Uncategorized

Vic Falls tour companies reel from lockdown

Published

4 years ago

July 30, 2021

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Tour companies in Victoria Falls are counting the costs after the latest lockdown to slow down the spread of Covid-19 saw both local and international tourists cancelled their bookings.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa imposed a strict lockdown last month after Zimbabwe was hit by a third wave of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Clement Mukwasi, Employers Association for Tours and Safari Operators (EASTSO) president, told VicFallsLive the lockdown restrictions that include a ban on intercity travel had left tour companies battling for survival.

“The little candle that had already started showing itself was immediately blown off and we are in the dark again,” Mukwasi said.

“It was for a good reason, but we were plunged into problems as there are no activities and hotel bookings..

“We had significant, but low bookings that had been registered and they immediately cancelled because of these restrictions.”

The tourism industry has been operating at 20 percent of its capacity last year and there is no hope of an improvement soon, Explore Zimbabwe’s Peggie White noted.

“As safari operators doing guided tours around Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls, the effects of Covid-19 have been beyond one’s imagination,” White said.

“We thought things were going to be better after a year and right now we are witnessing many (Covid-19) positive cases being recorded and people especially those from India and America have rescheduled and that keeps plunging the destination into uncertainty.

Authorities in the tourism industry say the country lost more than US$ 1.6 billion worth of revenue in 2020 alone following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent border closures.

Zimbabwe’s tourism sector generally brings in between US$1.5 million and US$ 2 billion annually.

Mukwasi said tour companies were now shifting their focus to domestic tourism.

“Our focus now has now been at the domestic tourism more than international tourism because of the new normal that we are now living in,” he added.

“The restrictions that came as a result of trying to curb the third wave keep on impacting quite seriously on the industry as a whole, but we have got some hope that after the lockdown and when more people have taken the vaccines, we are likely to then see the business starting to kick again.

“That, however, should be guided by opening responsibly because vaccines alone will not remove the scourge.

Uncategorized

Trump orders US exit from the World Health Organization

Published

5 months ago

January 21, 2025

VicFallsLive

Picture: Reuters

BY REUTERS

The United States will exit the World Health Organization, President Donald Trumpsaid on Monday, saying the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

Trump said the WHO had failed to act independently from the “inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” and required “unfairly onerous payments” from the U.S. that are disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries, such as China.

“World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said at the signing of an executive order on the withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration to a second term.

The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move means the U.S. will leave the United Nations health agency in 12 months’ time and stop all financial contributions to its work. The United States is by far the WHO’s biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO’s most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.

The U.S. departure will likely put at risk programmes across the organisation, according to several experts both inside and outside the WHO, notably those tackling tuberculosis, the world’s biggest infectious disease killer, as well as HIV/AIDS and other health emergencies.

Trump’s order said the administration would cease negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty while the withdrawal is in progress. U.S. government personnel working with the WHO will be recalled and reassigned, and the government will look for partners to take over necessary WHO activities, according to the order.

The government will review, rescind, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy as soon as practicable, the order says.

The next-largest donors to the WHO are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, although most of that funding goes to polio eradication, and the global vaccine group Gavi, followed by the European Commission and the World Bank. The next-largest national donor is Germany, which contributes around 3% of the WHO’s funding.

Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO is not unexpected. He took steps to quit the body in 2020, during his first term as president, accusing the WHO of aiding China’s efforts to “mislead the world” about the origins of COVID.

WHO vigorously denies the allegation and says it continues to press Beijing to share data to determine whether COVID emerged from human contact with infected animals or due to research into similar viruses in a domestic laboratory.

Trump also suspended U.S. contributions to the agency, costing it nearly $200 million in 2020-2021 versus the previous two-year budgets, as it battled the world’s worst health emergency in a century.

Under U.S. law, leaving the WHO requires a one-year notice period, and the payment of any outstanding fees. Before the U.S. withdrawal could be completed last time, Joe Biden won the country’s presidential election and put a stop to it on his first day in office on Jan. 20, 2021.

SOURCE: REUTERS

In the community

Crocodile attacks on the rise: Zimparks sounds alarm

Published

6 months ago

January 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A surge in human-crocodile conflicts has prompted the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) to issue a warning to the public to exercise extreme caution when near water bodies.

According to ZimParks, over 20 incidents of crocodile attacks have been reported in the past two months, resulting in eight fatalities and three serious injuries. The attacks have also posed a threat to livestock.

The most affected areas include the South East Lowveld, specifically Lundi, Tokwe Mukosi, and Lake Mutirikwi, which have recorded six incidents. The Central Region, including Munyati River, Kwekwe River, and Sebakwe River, has seen five incidents, while the Mid Zambezi area, comprising Lake Kariba, Hunyani River, and Angwa River, has also recorded five incidents.

ZimParks is urging the public to remain alert and take necessary precautions when engaging in domestic activities near water bodies.

Livestock owners are advised not to leave their animals unattended near rivers or lakes, as they may become easy targets for crocodiles.

“In light of these, the authority urges the public to exercise extreme caution around water bodies and remain alert while engaging in domestic activities near these areas to minimise the risk of crocodile attacks,”Zimaparks cautioned in a press statement.

“To minimize the risk of conflict with crocodiles, livestock should not be left unattended near rivers or lakes to prevent them from becoming easy targets for crocodiles.”

The authority reiterated its commitment to promoting coexistence between humans and wildlife, ensuring safety and fostering respect for wildlife for the benefit of present and future generations.

National

Victoria Falls residents fight back against minister’s decision to nullify town clerk’s suspension

Published

7 months ago

December 11, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

Residents of Victoria Falls have come out guns blazing against Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe’s decision to nullify the suspension of Town Clerk Ronnie Dube.

The controversy began when the City of Victoria Falls council suspended Dube over allegations of corruption.

However, Minister Garwe intervened, citing that the council’s resolution contravenes Section 139 (4) of the Urban Councils Act.

In response, the residents associations, through their lawyers Dube, Mguni and Dube Legal Practitioners, penned a scathing letter to Minister Garwe, demanding that he withdraws his directive.

The letter, signed by lawyers Dube, Mguni and Dube, reads:

“We have been approached by the Hwange District Residents Association (HWADRA) and Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association (VIFACORA) with respect to the contents of this letter.

Our clients are concerned that the contents of the Honourable Minister’s letter purport to represent the interest of the inhabitants of the City of Victoria Falls, whom he has not consulted.

The Honourable Minister may need to know that on the 8th of December 2024, a joint meeting of above named residents associations have resolved to support the resolution of their agents and representatives in council.

There is therefore no doubt that the town clerk’s suspension is supported by the inhabitants of the City of Victoria Falls.

The Honourable Minister is advised that the suspension of the town clerk complies with Section 139 (4) of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 20:15] regarding the inquiry into the allegations of the suspended town clerk.

There is only one inquiry committee before which the suspended town clerk is expected to go and make his representations when invited to do so.

Procedurally, if the town clerk is found to have a case to answer, he will appear before a disciplinary committee, which is yet to be constituted.

The residents are aware that the resolution has recommendations for possible experts to be approached to form the disciplinary committee, should that become necessary.

It stands to reason that the investigative inquiry committee cannot sit and be judges over their own report.

This cannot render the resolution of council to be unlawful as to warrant a ministerial directive to rescind it.

The feeling of the residents is that the costs of a disciplinary process cannot be avoided if government is serious about combating corruption in all its forms.

The resolution is clear that the town clerk was suspended without salary and benefits.

The decision to pay the suspended town clerk allowances is supported by section 139 (5) (b) of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 20:15]. It is statutorily provided.

There is no contradiction in the resolution.

There is, with respect, no legal basis for councillors to rescind a lawful resolution meant to combat corruption in local authorities.

The Honourable Minister’s directive has adverse effects on fighting corruption.

The directive is meant to lift the town clerk’s suspension without him answering to the allegations against him.

It is not government policy that those accused of corruption can be let off the hook without being investigated or brought to book.

The President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, DR E.D Mnangagwa is on record saying corruption is working against the attainment of national development goals and is inimical to public interests.

Our clients’ considered view is that the Honourable Minister will be best informed about the interests of the inhabitants of Victoria Falls if he visits and consults the taxpayers of council.

Meanwhile, our clients who are a representative body of the inhabitants of the council area are in support of the town clerk’s suspension and are monitoring the inquiry into the town clerk’s allegations.

Accordingly, we have been instructed to demand that the Honourable Minister, immediately withdraws his letter dated 6th December 2024 to the Mayor of Victoria Falls and make arrangements for a public consultation with the inhabitants of the council area, failing which the Honourable Minister and the City of Victoria Falls (as represented by the Mayor) will be taken to the High Court of Zimbabwe for appropriate relief.

We trust this is in order.

Yours faithfully,

DUBE, MGUNI & DUBE LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

CC: His Worship the Mayor of Victoria Falls, Clr P.T Moyo