Online Reporter
Paul Pindani in Chinhoyi
HOPE is returning to communities along the Lake Kariba shoreline after the launch of the MV Silverstone, a passenger and cargo vessel expected to restore vital transport links in the area.
It will provide a link between Kariba and isolated fishing communities.
The introduction of the service comes more than a month after the August 11 ferry disaster that claimed 97 lives.
The MV Silverstone, owned by Most High Ferries proprietor Hillary Mangove, will operate along the critical Kariba-Chalala corridor.
It will have stops at Musamba Fishing Camp and Kings Camp — the same route left without a regular ferry service after the Mbuya Nehanda vessel capsized.
Mangove said the Silverstone service was meant to help close the transport gap created by the tragedy.
“We are not coming as a replacement of the RIDA Mbuya Nehanda but to cover the gap that it left after the sad 11 August incident,” Mangove said.
Operations are expected to begin once the vessel’s permits have been finalised. The disaster left residents of these communities facing severe transport challenges.
Those affected include thousands of residents, fishermen, traders and families who rely on lake transport to access markets, food supplies, health services and other essential services.
Lake Kariba is a major economic lifeline for communities around its shoreline, supporting fishing, fish trading and related businesses.
But the same waters that sustain these livelihoods also make road access difficult, expensive or, in some areas, impossible.
Fish traders have struggled to move their catch to markets, fishermen have faced difficulties travelling to and from fishing camps, while families have encountered challenges accessing food, medicines and other basic necessities.
Speaking at the launch, the Ministry of Transport Permanent Secretary, Joy Makumbe, who was represented by Director of Legal Services Kingston Magaya, said the August disaster had demonstrated the risks associated with relying heavily on a single operator along a critical transport corridor.
“Lake Kariba is too important to depend on one operator.
“Had there been alternative operators on the Kariba-Chalala corridor, the economic shock after 11 August would have been minimal.
“Liberalisation of transport corridors is very critical. Government cannot do it alone.”
