Chobe District (Part 7)

Jeff Ramsay | Tuesday October 19, 2021 06:00

They subsequently sold their timber rights to Chobe Concessions Ltd., which was active in the region from 1944 to 1956. Altogether a total of 6.8 million cubic feet of hardwood, notably Rhodesian mahogany and teak, was extracted from the concession during the period, from which the Bechuanaland Protectorate Government received a total of 44,000 pounds in royalty revenues.

During the time of the Concessions' operations, Serondella grew into a town of just over 3,000 whose amenities included a cinema, beer hall, and retail outlets, as well as an airstrip.

When the sawmill ceased its operations, however, Serondella became a virtual ghost town. It was also a nexus for riverboat traffic with barges taking the cut timber to Livingston. About 70% of the forestry workforce was recruited from outside the district.

Also, in 1935 the Witwatersrand Native Labour Recruitment Agency of "Wenela" set up a depot to recruit Central African workers for South African mines, resulting in the creation of the modern village of Kazungula. Wenela subsequently built a school, clinic, and airstrip while providing river transport services. The importance of the Kazungula station was reduced following the opening of a larger facility at Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi. The Wenela office at Kazungula finally closed in 1969, resulting in many Malozi workers returning to Zambia.

In 1932 the Chobe District was officially declared as a non-hunting zone by the then Resident Commissioner Charles Rey, who unsuccessfully lobbied for the creation of a large game reserve or park in the Chobe District. During the 1940s-50s modest numbers of leisure travellers, nonetheless, began visiting Kazungula-Kasane from Livingstone, often attracted to the area’s hot springs, as well as flora and fauna.

Many of the early visitors camped at Serondella. But the creation of the Chobe National Part in 1968 resulted in the decision to remove residents from Serondella and other settlements along the Chobe falling within the park’s boundary.

From 1945 investors showed interest in establishing a hotel in the area. But such a proposal only came to fruition with the 1959 founding of the Chobe River Lodge (now Chobe Safari Lodge). With government support, the lodge also in 1960 revived regular ferry service at Kazungula. In 1972 Chobe Game Lodge, Botswana’s first five-star safari operation opened its doors inside the Chobe National Game Park. The lodge and park were thrust into the international spotlight in 1975 when Hollywood celebrity guests Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton decided to re-marry at the facility.

During the 1940s tsetse fly once more became prevalent in the Chobe region resulting in a severe decline in local cattle herds. In 1954 the Colonial Development Corporation (CDC) financed the reopening of the Lobatse abattoir. To encourage northern cattle farmers to send their livestock to the abattoir, the CDC established ranches at Mpandamatenga, Bushman Pits and Nata. In the process, Khoe were removed from Lesoma to Mpandamatenga, although the scheme soon collapsed.

From 1961 there was extensive refugee movement across the Zambezi River regulated by local British and subsequent Botswana and Zambian authorities. ANC, PAC, ZAPA, SWAPO and FRELIMO all made extensive use of the corridor. Following Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965, and Botswana's independence in 1966, there were initial ANC/ZAPU incursions into northwest Rhodesia along the Botswana border. Known as the "Wankie Campaign," the incursions ended when freedom fighters, including Chris Hani, fled into Botswana, where they handed themselves over to Botswana's Police Mobile Unit (PMU).

Around 1968, the idea of constructing a road from Nata to Kazungula and a bridge across the Zambezi River to improve trade between Zambia and Botswana was discussed by Presidents Sir Seretse Khama and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda. The two leaders also agreed to seek financial assistance from the U.S. Government to fund the said road and bridge at Kazungula, which was already a matter of interest to the Americans. Further to the above, on February 20, 1970, in a letter addressed to President Khama, the South African Government asserted their objections to the construction of the proposed bridge on the basis that it would be crossing over their territories because Botswana and Zambia did not have a common boundary at Kazungula. South Africa's position, which it held in collaboration with the rebel Rhodesia regime, appears to have been motivated by their continued interest to prevent the movement of refugees and freedom fighters in the context of by then escalating Black Nationalist insurgency in the Caprivi as well as Rhodesia. The South African position was rejected by Botswana and Zambia, with American and other international backing, but may have contributed to the postponement of the bridge project for a generation. Construction, instead, proceeded during the 1970s on the tarmac road from Francistown to Kazungula, with an enhanced ferry service introduced in 1979.