conservation and mgmt of arch. sites, Vol. 15 Nos 3–4, 2013, 281–97
The Challenges of Managing an
Archaeological Heritage Site in a
Declining Economy: The Case of Khami
World Heritage Site in Zimbabwe
Simon Makuvaza
Research Fellow, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe
Violah Makuvaza
Senior Collections Manager, Natural History Museum, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
This paper explores the case of the Khami archaeological site, whose degradation by the local communities in recent years was as a result of socioeconomic problems caused by the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy
combined with the inability of the Zimbabwean government to support the
site. We argue that the negative attitude by the local communities towards
the management of cultural heritage sites is embedded in the colonial history of the country, and has been driven by the socio-economic difficulties
emanating from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy in recent
years. We begin by explaining the history of Khami, its architecture, and the
local communities residing around it. We then show and assert that the
subsequent degradation of Khami and the landscape around it by the local
communities is linked to the socio-economic problems of the country and
poverty, which emanated from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy. In
the end, we contend that the economic constraints are part of the reasons
why the local communities have from time to time failed to respect the
importance of protecting cultural heritage sites in the country.
keywords World Heritage Site, degradation, cultural landscape, local communities, Zimbabwe, economy
Introduction
In Zimbabwe, local communities living around cultural heritage sites have frequently
been regarded as having negative attitudes towards their management. In the
© W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2014
DOI 10.1179/1350503314Z.00000000061
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Zimbabwean context, these cultural heritage sites refer to tangible (physical)
structures such as archaeological sites, rainmaking shrines, cultural landscapes, and
historic buildings. The negative attitude by the local communities towards the management of these sites has resulted in their degradation and, in some cases, actual
destruction. Zimbabwean heritage managers and archaeologists have come up with
several explanations as to why local communities have not been concerned with the
management of these sites, and why in some cases they have damaged or even
destroyed them. One explanation, which has gained wide currency and become
generally accepted in recent years, is that the local communities have been isolated
from managing these sites by both the colonial and post-colonial management
systems. During the colonial era in Zimbabwe (1890 to 1980), large populations
were evicted and alienated from their ancestral homes to pave the way for European
settlements. These evictions were made possible through the enactment of the 1930
Land Apportionment Act and the 1951 Land Husbandry Act. The populations were
also evicted from their original settlements to allow for the establishment of
protected forests through the Forest Act of 1949 and the creation of the national
parks through the Parks and Wildlife Management Act of 1975. The result was that
people were settled in new areas with cultural heritage sites they were not directly
associated with (Pwiti & Ndoro, 1999; Ndoro, 2001). It is from this alienation and
association with unfamiliar cultural heritage sites that the local community’s lack of
concern of the management of cultural heritage sites is argued to have originated
from. The situation was further exacerbated when these sites were turned into places
of scientific study (Ndoro, 2001). The research programmes which were undertaken
in a colonial context did not involve the local communities, and the results were
published in scientific language which could not be understood by those who had an
interest in the management of the sites (Pwiti, 1997; Ndoro, 2001; Chirikure & Pwiti,
2008). Through the introduction of Christianity and its values, many Zimbabwean
communities began to neglect and loathe their past cultural values (Ranger, 1999;
Ndoro, 2001; Makuvaza, 2008). For this reason, many local communities began to
abandon traditional practices of managing cultural heritage sites in the country.
On attainment of independence, many Zimbabwean communities had expected
that these social ills would be healed through direct engagement in the management
of cultural heritage sites. However, this did not happen as the National Museums and
Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ), an administrative organization responsible for
museums and monuments in the country, appears to have perpetuated the colonial
style of managing these sites in the country. It is for this reason that the organization
has largely been criticized for its failure to engage with the local communities and
educate them about the past and the importance of looking after cultural heritage
sites (see Murimbika & Moyo, 2008). In fact, the failure by the NMMZ to change
the legislation which it inherited from the colonial authorities has been viewed and
described as a colonial legacy and furtherance of the colonial type of cultural heritage
management (Pwiti & Ndoro, 1999; Makuvaza, 2007). The country’s heritage law
has frequently been cited as having been legislated against the local communities to
prevent them from owning and making use of these cultural heritage sites (Munjeri,
2005). It is for this reason that there have always been conflicts between the NMMZ
and the local communities over the ownership and use of cultural heritage sites in
the country.
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History and architecture of Khami World Heritage Site
Khami is an extensive complex of dry-stone walled sites that cover approximately
35 hectares of land, and is located 22.5 kilometres west of Zimbabwe’s second largest
city, Bulawayo (Figure 1). The site was established as a Torwa state in around 1640
after the collapse of Great Zimbabwe, which is located more than 250 kilometres
to the south-east. The distinct development of Khami state was a modified style of
dry-stone wall architecture which was inherited from the free-standing walls at Great
Zimbabwe. The Khami structures are terrace or retaining walls that are constructed
around and over granite hill tops. The top surfaces of the hill tops were levelled to
create platforms on which residential round clay houses were built (Robinson, 1959;
Huffman, 1996; Pikirayi, 2006; Burret & Hubbard, 2007).
Khami platforms are also characterized by passages usually dissecting the retaining
walls towards the hill summit. The platforms are also decorated with check and cord
patterns and the general layout of Khami is a clear testimony of the continuity in
architectural styles from the preceding Zimbabwe culture phase sites (Figure 2). The
wealth of the Torwa state in cattle and involvement in long-distance trade was envied
by other ethnic groups. This envy ultimately led to the invasion of the site in around
1683 by a powerful and militaristic group of people called the Rozvi. This led to
the burning and abandonment of the Torwa capital (Burret & Hubbard, 2007). The
figure 1 Part of Southern Africa, showing the location of Khami and other sites mentioned
in the text.
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figure 2
The restored Khami Hill Complex.
collapse of the Torwa state led to the shifting of power from Khami and the establishment of Dhlodhlo (Danan’ombe), located approximately 100 kilometres to the east.
In 1937, Khami was proclaimed a National Monument in recognition of its
importance in the prehistory of the country. Since then, archaeological research and
conservation work has been carried out at the site and its significance was eventually
acknowledged as universally outstanding, leading to its proclamation as a World
Heritage Site in 1986.
The local communities living around Khami and the management of
the site
The site is surrounded to the east by the high-density suburbs of Pumula and
Nkulumani, which are between three and five kilometres away. In recent years the
suburbs have been extended towards the site. Slightly to the north-east, the site is also
surrounded by the Robert Sinyoka rural community. Close to the site, Khami shares
its boundary with the Sengwayo Apostolic Faith Mission Church farm, Green Gables
High School, formerly Elite High School, while further west there are a few cattleranching private farms. Immediately adjacent to the east of the site, across the Khami
River, there is Khami Water Works, a small settlement housing a few Bulawayo City
Council (BCC) staff members. The Khami prison is located more than ten kilometres
to the north. A study of these local communities by Chirikure and Pwiti (2008) showed
that none of them have a direct historical link with Khami and their association with
it is only based on their proximity to the site. At Khami, there are no local communities organized to sell curios or souvenirs to tourists near or at the site. The only
value that some of these local communities probably attach to Khami is economic,
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285
associated with the occasional employment by the NMMZ. This is because the local
communities were not adequately involved in the nomination of the site to the World
Heritage List (NMMZ, 2000). The local community was also not fully involved
during the writing of the Site Management Plan in 1999, and during its three reviews,
in 2006, 2010, and 2013. In actual fact, the local communities who were involved in
these four exercises were few selected stakeholders. Chevalier (2001) defines stakeholders as groups, constituencies, social actors, or institutions of any size or aggregation
that act at various levels (domestic, local, regional, national, international, public, or
private) and that have a significant and specific stake in a given set of resources and
can affect or be affected by resource management problems or interventions. Chirikure
and Pwiti (2008) describe these stakeholders as communities of interests.
The majority of the local communities living close to Khami are either unemployed
or they are low-income earners. During the farming season, some of these local
communities, especially residents from the nearby suburbs, cultivate patches of land
as a way of supplementing their food and income. Others have, however, resorted to
fishing in the heavily polluted Khami dam, while others illegally sell firewood and
wildlife meat probably poached from the Khami estate and the surrounding farms.
One of the most important reasons why some local communities have developed a
negative attitude towards the management of cultural heritage sites in the country is
that they do not directly benefit economically from their management. Some researchers such as Makuvaza and Makuvaza (2010) have argued that it is the administrative
organizations and private tour operators which only benefit directly from managing
cultural heritage sites through tourism. In some cases, such as at Great Zimbabwe
National Monument, which is also a World Heritage Site, some local communities
indirectly benefit from the site through selling of curios or souvenirs to tourists at a
place outside the site premises. This arrangement, which is not a deliberate policy by
the NMMZ, makes the local communities feel that they are not part of the management system of these sites and that explains why they have a negative or indifferent
attitude towards their management.
Although international tourist arrivals in Zimbabwe rose rapidly after 1990, it
started to decline in 2000. From 1990, international tourist arrivals to Zimbabwe
grew at an average rate of 12%, but declined in 2000 as a result of political and
economic instability in the country. The highest growth rate was in 1995 when
Zimbabwe hosted the All Africa Games, which saw an increase of 35% in tourist
arrivals. Since then, international tourist arrivals in the country continued to decline
by an average rate of 4.5% between 2000 and 2005 (Muchapondwa & Pimhidzai,
2011). At Khami, tourist arrivals generally declined by 8% between 2000 and 2008
(Figure 3). This translated into massive income and revenue losses for the NMMZ
and the entire cultural heritage sector (Murimbika & Moyo, 2008).
While the local communities’ indifference towards the management of cultural heritage sites has been blamed on the colonial and post-colonial administrative systems,
little or no attention has been paid to the attitude that the local communities develop
on the management of cultural heritage sites when the economy of the country
has collapsed and when the government is unable to finance their management,
especially when international relations are strained. Also, there has been little or no
notice of the link, which usually exists, between the socio-economic problems and the
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figure 3
Visitor trends at Khami World Heritage Site.
degradation or destruction of cultural heritage sites by the local communities when a
nation is undergoing economic and political problems.
The collapse of the Zimbabwean economy and its effects on the
management of Khami
The decline of the Zimbabwean economy is argued to have begun during the early
1990s, but it shrank to unprecedented levels from about 1999 onwards when the
government began to compulsorily acquire white-owned commercial farms and redistributed them to ‘landless’ black Zimbabweans. Economists and political researchers
regard the collapse of the country’s economy as having been caused by an intertwined
but very complex myriad of factors, such as the 1991–95 International Monetary
Fund (IMF) prescribed Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP), rampant
corruption, involvement of Zimbabwe’s army in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) war to help Laurent Kabila’s government, the disputed presidential elections
in 2002 and 2008, and the controversial land acquisition and redistribution programme (Moyo, 2000; Michael, 2001; Maclean, 2002; Sachikonye, 2002; DiSilvio,
2007). In addition to these self-inflicted factors, the Zimbabwean economy was
further depressed when the European Union countries and the United States of
America imposed ‘targeted’ or ‘smart’ sanctions as a punitive method of forcing the
Zimbabwean government to stop what they regarded as unwarranted land reform
programmes and human rights abuses during the elections.
The 1991–95 ESAP has been argued to have heralded the collapse of Zimbabwe’s
economy as it is known to have produced few, if any, positive results in practice.
Based on the World Bank’s universal methodology for ‘developing’ Third World
countries, the IMF called for the liberalization and deregulation of Zimbabwe’s
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economy, focusing on creating an export-driven economy. The World Bank promoted
export growth through monitoring incentives to companies for developing export
industries and devaluing the country’s currency to make exports more expensive on
the world market (Moyo, 2000; Michael, 2001; DiSilvio, 2007). Since ESAP focused
on export industries, this meant that the tourism sector with nothing to export has
to suffer, and Khami was no exception. The World Bank had considered Zimbabwe’s
then strong economy to be ideal for the implementation of ESAP compared to other
Third World countries whose economies were struggling at that time. The results of
ESAP in Zimbabwe were disastrous as the objectives of the World Bank failed to be
achieved in the country. On the contrary, it led to a process of ‘deindustrialization’
and several economic key sectors, such as textiles, contracted by 61% between 1990
and 1995 (Carmody, 1998). This meant that many people lost their jobs, including
those living around Khami. A combination of drought and ESAP between 1990 and
1993 also contributed to the decline of the country’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP)
by almost 6%. Two years later, in 1995, the Matabeleland Chamber of Industry
reported that ten large companies and many smaller ones had closed down or reduced
their operations in Bulawayo alone as a result of competition from imports and
drought (Michael, 2001). This also increased unemployment levels in Bulawayo.
The military involvement of Zimbabwe in the DRC war between 1998 and 2003
exacerbated the collapse of the country’s economy. Disappointingly, this war did
not economically benefit Zimbabwe except for a few Zimbabwean companies, individuals in government and in the army (Nest, 2001). The involvement of Zimbabwe
in this war triggered a host of problems and exerted severe strain on the economy
that had already begun to be weakened by the consequences of the 1991–95 ESAP.
Scarce resources such as oil and foreign currency were allocated to the DRC war.
This created shortages at home, straining funding of agriculture, health, education,
archaeological resources, tourism, and other sectors of the economy.
The controversial compulsory acquisition of previously white-owned farms and the
subsequent corrupt redistribution was long anticipated in Zimbabwe. It was predicted that the acquisition of land would lead to the rising of unemployment, reduced
GDP, deteriorating race relations, political and economic instability, skills emigration, and a slowdown of indigenous commercial farmer empowerment. Commodity
production losses were also anticipated in tobacco, cotton, horticulture, sugar, and
maize (Moyo, 2000). According to Michael (2001), in 2000 Zimbabwe’s economy
further shrank by 6% as a consequence of the government’s radical approach to the
land acquisition and redistribution. However, the radical approach to the land question in Zimbabwe had no regard for the protection of archaeological resources in the
country. The impact that the land redistribution programme had on archaeological
resources remains largely unknown, as no studies were carried out (Murimbika &
Moyo, 2008).
Corruption is one of the reasons why the Zimbabwean economy collapsed. The
misuse of foreign aid is argued to have caused lenders to cut off foreign aid to the
country. According to DiSilvio (2007), in 1992 foreign aid increased when proper land
redistribution began. However, by 1994, when the international donors learned of
corruption practices in the allocation of funds, their aid was cut off. From this period
onwards, the cancer of corruption appeared to have spread rapidly and paralysed
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almost all important sectors of the economy in the country. Currently, most
foreign governments in Europe are reluctant to give aid to Zimbabwe as a result of
corruption and economic sanctions.
Given that Zimbabwe’s international relations with the European Union countries
and the United States of America was excellent before the land reform programme,
it was fairly easy for the NMMZ to appeal and receive financial assistance from the
international donors and aid agencies for the management of cultural heritage sites.
Most of the funding was made available following a successful donor’s conference
held in July 1992 to kick-start various projects in the country after the Zimbabwean
government endorsed the NMMZ’s master document for Archaeological Heritage
Development prepared by David Collett in 1991 (Pwiti, 1997). Following this, a total
of US$50,000 was made available for immediate conservation and development of
Khami by American Express, a private international non-profit organization which is
committed to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites
around the world. This money was awarded under the World Monuments Watch
programme in its 1996–97 List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World. The site
had been placed on this list as a result of degradation by local communities trespassing it, collapse of stone walls, perennial dry season wild fires, fetching of firewood,
wildlife poaching, incessant discharge of both human and industrial effluent into the
nearby Khami dam, growth of invasive vegetation, and lack of funding. Through
this money there was notable improvement at the site, which included writing of the
site management plan, fencing of the site, building of staff houses, buying of a site
vehicle, and appointment of qualified and experienced staff. More funding was made
available by a French non-profit-making organization called Chantiers Histoire
et Architecture Medievales (CHAM) through the idea of a volunteer conservation
programme. The aim of the project was to urgently contribute to the restoration of
the site as it was in a poor state of conservation. The regional UNESCO office based
in Harare also provided additional funding for the volunteer restoration project that
was initiated by the NMMZ and CHAM. The project was also supported by the
local Bulawayo business companies such as Kango, National Blankets, and the
United Touring Company. Although the government Public Investment Schemes
grant was never sufficient, and its value eroded by the hyperinflationary environment,
the site also benefited along with other cultural heritage sites from this fund. Through
the volunteer restoration camp, which began in 1999, a number of stone walls were
restored at the site.
As the socio-economic problems in Zimbabwe deteriorated and international relations strained, most of the funding for the development and management of cultural
heritage sites was either withdrawn or simply dried up and was never renewed. Even
though the management of cultural heritage sites continued to generously receive
financial support from the Zimbabwean government and from international aid agencies, this funding was not on the same scale and volume when compared to a period
before international relations were strained and before the collapse of the country’s
economy. While the UNESCO regional office in Harare continued to fund restoration
programmes at Khami and other cultural heritage sites in the country, the French
non-profit-making organization, CHAM, completely pulled out of the project, citing
lack of funding as a result of the 2008–10 global economic recession. The prevailing
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harsh economic environment in Zimbabwe, which resulted in continued business
depression, led to the complete withdrawal of local companies in Bulawayo supporting the project, citing viability problems. The withdrawal and cancellation of
aid-funded NMMZ projects seriously affected the conservation and development of
cultural heritage sites in the country, including Khami.
The flagging economic fortunes of the country meant that Zimbabwe was no
longer able to repay loans and to borrow money from the IMF and the World Bank.
This resulted in further economic collapse, especially in 2008, which led to hyperinflation, calculated to be around sextillion per cent, severe food, fuel, water and electricity shortages, as well as soaring domestic and external debts, unemployment hovering
around 90%, and the reduction of tourists visiting the country.
Socio-economic difficulties and the degradation of Khami and the
surrounding cultural landscape
Factors affecting Khami have been primarily human, alleged to have been caused by
the local communities living around the site, especially residents of the high-density
suburbs of Pumula and Nkulumane, and of Robert Sinyoka rural community (Nyoni,
pers. comm.). The local communities started to exploit the cultural landscape around
the site in response to the collapse of the country’s economy. The problem has been
compounded by the complicated and interactive effects of the inability of the BCC
authorities to handle the increasingly complex functions of metropolitan management
such as industrial and sewerage disposal. Some of these threats, which are discussed
in detail below, have and are continuously impacting negatively on the integrity of
this cultural World Heritage Site.
Fetching of firewood
One of the factors that have constantly threatened Khami is the degradation and
destruction of the cultural landscape around the site through cutting down of trees
for firewood, particularly by the unemployed residents close to the site. The fetching
of firewood in this area was a direct response to the critical shortage of electricity
that the country has grappled with from about 1999 onwards. According to Mbohwa
and Fukuda (2003), from 1985 to about 2000, the country’s electricity generation
capacity had stagnated at around 2000 megawatts when the two thermal units
totalling 440 megawatts were completed at the coal mining town of Hwange in northwestern Zimbabwe. Since then, Zimbabwe has not been able to increase its electricity generation, even though demand has been steadily growing. To meet the growing
demand, the country had to import about 40% of its electrical needs from the neighbouring countries of South Africa and Mozambique. In addition to the problem of
increasing demand for electricity in the country, the national electricity utility had
accumulated debts with foreign suppliers, which IMF estimated to be hovering around
US$240 million (Batidzirai et al., 2009). For these reasons, the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority has been forced to load shed its consumers and this severely
affected the country’s manufacturing industries, agriculture, and domestic sectors. As
load shedding continued and demand for electricity could not be met, the need for
alternative sources of energy, especially for domestic use, arose. In Bulawayo and
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other cities, firewood became the only alternative source of energy for cooking, and
even heating during the cold winter evenings. The cultural landscape around the site
and its estate began to be targeted for firewood poaching. The environment around
Khami is characterized by savannah woodland and species with dense hardwood such
as mopane (colophospermum spp.) that are known for their excellent fuel properties
and charcoal (Smit, 2004). It appeared that, initially, dead and dry wood was targeted for firewood but, as electricity load shedding continued and demand increased,
dry wood got exhausted and fresh growing trees began to be rampantly cut and left
to dry for future use as firewood. Firewood is then loaded in donkey-drawn scotch
carts and transported at night for sale to the city residents who are desperate for fuel.
As a result of the continuous firewood fetching, the environment around Khami
has been deforested and stripped of its natural canopy, exposing the rugged granite
terrain and thereby negatively affecting its integrity. The NMMZ and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), an organization responsible for environmental
monitoring in the country, have not been able to combat this widespread degradation
and destruction of the cultural environment around Khami. Both organizations are
seriously constrained by inadequate funding and resources.
Poaching of wildlife
The controversial compulsory land acquisition by the Zimbabwean government
seriously affected cattle ranching in the country. The agro-ecological region of the
country (IV) in which Khami falls is characterized by low rainfall (450–650 mm),
severe dry spells during the rainy season, frequent seasonal droughts, and poor soils
that make it impossible for serious crop production. The region is ideally suitable for
cattle production under extensive production systems and for wildlife or game ranching. Cattle ranching declined as white farmers were removed from farms during the
compulsory acquisition of land. Meat and dairy products became scarce and their
prices soared due to inflation, beyond the reach of ordinary Zimbabweans. Poaching
of wild animals and cattle rustling increased as black Zimbabweans began to settle
in previously white-owned farms. Close to the city of Bulawayo, farms around
Khami were targeted for poaching of both domesticated and wild animals. Wild animals escaping from farms into the Khami estate to seek sanctuary were poached,
butchered, and the meat sold to unsuspecting residents at negotiated and affordable
prices. Illegal hunting in the Khami estate has resulted in the cutting and theft of
several sections of the site’s fence (Figure 4).
Stray cattle from the surrounding farms found their way into the estate through
sections where the fence was stolen. These stray cattle trample upon exposed and
buried archaeological features and knock down dry-stone walls as they graze in the
estate. During the day the Khami staff members are able to drive these stray cattle
out of the estate, but they are unable to do so during the night as they have got a
limited number of patrol guards (Nyoni, pers. comm.).
Wild fires
The environment around Khami is susceptible to veldt fires because it is located in
one of the driest ecological zones of Zimbabwe. High temperatures of 30˚ Celsius are
sometimes experienced during summer periods (Gwebu, 2002). The site has on many
KHAMI WORLD HERITAGE SITE
figure 4
291
A section of the site’s fence, which was cut and stolen.
occasions been damaged by wild fires, alleged to be caused by trespassers such as
fishermen, wildlife poachers, and wood fetchers. It is not quite clear why local
communities living around Khami start fires. One explanation is that people who fish
in the Khami dam make fires for cooking while fishing and they either leave the fires
unattended or they simply do not put the fires out when they finish cooking. The
other explanation is that in some cases trespassers throw away lit cigarette stubs in
the bush areas surrounding the site after smoking, which eventually causes wild fires
(Nyoni, pers. comm.). Studies on wild fires have shown that they lead to loss of
ground cover, plant foliage, reduction of soil cryptogams (micro-life forms that help
maintain soil cohesion), and this makes the soil liable to degradation. If heavy and
constant rain occurs without shower precursors, then raindrops will penetrate the
exposed soil, dislodge soil particles, allowing the aggregated precipitation to carry the
soil and the fire-damaged cover away (Hammond & Clarke, 2003). At Khami, wild
fires have affected the site in a number of ways. Soil has been loosened through loss
of cover, making it susceptible to both wind and water erosion. The soil erosion
process has exposed buried and preserved archaeological features and artefacts such
as earth (dhaka) house remains, bones, and broken pieces of pottery. Some of these
structures and artefacts have been eroded several metres down the site slopes, making
it hard to know their original locations and positions. Besides soil erosion, the rapid
expansion of the granite dry-stone walls during the wild fires and then the cooling at
night has caused the granite blocks to crack. This has led to the collapse of several
stone walls, especially on the platforms located in the valley section of the site.
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Invasive vegetation
Khami is also being threatened and negatively impacted by invasive vegetation such
as lantana camara and eucalyptus species (Figure 5).The impact of the invasive plants
at Khami is more prominent in the riparian sections, especially below the dam wall
where they are mostly found growing, rather than on the terrestrial part of the site.
Lantana camara and eucalyptus species could have been introduced at Khami soon
after the construction of the dam in 1928. At that time, it was Bulawayo’s main
water supply dam before the growth of the city outstripped its capacity. Building a
dam near a major cultural heritage site was clearly thought permissible at the time,
while today such a construction would not be allowed.
Not only were several structures destroyed during the construction of the wall, but
other smaller, stone platforms were probably drowned in the resultant dam (Burret
& Hubbard, 2007). Material to construct the dam wall was probably dug from below
the wall area, as the landscape shows evidence of having been degraded at the time
of construction. The planting of eucalyptus might have been deliberate to control soil
erosion and further degradation of the area. Lantana camara could have been introduced through dispersion by wild animals such as baboons, monkeys, and birds as
they frequent the area in search of food and water. A study carried out at the site by
Muyambo (2008) has shown that these invasive plants are out-competing indigenous
tree species and they are noticeably reducing their species richness, abundance,
density, and basal area. The invasive plants, especially the eucalyptus, have got high
water absorption rates, which deprives the indigenous vegetation with groundwater,
figure 5
Lantana camara and eucalyptus species growing below the dam wall at Khami.
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293
causing their dryness and eventual death. At Khami, eucalyptus has also formed a
closed canopy, limiting light penetration and preventing the indigenous trees from
growing taller, while Lantana camara is releasing chemicals (allelopathy) into the soil
suppressing the regeneration of the indigenous trees, especially those already affected
by wild fires. If this situation is allowed to continue, a large part of the site would
end up being invaded by these invasive plants.
Pollution of the Khami River and dam
Khami has also been seriously affected by pollution from about 1998, as the BCC
began to release both human and industrial effluent into the Khami River, which
empties its contents into a reservoir less than a kilometre downstream. The effluent
is further discharged into the Gwayi River and eventually into the Zambezi River in
the north (Mafuta et al., 2000). The growth of population in Bulawayo has resulted
in the expansion of western high-density suburbs, especially of Pumula and Nkulumane, towards the Khami World Heritage Site. The new housing projects required
that a state of the art sewage plant with the capacity to purify the western suburbs
and industrial effluent be constructed. A site on which the sewage plant was to be
constructed was identified close to the river bank. The idea was to discharge purified
sewage water into the river without causing environmental disaster downstream. A
South African company was contracted to build the plant, but could not complete the
project because the BCC was not able to pay the company in foreign currency as the
Zimbabwean currency was worthless due to hyperinflation. The plant cannot cope
with about c. 700 cubic metres of effluent each day (Mafuta et al., 2000). Faced with
the challenge of discharging the accumulating waste from the sewage ponds, the BCC
had to allow it to be released into the Khami River, leading to the pollution of the
reservoir and the river downstream (Figure 6).
figure 6 Untreated sewage discharged into the Khami River, leading to the pollution of the
dam downstream.
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This pollution is affecting Khami in many ways. Apart from exuding a filthy
sewage smell to the visitors of the site, the dirty water has made it impossible to
carry out restoration work on one of the site’s longest decorated stone walls whose
lower part is submerged in water. Individual granite blocks have collapsed and have
fallen deep into the edges of the dam, making it impossible to retrieve them for
restoration purposes. Continuous release of effluent into the dam by the BCC could
lead to a total collapse and disappearance of the wall in the future. The aesthetic
significance of the site has been seriously and negatively impacted by the effluent,
which has since turned green. The visual significance of the site has further been
affected as the green water is in turn released into the river, which flows through the
eastern edge of the site. In addition to these factors, the major consequence has been
that the discharge of untreated sewage into the aquatic ecosystem is causing eutrophication in the river due to high levels of nitrates and phosphates (Mafuta et al., 2000).
This has resulted in the increased growth of microscopic floating plants, algae, and
dense mats of larger floating plants such as water hyacinths. Apart from reducing the
quality of the water, these plants produce toxins which adversely affect humans and
animals when ingested in drinking water at higher concentrations.
Conclusion
This case study has shown that socio-economic problems, politics, and poverty are
closely linked with the degradation of cultural heritage sites. The case study also
shows that the degradation of Khami has not been a case of deliberate acts of vandalism as a sign of disrespect for the site or a lack of knowledge about its importance,
but that compelling socio-economic problems have led to its degradation. When faced
with socio-economic limitations, the conservation of cultural heritage sites becomes
less important for local communities, as demonstrated by the case of Khami. The
local communities living around Khami had to depend heavily on the resource base
of the area for their basic needs as they had no alternative mechanisms for survival
under a Zimbabwean economy, which had collapsed. The idea of selling curios or
souvenirs at Khami would not have helped stop the local communities from degrading the site and the surrounding environment, as the tourism industry had also been
seriously affected by bad publicity following the collapse of the economy and the
isolation of the country. In any case, such ventures at cultural heritage sites only
benefit a few members of the local communities, while the majority have to look for
alternative means of survival.
The nature of the local communities living close to the site of Khami, which is
complex, makes it difficult for the NMMZ and the EMA to curb the degradation of
the site and the surrounding environment. This means that these local communities
are not homogenous and they constantly change, especially those that come from the
high-density suburbs of Pumula, Nkulumane, and Magwegwe. Although there are
some people who have settled permanently in these suburbs, the character of these
local communities is such that new people come in as residents of the area while
others move to other locations, often dictated by socio-economic reasons. This means
that the attitude of the local communities towards the protection of Khami cannot be
static and it continuously shifts due to the movement of the residents. This explains
KHAMI WORLD HERITAGE SITE
295
why Khami and its surrounding environment have been under constant threat.
Curbing the degradation of the site is also made difficult by the fact that the boundaries of the local communities are not obvious and stable. For this reason, it is not
therefore quite clear if the factors affecting Khami are being caused by people coming
from city suburbs, neighbouring farms, or beyond the boundaries of these local
communities. The dynamic nature of the local communities living close to Khami
will remain a permanent challenge for the NMMZ and for environmental agencies
such as EMA. The only practical way to make the local communities aware of the
importance of protecting Khami and the surrounding environment is to hold regular
meetings with them.
The continued degradation of Khami by the local communities also shows the
inability of the Zimbabwean government to financially support the site, especially
after the reduction of international aid and Bulawayo business support. It is not quite
clear why the Zimbabwean government has not been concerned with the support
of the development and conservation of cultural heritage sites in the country. One
explanation of this indifference could be that there is a general lack of understanding
by those who are in government that the development and protection of cultural
heritage sites can also contribute to the development of the country and the creation
of jobs in the tourism industry. The other explanation could be that the priority of
the government had been to revive the economy which had collapsed by focusing
on the revival of important industries such as agriculture and mining. The financial
support of cultural heritage sites has therefore been regarded as unimportant at a time
when the economy of the country had collapsed under sanctions. The inability to
support the protection and development of cultural heritage sites by the government
could also emanate from donor dependency syndrome, which developed over the
years when the conservation of cultural heritage sites was largely funded by international agencies and institutions. The problem of donor dependence syndrome is the
erosion of initiative and the lack of a development agenda. The lack of initiatives by
the government to support the development of cultural heritage sites in the absence
of donor aid has thus been made evident at Khami and other cultural heritage sites
throughout the country. As a result, the potential capabilities for conserving and
developing cultural heritage sites in Zimbabwe have not been addressed.
Some of the factors affecting Khami which are historical, like the construction of
the dam, are no longer reversible, but others, like the pollution of the dam, growth
of invasive plants, fetching of firewood, and poaching of wildlife, can be addressed.
The problem of pollution could be addressed by completing the construction of the
sewage plant so that clean water is discharged in the Khami River. However, the
major constraint is that the BCC may still be financially constrained and recuperating
from the earlier collapse of the country’s economy. Also, it appears that there has not
been much effort by the NMMZ to encourage the BCC to address the problem of
pollution, which is continually affecting the site and the river systems. There is also
the problem of the EMA, which is failing to enforce the environmental management
law to stop the BCC from discharging sewage in the Khami River. The problem of
exotic vegetation at Khami can be effectively addressed by logging, uprooting, and
the application of chemicals as recommended by Muyambo in her research at the
site (Muyambo, 2008). However, other problems, such as illegal firewood fetching,
296
SIMON MAKUVAZA and VIOLAH MAKUVAZA
fishing, and poaching, require a coordinated approach among the local communities
themselves, the NMMZ, EMA, and the police. The most effective way of ensuring
that this coordinated approach works is to involve the local communities and all the
administrative authorities in the management of Khami and the surrounding cultural
landscape. Through this involvement, the local communities will be able to understand the values of the site and thus contribute to its effective protection. This would
help restore the cultural integrity of the site, which has long been and continues to
be affected by the various factors discussed above.
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Notes on contributor
Simon Makuvaza is currently reading for a PhD in Archaeological Heritage Management as an external student at Leiden University in Netherlands. He is also a
Research Fellow in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the National University
of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Previously, he lectured in
Archaeology and Heritage Management at the Catholic University of Malawi in
Limbe. Earlier to that he had worked for the National Museums and Monuments of
Zimbabwe as a Curator of Archaeology from 1997 to 2010. His research interests are
local indigenous communities and the management of cultural heritage sites, cultural
heritage and development, conservation and the management of World Heritage
Sites with an objective of finding sustainable solutions to public heritage related
management problems in contested heritage settings.
Correspondence to: Simon Makuvaza. Email: [email protected]
Violah Makuvaza is Curator at Natural History Museum, Zimbabwe, where she
worked as a Collections Manager for twelve years, managing one of the largest and
most diverse collections from the entire southern African region. She holds an MSc
and her research interests are environmental and natural resources management, and
sustainable development.