National

Zimbabwe’s tourism players celebrate UK travel red list relief

Published

4 years ago

October 8, 2021

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Tourism players say the move by the United Kingdom to remove Zimbabwe from its Covid-19 travel red list will boost the industry that has been battered by prolonged lockdowns.

The UK’s red list requires travellers to quarantine in an approved hotel at their cost for 10 full days and Zimbabwe was among 54 countries that were listed.

On Thursday the UK said the number of countries will be cut down to just seven on Monday and Zimbabwe is among countries that will come off the list.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) spokesperson Godfrey Koti said the classification was damaging to the country’s tourism since the UK was among its biggest source markets.

“The announcement that destination Zimbabwe will be removed from the red list is incredibly exciting and the sector is fully prepared to help travellers get back to this beautiful tourism destination, “Koti said.

“To us as the tourism sector, the announcement brings hope for recovery of the sector.

“We are looking forward to an increased traffic flow into the destination.

“We’re expecting to see the resumption of flights into destination Zimbabwe.”

Employers Association for Tours and Safari Operators president Clement Mukwasi said the changes by the UK will create more opportunities for local tourism players.

“The UK has been a major contributor to the Zimbabwe tourism industry, so this is a huge decision that they have made,” Mukwasi said.

“We are hopeful that countries such as Australia and United States of America are also going to put us on the green zone.

“This is surely going to revive the tourism industry, revive livelihoods of people who are operating in the tourism industry and we are hopeful that by the end of the year, tourists will be thronging not only Victoria Falls but various tourism stations of Zimbabwe.”

According to a survey compiled by Zimbabwean hospitality group, Africa Albida Tourism titled Victoria Falls – Africa’s Living Soul: A Tourism Survey of the Victoria Falls Region in 2019, visitors from the UK in 2015 were at 5 524 and 12 765 by the end of 2018.

Koti said Zimbabwe’s removal from the UK red list showed that government measures to fight Covid-19 were working.

Vaccinated travellers from Zimbabwe, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey will be treated the same as returning fully-vaccinated UK residents as long as they have not visited a red-list country in the 10 days before arriving in England.

National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

1 month ago

March 14, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

National

ZIMRA customs officer appears in court for criminal abuse of office

Published

3 months ago

February 3, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) customs officer, Phillip Kuvenga, has been accused of criminal abuse of office for allegedly assisting in the importation of banned motor vehicles.

Kuvenga, 28, who is stationed at Victoria Falls, allegedly received documents from clients, completed valuation sheets, and carried out the valuation process. However, he is accused of endorsing different chassis numbers to deceive his supervisors during the validation and approval process.

After obtaining approval, Kuvenga would capture the correct chassis numbers in the ASYCUDA World System. He would then alter or replace the documents submitted earlier to his supervisors.

The offense came to light when a motor vehicle that had not yet arrived in Zimbabwe was found to have been already registered. A thorough check by ZIMRA led to Kuvenga’s arrest.

Kuvenga appeared in court on February 1, where he was denied bail by Magistrate Gift Manyka. He is expected to appear in court again today for another bail hearing.