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It seems that January was a tough month . . .
Thursday, 05 January 2006 "The clock slowly ticks by the days and I am getting quite concerned now. There have been no messages from Lusaka to tell me that my permit has gone through. Maybe at the meeting today they will review it ... On the immigration visa thing, I heard a great story to console me on the radio last night. Apparently immigration officers in the UK are regularly sleeping with female applicants to extend their visas. If that is going on in England, what hope is there here?" Thursday, 19 January 2006 "Over half way through the month now and I am writing this today as a chore rather than because I want to. It has not been a good start to the year as there has been no miraculous progress with the visa and there is no sign of a Tourism Licence for Community Campsite. I wasted a trip to Lusaka in the high hopes that the visa had finally made its way through the process to committee but was hugely disappointed to find that there was little progress. It is actually possible that the application will go into committee today and so I may come back to this diary with a more positive attitude tomorrow. "The frustration I have had with the ZNTB has led me to the point of desperation and so I have written a letter demanding a licence by 28 February or I will pull out of the investment. I hope that they do not try and call my bluff. I copied the Chieftainess in on the letter and she has said that she will make a few phone calls to push things along from her side." Tuesday, 24 January 2006 "A few clear days and a night at Kanyemba on Sunday helped bring my mood up a little. It was good to share my problems with other foreigners trying to make their way in this difficult country. Gus and Cath run Baya Baya farm up near Chiawa and had nightmares getting their permits organised and still have constant battles with the authorities. They really are contributing to local employment through their farm so technically have a much sounder case than my own. "It seems that there are many of us who come here and get caught up in Africa. We invest so much of ourselves here that it becomes impossible to leave and return to the places that once were home. We end up completely burning our bridges, spending our overseas reserves to cut off the escape route that we never thought we might need. "Another thing that lifted my mood a little was getting my report order stamped at Chirundu rather than trekking back to Lusaka. Kiri and Steve recommended that I go straight to Mrs Zulu and talk to her. This was a good plan because she took a liking to me especially when I agreed to take her son back to his work at Jerry’s farm. Even though the border post was chaotic, it did not have the depressing atmosphere of Kent House with its scores of hopeful, slightly desperate, punters waiting for their files to go through the process.
"We have a very full team in camp today and I have decided to set them to work at Community Campsite. It is time to start building there, or at least demolishing the rubbish that has accumulated over the years. If we can clear the old toilets that no longer work in the next week or so there is a chance that the bush may reclaim their positions and eliminate any unsightly trace of them." |
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© Afrikeye 1999 - 2007 (certain items under permission of original copyright owner) |
