By MUNAMBEZA MUWANEI
SOUTHERN Province Minister Edify Hamukale has said a dispute has arisen between Zambia and Zimbabwe over the boundary of the Lake Kariba.
Dr Hamukale said the dispute was a security concern, because many Zambians had been arrested and prosecuted for crossing into Zimbabwean waters on the lake.
Dr Hamukale, who was speaking to the Parliamentary Committee of National Security and Foreign Affairs when they paid a courtesy call on him yesterday, said that fishing rights allowed a certain number of vessels, but that had doubled.

HAMUKALE

The minister said there was need to also put regulations to allow the fish and other species to breed in Lake Kariba.
“I hope the fish ban can also be allowed on Kariba to allow the fish species to breed because at the rate we are going all fish stocks could be depleted in the next 10 years,” Dr Hamukale said.
Dr Hamukale urged the committee to look into the issue, because law- enforcers did not have enough boats to monitor and offer security to Zambians fishing on the lake.
“This is our area of concern in terms of security. Your committee should take care of this issue. The marine units for Zambia Police and Zambia Army don’t have enough boats to monitor and offer security to our people,” Dr Hamukale said.
Chairperson for the committee Martin Malama encouraged the minister to ensure the matter was tabled during the bilateral meeting.
Dr Malama said in as much as there was unemployment, there was also need to preserve some of the resources in the lake for the future generations.
“We shall take it up, in as much as there are a lot of employment levels, but we should also be considering our children on the need to control the resources because they are not eternal,” Dr Malama said.
One of the members of the committee Frank N’gambi commended the minister for the works at the time when the province was undergoing a thorough transformation, which had seen the creation of more districts.
Mr N’gambi urged the minister to ensure Government programmes were implemented in the province.
The committee has now proceeded to Livingstone where it is expected to tour Zambia Correctional Services facilities, and the Drug-Enforcement Commission officers.
Today the committee is expected to hold a public hearing in Livingstone on the mandate of the law-enforcer’s agencies and would proceed to a similar hearing in Western Province.
Members on the committee are Margaret Miti, Anthony Malama, Mr N’gambi, Lawrence Nyirenda, Kapelwa Mbangweta, Morgan Sitwala, and Elijah Muchima.