BY BAYANDA NKATHA

Various stakeholders in Victoria Falls took to the streets on Thursday morning to clean up the city’s environs in preparation for the United Nations Tourism (UN Tourism) Regional Forum on Gastronomy for Africa, which starts on Friday.

The forum will be officially opened by President Mnangagwa at the Elephant Hills Resort Golf Course.

The clean-up initiative was mobilized by the Victoria Falls City Council in partnership with the Environmental Management Agency, and involved participation from tourism operators such as Shearwater, Elephant Hills, Rainbow, and Azambezi, as well as government departments like Immigration, Zimra, and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

The Pristine Victoria Falls Society, Greenline Africa, and scores of young people under the banner of Youth in Tourism also joined in.

The clean-up effort aimed to present Victoria Falls as a pristine tourism destination, with young people picking up litter from the town to the airport, while other stakeholders cleaned around the city.

Delegates have already started arriving for the event, which is expected to attract 10,000 people on its official opening day.

The forum focuses on gastronomy tourism, which involves product diversification and the use of traditional foods and indigenous knowledge systems as a tourism attraction.

This is a priority for the Africa agenda, as prepared by member states for brand Africa. Zimbabwe was chosen to host the forum in recognition of First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa’s efforts to promote gastronomy tourism from the grassroots.

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

In a groundbreaking discovery, the Wild is Life Trust and Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery (ZEN) have spotted a rare and elusive species in the conservation area near Victoria Falls – the Tsessebe, Africa’s fastest antelope.

Camera traps in the Panda Masuie Forest captured footage of the Tsessebe, which can reach speeds of up to 90km/h.

“Panda Masuie Forest stands as a beacon of hope for biodiversity conservation in the region,” said the Wild is Life Trust in a statement. “Our camera traps revealed a rare species never seen by us in Panda Masuie – a Tsessebe.”

The footage was captured at a waterhole called Jos’ Corner, near the Botswana border. Over the course of just a few days, camera traps also captured images of many other species, including elephant, lion, eland, sable, roan, warthog, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, and ground hornbill.

The trust emphasized the significance of this discovery.

“The Tsessebe’s presence in Panda Masuie sheds light on its behaviour and ecological needs in this specific habitat, underscoring the importance of preserving natural landscapes and maintaining ecological connectivity across vast wilderness areas.”

To the organization , this incredible find is a testament to the power of collaboration and dedication to wildlife conservation.

In a separate incident, the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust rewilded a terrapin rescued from a poacher’s backpack near Victoria Falls Town.

The organization announced, “We’re thrilled to announce that it has been released into the Victoria Falls National Park, where it can thrive in its natural habitat… Let’s protect and preserve our precious wildlife for generations to come!”

BY STAFF REPORTER

The Pristine Victoria Falls Society (PVFS) has urged citizens, particularly those visiting the resort city, to change their behavior regarding littering.

Formed almost three years ago by stakeholders and residents, PVFS aims to make Victoria Falls the cleanest city in Africa and a world destination of choice. Led by a committee of individuals from various organizations, PVFS has gained momentum as more stakeholders and individuals pledge to maintain the city’s pristine state.

The initiative involves daily litter collection and adopting streets for cleaning. A task force, comprising PVFS, Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Victoria Falls City Council, and police, was formed to spearhead activities and provide enforcement.

However, PVFS campaign manager Douglas Musiringofa notes that efforts to keep the city clean are being undermined by reckless littering behavior.

“We have noted that when events take polace planners clean along roads yet some people drive and park in random areas in the bush where they leave litter which we are finding now as we clean,” he said.

Musiringofa implored companies to take it upon themselves to clean everywhere.

Musiringofa implores companies to take responsibility for cleaning up everywhere, citing the overwhelming amount of waste generated by visitors.

“We are overweelmed by waste not from people in Victoria Falls but from visitors hence we have been trying to do fire fighting with our small team.”

The PVFS team collects an average of 50-60 bags of litter daily, with the worst-affected areas being between Mkhosana turn-off and Sprayview, along Livingstone Way, Courtney Selous, BB7, and Aerodrome.

Musiringofa emphasizes the need for collective action to address this issue.