Zambians nettle Bluetown residents

PATRICIA MAGANU
Staff Writer | Tuesday July 8, 2008 00:00

 

The stop is well known for Zambians who sit there night after night waiting for transport to take them to the Kazungula border gate near Kasane. When Zambians first ascended there, they were welcomed with open arms, but now residents say Zambians are abusing their courtesy. The main complaint is that since the winter season Zambians have been burning tyres there and using them as firewood. They say that now the smoke  from the tyres bothers them, as they do not know what tyre smoke could do to their health. People also say that the Zambians are littering the area and that they often get involved in altercations with council street cleaners.

Bluetown resident Bonani Khiyane says that the Zambians are abusing the place. Khiyane says that Zambian travellers have developed this tendency of burning tyres and polluting the environment in more ways than one. 'They burn tyres there in the evenings as you can see the ground has changed colour,' she said. Khiyane said that the Zambians do not care about the surroundings that they spend most of their time in and they also have no regard for people who live in that vicinity.

'Sometimes at night they come into our homes and use our toilets without permission and in the morning you find the toilet messed up,' she lamented. Khiyane further told Mmegi that sometimes the Zambians use just the open place to answer the call of nature, especially at night. 'They hide behind council skits and do their business with no regard for people who have to clean the area,' she complained.

She went on to say another thing that the residents also fear is that Zambians are buying stolen goods. 'Even though they do not steal, people who live here steal phones and other things and quickly sell the loot to them. So now when you lose a phone there is no hope of ever finding it,' she stated. She added that sometimes the Zambian travellers just scramble for transport and there is no order whenever a vehicle stops to pick up passengers. 'Generally they just cause havoc around here. Trying to talk to them is not effective,' she said. She also stated that the people who run the vehicles that transport them to the border also cause problems because they fight for customers.

'There are those who have permits and those who do not and fights often break out there.' Pauline Mookane, a vendor who sells airtime at the spot, says that they really do not know what agreement the Zambians have with the Francistown City Council (FCC). 'I have always thought they have some kind of agreement with the council because when you try to talk to them that is what they seem to suggest,' she said. She said that though she does not reside in that area she sees what the travellers do and it is nauseating. 'As you can see tyre ashes as soon as the sun sets they start burning them to keep warm. They also throw trash anywhere,' she added. Mookane says that people have complained about their stolen goods being sold to Zambians.

'They have money and the sale is always quick so you have no way of tracing your stuff,' she stated. Some of the residents say that they have never had that much trouble with the Zambians. 'Maybe it is because I do not stay that close to the stop. She says that sometimes some of the Zambian travellers come into 'my house to ask to use the toilet'. But that is all, says Shadinyana Phuthego, another resident of Bluetown. She says she has heard of the trouble they cause but she has never experienced it first hand. Councillor Stanley Masalila says that he is aware that the area is a problem and has taken steps to try to alleviate the problem, but nothing has been done.

'I know the area is problematic. It has turned into something else and quite frankly the area does not look good,' he said. Masalila says that that area is not supposed to be a hiking spot.

'It is not a hiking spot but now it has turned into so many things, vehicles are being fixed there, trash is being thrown anywhere and the residents who reside close to the road always fear for their belongings,' he stated. Masalila says that by the look of things the spot will soon turn into a place where criminal activities take place,' he said. He further told Mmegi that he has taken the issue up with by-law officers and so far he has not heard any response from them.

'They have to find them some place else to go because there it is not ideal for Bluetown residents,' he said.