via ZTA’s plans for Nkala’s house | The Zimbabwean by Edgar Gweshe
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority wants to turn the late Enos Nkala’s Highfield home into an historical monument to boost township tourism.
Talks are underway to convince the new owner to sell the property, famous for being the place where the Zanu (PF) party was formed in 1963.
The township tourism concept, introduced last year, aims to attract tourists to historical places in urban areas, especially those associated with Zanu (PF) and the liberation struggle.
Copied from South Africa, the project has yet to take off. The ZTA claims to have made some progress in Bulawayo, although it could not give any visitor figures for the home of the late vice president Joshua Nkomo.
Other targeted properties include Highfield’s Cyril Jennings Hall and former homes of leading nationalists, Leopold Takawira, Herbert Chitepo and President Robert Mugabe.
Karikoga Kaseke, the ZTA chief executive officer, said Nkala’s home could have been turned into a national museum, if he still owned it at the time of his death.
The new owner asked for time to consult his advisers before he could part with the property.
“We are still waiting to hear from the new owner. Once we know the price, then we will approach the Ministry of Finance to get the money to purchase the house,” said Kaseke.
COMMENTS
In a country with people starving and exposed to diseases such as cholera, is this the best use of government resources or the taxpayers money?
I would pay $100 to piss on Nkala grave. umsathanina.
so they had to wait for him to die for them to think of these “plans”?
Gukurahundis are fond of attacking Mthwakazi for modelling ourselves on South African imagery.
The funny thing is that when they themselves copy South Africa or are obsessed with anything South African in every which way, there is nothing wrong with that.
Double standards indeed!!
Cde Kaseke think of something productive. Do you really think you will get tourists to visit Nkala’s home when you are struggling to attract tourists to Victoria Falls. Unlike South African townships, there is no water in Zimbabwean townships and which tourist would risk his/her life to diahorrea/typhoid etc caused by Nkala’s party’s mismanagement of the economy?
Oh! NOW I understand why Zimbabwe is no the world’s “Leading Tourist Destination” – it all hinges on killing elephants with cyanide, destroying the largest Conservancy in Africa where the longest running studies on the highly endangered African Wild Dog are based and then turning Enos Nkala’s house into a museum. Beauty Pagents galore, a “ZIMTRAVEL” magazine showing dead lions wearing hats and also the massive opportunity of Religious Tourism, let us not forget THAT important idea.
Sheer brilliance from Kaseke as usual!