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ZAMBIA is preparing to mark the 150th anniversary of the discovery of Victoria Falls by Scottish missionary David Livingstone with a big splash that it hopes will draw a record number of tourists.
Victoria Falls lies on the
border with Zimbabwe but instability in Zimbabwe has brought tourists over to
the Zambian side to admire one of the world’s largest curtains of falling water.
The government has launched its “Visit Zambia in 2005” campaign to encourage
tourists to join in the festivities next year marking Livingstone’s discovery in
1885 of the falls, as well as the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the
town of Livingstone.
”We want to use these special events to relaunch our tourism industry,” said
Tourism Minister Patrick Kalifungwa.
“Zambia is one of the most peaceful and stable countries in Africa and has a
superb range of national parks with spectacular game viewing,” said Herror
Hickey, chairperson of the Zambia National Tourist Board (ZNTB).
“We want to use this campaign to record the highest number of tourists and
also to market the country as a best tourist destination in Africa,” Hickey
said.
One of the leading natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls is 1 708m
wide, drops 108 metres and spills 550 000 cubic litres of water per minute.
Zambia expects to welcome more than 400 000 tourists next year, building on a
tourism industry that has created 16 000 jobs over the past two years and
injected US$150-million into the poor Southern African country’s economy.
Part of the draw to Zambia’s Victoria Falls, however, lies in the fact that
the Zimbabwe side is fast becoming a no-go zone for tourists.
”Even tour operators from Zimbabwe are now moving into Livingstone because
that’s where business is now. There are few tourists visiting Zimbabwe at the
moment,” said Machova Musanshi, editor of Zambia’s Tourism News.
Also known as “Mosi-oa-tunya” in the local language, which means “the
smoke that thunders”, the falls were named Victoria after the queen of
England by Livingstone who first “discovered” them on November 16 1855.
The tourist town of Livingstone, where Victoria Falls is situated, will also
be turning 100 years next year, and it has its own unique history as Zambia’s
capital under British colonial rule.
”Livingstone today has become the focal point of any tourist to Southern
Africa,” said Tamara Gondwe-Scot of the ZNTB.
Established in February 1905, Livingstone has a variety of attractions and
tourist adventures, including bungee jumping down a drop of 111m.
The town also has a railway museum that houses a collection of steam
locomotives.
The Livingstone museum displays a collection of Livingstone memorabilia,
including his jacket and braided cap, notebooks, personal letters and diaries. —
AFP.
DESPITE calls for Zimbabwean businesspeople to refocus their companies in line with government’s Look East policy, the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (Haz) has said it will continue to deal with traditional Western markets.
Has president Francis Ngwenya said they were keen to engage all stakeholders to revive the country’s struggling tourism sector.
Tourism has been struggling since 2000 because of the political instability associated with government’s arbitrary seizure of white commercial farms.
Ngwenya said a lot needed to be done to boost tourist arrivals from all markets, old and new.
He called for an all-inclusive marketing strategy to market the country as a major tourist destination.
“We feel all markets should be engaged, even the European markets. But we see East Asia as offering an opportunity to us in the hospitality sector,” said Ngwenya.
He said the tourism sector had been affected by the negative publicity the country was receiving.
Ngwenya said the situation had been worsened by reports that the Zimbabwean side of the Victoria Falls was not safe by operators to maximise trade in their own countries.
“We will continue to dispel reports that the Zimbabwean side is not safe. But we have no problem with them marketing the Victoria Falls as part of their countries’ attractions as long as the tourists end up coming into the country,” said Ngwenya.
He said the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa was likely to provide a much-needed boost to the country’s tourist arrivals.
The tourism sector has this year been projected to contribute only 2% to the country’s gross domestic product. At its peak in the late 1990s the sector contributed 12%.
The number of employees in the sector has declined from 22 000 to the current 13 000.
The political fallout with the West has forced the Zimbabwean government to change its policy and do more business with countries in the Far East such as China, Malaysia and Thailand.
THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) has been rocked by controversy following allegations of misappropriation of funds involving senior administrators.
An audit of the ZRU
financial and administrative issues has been done and a report will be released
today.
ZRU first vice-president Losson Mutongwiza and national team manager Noddy
Kanyangarara have traded accusations of abuse of funds. Administrator Janice
Johnny was sent on forced leave last month to allow a probe into the handling of
funds at the union.
These controversies have surfaced just before the ZRU annual general meeting
(AGM) next week, where elections for president and two vice-presidents will be
held. There is danger of the ZRU, which has been facing serious financial
problems in the past, failing to get an annual grant from the International
Rugby Board (IRB) next year due to the squabbles.
The ZRU this year received £72 000 from the IRB and has used the money to run
the sport this year. There is wide speculation that the probe could expose that
the bulk of the money was not properly accounted for.
Documents obtained this week reveal that Mutongwiza is accusing Kanyangarara
of failing to account for US$3 600 in his capacity as national team manager.
Mutongwiza alleges that Kanyangarara did not show receipts for the US$2 000
given to him for incidental costs when Sables went to Madagascar for their first
Africa Cup match of the season in August, which they lost 16-25. Kanyangarara
claimed he was not given any receipts.
Mutongwiza also quizzed Kanyangarara for a return air ticket he bought for
Sables captain Costa Dinha for his trip back from his Germany base in time for
the Africa Cup semi-final match against Namibia in Windhoek. Dinha had left the
country soon after Zimbabwe’s home tie against Uganda in the group stage of the
tournament. Kanyangarara claimed he had bought the ticket for US $3 600, up from
the US$1 260 used for the initial trip from Harare.
“You did not get approval from anyone to spend so much since you are the law.
We just got a surprise of our lives to see that claim,” Mutongwiza stated in one
of the documents addressed to Kanyangarara. “A ticket to the US is US$ 1 800
return, to the UK is US$1 200. How then do you explain US$3 600 to Germany?”
In his response, Kanyangarara said Dinha’s ticket was “equally puzzling”.
He said: “I went to buy his ticket with him when he went back after the
Uganda match and it was US$1 260 so the same would have been for coming back.
Only to be told it was US$3 600.”
Kanyangarara is also being accused of failing to account for US$60 total fine
imposed on four players for joining the team late during the trip to Namibia.
Kanyangarara said he used the money to reimburse South African-based fullback
Cleopas Makotose who had paid for his travel to the Uganda and Namibia matches.
Mutongwiza also alleges that Kanyangarara gave players allowances and made
them sign without stating the amounts they were getting.
Kanyangarara however told this paper that allegations against him were a ploy
by Mutongwiza to find a scapegoat and cover up for his “glaring” shortcomings.
“His conscience is killing him. He has done a lot of damage to rugby and he
wants people to go down with him. So many people have done things that are
detrimental to rugby but have not been probed because they belong to his camp,”
he said.
Kanyangarara accuses Mutongwizo of abusing an undisclosed amount of foreign
currents used for the national sevens team’s whirlwind tours last year and early
this year, “that has never been accounted for even with persistent pressure from
all quarters to have reports for the trip”.
ZRU president Bryn Williams told IndependentSport that he was aware of the
dispute going on and that he will try to resolve the differences before the AGM.
“I do not wish to be sucked into people’s personal vendettas but this just
has to end for the good of rugby. If these people cannot find a solution to
their conflict it's better that they fall by the wayside and admit that rugby at
the end is bigger than all of us,” said Williams.”
REBEL cricketers this week abandoned a tribunal set up to iron out their differences with Zimbabwe Cricket because they no longer trust the International Cricket Council (ICC). The dissenting players, however, said they would only return to national duty if ICC recommendations, among them the need to rein in two administrators, are fully embraced.
“We felt it was pointless
to continue with the dispute resolution tribunal because we had lost faith in
the process and we have no confidence anymore in the ICC,” Chris Venturas, the
rebels’ legal adviser, told IndependentSport yesterday.
The rebels also cited unmanageable costs as the other reason for withdrawing
from the tribunal, set up in July to resolve differences between the players and
Zimbabwe Cricket over team selection, clashes involving senior administrators
and the reinstatement of Heath Streak as skipper.
Venturas said a different ICC panel specifically set up to investigate the
rebel players’ racism allegations against some Zimbabwe Cricket administrators
had been wrongly timed and “caused more problems than were there”. The racism
inquiry last month absolved Zimbabwe Cricket of any wrongdoing but still made
some recommendations on the way forward.
“We concurred the racism inquiry needed to be re-done, but the ICC refused
our suggestions. We wanted local arbitrators who understand the territory and
the matter on the ground to handle the inquiry,” Venturas said.
However, batsman Stuart Carlisle, speaking on behalf of the rebels, said they
would be prepared to resume national duty if Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter
Chingoka reined in some administrators as per ICC recommendations.
“It’s high time Peter Chingoka was man enough and did the right thing. He has
to ask two of his directors to step down,” Carlisle said, in apparent reference
to Zimbabwe Cricket board members Ozias Bvute and Macsood Ebrahim.
Venturas said his clients hoped an internal inquiry would bring to an end the
eight-month standoff and see the rebels returning to the national fold.
“It’s up to the ICC to make sure the cricket union makes an undertaking to
honour the recommendations. Otherwise right now I honestly feel what is needed
is an internal solution to the problems. There is need to talk,” Venturas said.
“We have to map the way forward for the good of the game. At least we are
happy Zimbabwe Cricket is now being closely watched.”