Perched on top of a hill in the renowned South Luangwa National Park, the Sanctuary Chichele Presidential Lodge was built as a Presidential retreat for former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda in the 1970s.
This historic lodge is set amongst lush forest and rewards guests with magnificent panoramic views of the Luangwa Valley.
Outside of the dining room, a long verandah provides a wonderful setting for dinners when the weather allows.
And when not, roaring fires welcome guests inside, taking the chill out of the cool air.
The original colonial style of the lodge is preserved in its furnishings.
Wart Hog was very happy to see the just elected President of a country that boasts of 30 per cent of its land dedicated to wildlife conservation make his first trip to a national park.
This marks an important role in his work as the Head of State.
Wart Hog remembers years back that the only Presidential Tour Guide was since the legendary and pioneering Norman Carr who is no more.
In those days, a special wildlife scout, a marksman with long experience always accompanied the President in case of an encounter with a wounded buffalo or rogue elephant. I am sure that this was seen too during President Edgar Lungu’s visit.
The fact that President Lungu went to South Luangwa National Park for his working holidayis very significant because the running of national parks in Zambia is characterised by a number of problems.
Warthog hopes that President Lungu’s visit to Mfuwe is the beginning of a new phase to revitalise the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and enable it to manage Zambia’s wildlife resources in partnership with the private sector and communities as provided for under the Zambia Wildlife Act No. 12 of 1998.
Why Wart Hog is confident that wildlife conservation in Zambia will not take root unless there is presidential intervention is that, one of the major problems that have dogged the sector is a definite lack of political will and what seems like an official “hands-off’ attitude from Government since the wildlife management portfolio has been hived off the civil service.
Unfortunately, if this nation wants its wildlife for tourism and other socio-economic and ecological reasons; if this nation wants to keep 20 national parks and thirty something game management areas; if this nation wants to keep a cadre of staff employed for jobs that they are unable to do as thoroughly as they would like to because the institution is broke, Government has to do more than it is doing at the moment and faster.
The vast national parks system in Zambia which, according to criteria set by the World Conservation Union and its Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas is among the best and most extensive in Africa and yet among the worst in terms of management structures, funding and effort is in mortal danger of serious destruction.
This is not because the men and women in the field are not doing their best. It is simply because their beloved institution, one of the most extensively established arms of Government -in some remote places the only suggestion of the presence of Government cannot tick due to problems which Wart Hog thinks are solvable if the President demands.
It’s also the hope of Wart Hog that the ministries will learn from the Head of state to take a key interest in understanding issues to do with our natural resource and the implementation strategies.
Let us not just formulate policies, but also come up with implementation strategies.
For more information contact:  Wildlife & Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia, Wart Hog, P.O. Box 30255, Lusaka, Zambia.
Telefax: 260-211-251630, Cell: 0977-780770 E-mail: wecsz@coppernet.zm