serenje and Chitambo District Commissioners (DC) Charles Mwelwa and David Kaseba respectively.
She said there was need to erect a cenotaph depicting Chuma and Ssutsi on a shoot of the Mupundu tree by the monument.
Ms. Mutale also suggested that an investor could be allowed to put up a retreat centre where people who travel to see the site, could be resting and buying some curios.
She further suggested that a library, with literature about David Livingstone’s journey and other activities, could be placed for people to learn more about him.
And Memorial site Care taker Barbra Changwe, said the site was actively visited by people from far and near especially during the dry season.
Ms. Changwe further disclosed that people did not frequent the site during the rainy season due to the state of the road from Serenje to Mansa at Chalilo, to Chipundu which becomes muddy and impassable in some parts.
“I receive between 25 and 30 people per month in the dry season, but very few during the rainy season,” said Changwe.
And Chief Chitambo has since appealed to government to rehabilitate the Chipundu road that leads to the David Livingstone memorial site.
Reach out to the Scots for help in rehabilitating it.
No begging for Zambia this time!
What surprises me is when you hear the government complaining when it is within their power to do these things.
Too much dead aid!
Akalilo as usual!
Mop…that is a deep thought lol…
I don’t like fact that dear old David changed the name of the our falls to that of an old evil lady with no meaning whatsoever…Mosi-o-Tunya carries a punch with a subjective meaning to the people and the actual action of the falls…
As we repair David’s grave let us think of reclaiming the name of the falls and make it truly ours…
What is Chuma and Sshushi for Pete’s sake!?!!
Be innovative and mobilise local resources, get convicts like Musumba to come and do the clean up at no cost to the local council.
What do you have heads for kanshi?
If HH was a Genuine Millionare who loves his country, and knowing that MMD had neglected this monument which is in his strong hold, he could have donated some money to rehabilitate it. But the chap has no interest in such things except to get to plot one. If he cant take care of a monument in his strong hold area, how on earth will he improve people lives in Zambia. Bufi. Zambians watch out, little things such as these speak louder than words about some people.
JUST B4 HIS 60TH BD.
I THE WRITING, REAL ZAMBIAN
Break the damn thing!!!
My ribs are cracking as I think how much importance we still place on Doctor DL. I know it is beneficial to tourism but it is time we looked at how to protect those cave paintings which are being chipped away for use as building blocks. At least it is something our ancestors worked on themselves and not a man made ode to a man who increasingly has his role in history questioned by newer discoveries such as the lost diaries and reading his unedited works is telling about his thoughts about our ancestors. Fair play. Fix up the statues but at least look into all our own heritage and cultural and historical works too. We have a lot to offer but we have to value it first.
I agree with you Phiri..
Thanks Stico. Here is a quote about our beloved hero and his musings:
“In particular his attitude to the liberated slaves in his entourage is one of disgust – an attitude greatly at odds with his public persona as a dedicated abolitionist.”
Source: BBC News November, 2011
Am glad there is someone like (a phiri ana bwera) you thinking this way. I have written on this forum so many times about issues that border between our-story and he’s-story (history). Abantu awe sure te bakumfwa. some have even suggested that i go back to living in caves if i hold such sentiments as thats the only thing our ancestors were capable of. There is so much unwritten history about our people (ourstory), its astounding why we pay so much importance to this reconnaissance agent(recon soldier) for the english crown called livingstone. Some blogger on top even ignorantly asks who is chuma ssutsi? you see the level of brainwashing. please open your eyes,i dont need you negative votes but your eyes opened like a phiri anabwera.
sorry chuma and ssutsi.
@Kolwe am with you on our-story..its a big story our ancestors did great things..I believe we currently can’t move forward or reach the heights that we can as a people individually and nationally because we haven’t taken time to look at ourselves, to seriously study where we are coming from, so we can know where we must go. Because we don’t value our story, we are still glorifying our testified and passionate enemies. “Man know thy self”
Fix him please!
David Livingstone’s monument cracking? I say speed up the process with hammers.
Primitive thinking!
@ Equalizer: you have made me laugh..ati speed up with hammers lol
Again somebody else shall help,whats wrong with you Zambians cant you do things yourself???????????????????????
Let the monument crack. We should be more concerned about the cracks in our own traditional heritage and culture, manifested in the contetious spirit of refusing to recognize an appointment of a Chief by his own people.
Traditional morals and cultural practices of our people are a more important to safeguard than physical objects that only remind us of a time when we suffered from colonialism and imperialism.
@Nine Chale I agree my elder..wise
@The Equalizer I ‘ll provide the hammers.
Actually may it continue to crack- Godspeed and in earnest. David Livingstone was jusr some chap wh has no importance to our history. What did he “discover” that our ancestors did not know already? I find it very funny that because he was the first white man to view the falls, we should accord him honours. You do not see black African who were the first to see say the Great Canyon in America receiving honour and statues. Wake up you African from that inferiority complex.
bring the white hunter down, stolen too much from us..
The Livingstone Memorial site indeed need to be mantained but the problem is the site is on land owned by the UCZ , who need to make a decision on who invests there. Let the UCZ open up the land, even the local Community can put up some thing for visitors
Time for inferiority complex is long gone. Let his relatives come and maintain that symbol of imperialism.No African should call Mosi o tunya falls by that foreign name then we shall get rid of it forever. Nefimashina fya chingeleshi fipwe!
Why indeed call a black person Fred Edith Dora Kenneth or David when not a single white man is called Hakainde, Banda Chilufya or Liuwa? Slave mentality.
THE PROBLEM IS MUCH DEEPER MY MAN. FIRST OF ALL YOU AND ME ARE USING THE WHITE MAN’S LANGUAGE TO COMMUNICATE. THAT IN ITSELF IS ENSLAVEMENT. WE ARE USING THE WHITE MAN’S ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY TO COMMUNICATE ON THIS SITE ALSO. AND THAT SAME MONUMENT HAS BEEN BRINGING SOME DOLLARS TO THAT COMMUNITY. WE HAVE BEEN EDUCATED BY THE WHITE MAN’S EDUCATION. IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME FOR US TO JUST IGNORE PEOPLE LIKE DL. YES OUR OWN PEOPLE KNEW THE MOSI OA-TUNYA LONG BEFORE DL. BUT IT ONLY GETS RENOWNED AFTER PEOPLE LIKE DL SPREAD THE NEWS ABOUT THE FALLS. AND NOW WE CAN REAP MANY DOLLARS. OUR OWN CHUMA AND SSUTSI CANNOT BRING US ANY DOLLARS.
Imw! Whats so special about David Livingstone? He came to Zambia and told us he discovered the Mosi-O-Tunya Fall which he renamed after his queen and today we should spend money honouring his memorial? What about our brother he enslaved to carry his suit cases and bottles of whisky, why don’t we remember them? In fact what happened to them? In Kabwe we have a tree right in the town centre where Zambian memories of Zambian slaves seem to be forgotten, yet no one is talking about that… Let that Livingstone memorial crack and in its place build one in memory of our lost brothers he exploited instead. What happened to One Zambia One Nation, Was Livingston Zambian with Zambia at the heart of is mission? If he even thought Mosi-O-Tunya was a horrible name to call this water falls….
In fact the best way to remember that chap is to build a pit latrine on his memorial so that whilst you sit in there doing number two, you can have enough time to read about his non-sense and by the time you done contribute to his memorial in masses…
Whether we like it or not David Livingstone played a role in the shaping of modern Zambia. It is part of our cultural heritage and the government must renovate it. Mind you it’s the westerners coming from abroad bringing in dollars to see such. How may of you indigenous Zambians have even been to the location where Dr. Livingstone died? We need the tourism money and government must play particular attention in maintaining such places.
30 visitors a month, an average of 1 visitor a day. That’s no money to write home about
@Kabamba please explain how the looter shaped modern Zambia? In my view ever since Livingston and his band of thugs came, we have been in a bad state and are only starting to recover. He took out our light with his ministry of brainwashing, we v been brainwashed so much we can’t do things for ourselves. What value is there to African children born and unborn to find all these foreigners with monuments and made into saints? What value is there to their own self-esteem and confidence? They ll ask what about us, what about our people, what did our people do? Glorifying people that only contributed to yours and my downfall is madness, there were many Africans/Zambians my ancestors, unsung heroes, men and women that did courageous things. But unfortunately their deeds get drowned out! Sad…
Let the British come and maintain it.
David Livingstone was a very important man. After discovering the Victoria Falls he then discovered us the people of Zambia. He discovered our spiritual need and gave us the bible. As we began reading this book he sent the following message to fellow imperialists. “Hurry guys come get the minerals. Ive just given These natives the opium. They will sleep forever while we get rich”
“Ok coming soon” responded Cecil
Haha ha ha ha! Walabako “to a place near you”