Jack Fasari on The Flood and Beer Price Increases

Life in Botswana can suck!

Runaway! Runaway! The flood is coming. We are all going to be drowned or, at the very least some of you people who have built your houses on the old flood plains are going to have to start seriously filling sandbags pretty soon. Luckily sand is not in short supply in the town of Maun where I happen to be doing a spot of safari work and investing in boats.

Yep the bar-propping bearded old experts are predicting that this year’s annual flood is going to be bigger than “The Big Flood of Fifty Three”, although there is some argument as to whether they mean 1853 or 1953. Whatever your opinion and Maun is nothing if not short of those (on every subject) nor people more than willing to give them to you – whether you want them or not, the flood this year looks like being a biggy, a bit of a whoppa in fact.

So it looks as if the last thing that is going to happen in Botswana this year is that it is going to be dry. Although not if the government have anything to do with it. The price of alcohol has been raised quite drastically – 30% in fact and it is set to rise by the same amount again. Now Botswana isn’t the cheapest country in Africa and if you fancy a beer it is going to cost you considerably more than it used to. The reason for this is that there is a big problem with alcohol abuse in Botswana which has got worse in the last few months. I myself have seen bearded, old, bar propping experts staring hard at their drinks and using the most foul language imaginable. Shocking.

Anyway back to the flood. For those that don’t know the Okavango delta (a World Heritage Site) it is the largest inland delta in the world – it may be the only one, I actually don’t know of any others but I am sure there are some. It is approximately 13,000 square kilometres and at any one point it is either full of water or very full of water. Some of which comes from rainfall during Botswana’s rainy season and the rest from the rainy season in the Angolan highlands, which is at the same time as the rainy season in Bots but occurs a lot further away. Consequently the water has a long way to flow and takes its time before it reaches the delta, therefore it actually arrives when Botswana is experiencing it’s dry season – which is in the winter.

Just to clear up one of the more badly thought out questions I get asked on safari (look at the map) yes, all the water is fresh not salt. This question is not quite as dumb as the one asked of a mate of mine by a Canadian tourist who wanted to know “do you guys skate around here when all this freezes over”? Bless her, its those long winter nights.

Back to the flood. According to the graph of water levels from somewhere up the top of the in-flowing river and to most of the experts we can expect a deluge of industrial proportions an in-flowing of tsunami like quantities, according to others just because the peak on the graph is higher than it has been for a while does not promise this. Their argument is that a sharp peak falling off quickly is not what constitutes a flood because it is the area under the line on the graph which more accurately predicts the quantity of water flowing to Maun.

According to bar propping experts it is not the amount of money the government are taking from the drinking population of Botswana but the area left empty in their wallets. The extra money formerly filling the now empty spaces is being used to pay for an awareness campaign in the hopes of  weaning the good citizens of the country off the demon drink. This is so there will be more money available for school fees, food etc and that violence against women and children, a huge cultural problem in this country will become a thing of the past. Sadly it is not all Ma Rhamotswa and sweetness and light in Bots – nor other African countries for that matter. It is also the fact that the tax is only on Botswana booze and some of them have been forced by sheer economic depression and toxic debt to drink Namibian beers! which for some strange reason are untaxed.

However if you are a potential tourist to Botswana don’t let any of this affect your decision to come. For a start you are going to see the nice side of the country, also you are going to see a flood this year, which is definitely going to be a bit of a monster and if not sweeping all before it will certainly refresh and revitalise many previously dry areas and, as all the drink is included in your safari, unlike in other countries where you will be presented with a bill when you leave, you should have a great time …so long as you don’t get trapped with a bar propping, opinionated old expert predicting the next “big one” since Noah’s.

Also read the first article and second article of Jack Fasari.