Hunger, Power Cuts Deal Zimbabwe, Zambia Severe Blow as Lake Kariba Hits Record Low
LAKE Kariba on the Zambezi River border between Zimbabwe and Zambia used to be dotted with hundreds of commercial fishing rigs, while local fishermen in small makeshift boats would catch enough bream for their livelihood.
Now the fishermen are standing on shore praying for rain as drought has shrunk the water level of the world’s biggest man-made lake by volume to a record low.
“It’s so bad that on a bad day you can catch just a couple of fish, just enough to eat on the day or exchange for cooking oil or a small packet of cornmeal,” said one of them, Cyril Murinda.
“We just hope that God hears our pleas for rain and the dam fills up so that we can get back to fishing, otherwise we will just starve.”
Ben Angel