Mnangagwa offers Trump Victoria Falls golf course

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday disclosed that he dangled an offer of land in the picturesque Victoria Falls to United States President Donald Trump to build a golf course.

Mnangagwa, who is in the US for the United Nations General Assembly, revealed his offer to Trump at the Zimbabwe's Investors Forum held in New York yesterday.

Mnangagwa urged the American business community to support Zimbabwe's rebirth in areas such as agriculture, mining, infrastructural development, tourism, ICT among others.

Zimbabwe and the US have frosty relations dating back to the early 2000s where the later slapped the southern African nation with sanctions under Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (Zidera) for alleged human rights abuses under former President Robert Mugabe. Mugabe denies the alegations.

The US renewed the sanctions soon after the July 30 elections this year, saying that Zimbabwe had no 'culture of democracy.'

Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe wanted an new era of relations with the US and pursue economic co-operation between the two countries, adding that he had wanted to meet Trump at the Davos conference held in Switzerland in January.

"When I was in Davos I met staffers from the Trump administration," Mnangagwa said.

"I had hoped to meet President Trump but I had to leave before he arrived, but I told his people that if President Trump wishes, I will offer him ground in Victoria Falls in the national park.

"We have wildlife national park in Victoria Falls, but I had offered President Trump ground to build a state-of-the-art golf course so that as he plays, he can be able to see the big five," he said amid cheers from delegates.

The President said his government was keen for investments in the form of joint ventures or infrastructure based on the build operate and transfer (BOT) model.

"My government is reforming the public sector to eliminate bureaucratic red tape, bureaucratic bottlenecks and enhance efficiency and responsiveness. We are resolved to make Zimbabwe an attractive and a safe investment destination where capital feels safe. In addition, I have committed that my administration will ensure policy clarity, consistency, transparency and predictability."

The government is working on the ease of doing business, he added, and wants to reduce the approval process from around six months currently to a week or less. This will also reduce cases of corruption where investors pay bribes to speed up the granting of licences.

This would include the setting up of a one-stop centre that will facilitate all clearances under one roof instead of sending investors from one ministry to the other.

Mnangagwa said his government will ensure that there is protection of investments.

"As part of our economic reform measures, we will continue to guarantee the protection of private property rights.

"Equally we will observe bilateral investor promotion and agreements. Let me assure you that all foreign investments will be safe in Zimbabwe and foreign investors are free to repatriate their proceeds in accordance with our laws."

Mnangagwa also met diasporans in the US and invited them to invest back home.

Source: Mnangagwa offers Trump Victoria Falls golf course (25/9/18)

Victoria Falls international arrivals continue to soar

 Tourist arrivals to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, increased by 11% in 2017, with international arrivals sharply rising, with the UK showing the most notable growth.

The international border tourist arrivals are distorted by cross-border movements by the same tourist on multi-country visits, day trips to Victoria Falls from Chobe/Kasane, and day trips to Chobe National Park from Victoria Falls and Livingstone. Therefore, the total number of actual international tourists is thought to be between 355 000 and 390 000 in 2017. The estimate has been arrived at by counterbalancing hotel and accommodation stays as well as entries to the Victoria Falls rainforest with tourist arrivals at borders, according to Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) who sponsored and conducted the survey.

The UK led the pack in 2017, doubling in arrivals, with 12 765 recorded in 2017 compared with 5 073 in 2016.

According to AAT’s report, the upsurge in UK arrivals in 2017 is likely to be just the beginning of significant volume increases.

Ross Kennedy, AAT Chief Executive elaborates: "The UK market was our largest source market until 2001. There is a long history, connection and bond between our two countries, but this was severely damaged by events between 2000 and 2015.

“In the last two years, the UK market has responded to many positive changes in Zimbabwe, as well as recognising and, indeed, remembering, that we have an incredible tourism destination to offer in Zimbabwe.”

According to Kennedy, the FIT market and group series market has once again fully engaged with the region’s tourism industry, and is selling an increased amount of the entire product and experience available in Zimbabwe.

The 2017 growth over 2016 has further increased in 2018 year-to-date versus 2017, a trend that should continue, explains Kennedy.  “The new Victoria Falls International Airport with its geographical hub location, plus much enhanced regional route access and connectivity have also played a part in the growth.”

Other key source markets that showed good growth include:

• USA: 73 803 in 2017 compared with 63 502 in 2016.
• Germany: 25 855 in 2017; 21 288 in 2016.
• Australia: 17 023 in 2017; 13 383 in 2016.
• France: 16 092 in 2017; 11 244 in 2016.
• Japan: 31 702 in 2017; 19 718 in 2016.
• Italy: 9 275 in 2017; 7 666 in 2016.
• Switzerland: 5 749 in 2017; 5 747 in 2016.
• Canada: 5 747 in 2017; 1 198 in 2016.
• India: 2 079 in 2017; 1 308 in 2016.
• China: 5 359 in 2017; 1 712 in 2016.

Tourism visits to the Victoria Falls Rainforest (Zimbabwe side only) rose sharply, adding 36% in two years. Local and regional arrivals were flat, mainly caused by excessive police roadblock activity on highways, which has now ended. This masked a meaningful rise in foreign tourist visits to the Falls of 50% over the two-year period.

Hotel room stays increased by 20% over this period, indicating a substantial increase d use of alternative accommodation options on the Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) side of the river.

There was a further sharp increase in visitor numbers to the Zimbabwe side of the rainforest in 2018 of 26%, however foreign visitor number growth rose 28% vs. local 15%.

Hotel accommodation stays grew less than rainforest visits at 12.5% in 2018 for the first six months, again reflecting a boom in non-hotel stays on the Zimbabwe side.

Occupancies were approximately 54% for 2017 for the area, reflecting substantial room capacity availability still for the short term.

According to the report, strategic opportunities include: a convention centre, which would benefit the area and assist airlines with volumes and business-class passengers; room for large volume activities to extend stays;  wide range of opportunities exist for the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) markets; less than 10% of area arrivals are children, therefore there is potential for family activities; Special Economic Zone (SEZ) investment incentives are being offered in Victoria Falls, and other investment initiatives in Livingstone and Chobe; as well as lower priced activities.

Source: Victoria Falls international arrivals continue to soar (11/09/18)

Chinese firm seeks to build new state-of-the-art Victoria Falls Bridge

(11th September 2018)

Chinese construction giant, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) has submitted a proposal to Government for the construction of a new state-of-the-art bridge in the resort town of Victoria Falls. The current Victoria Falls Border Bridge, which opened to traffic in 1905, is located at the junction of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

It is the only railway link between the two countries and the only corridor across the Zambezi River in the region. But of late it has been unable to meet the increasing traffic demand owing to limited capacity.

In its project proposal, CCCC said "the construction of Victoria Bridge will not only affectively improve capacity across the Zambezi River, facilitate passenger and cargo transportation in the surrounding areas and promote the development of regional tourism, but will also play a significant role in strengthening regional ties and promoting regional economic development."

CCCC was one of the Chinese companies that met with President Mnangagwa in China last week and expressed interest to invest in Zimbabwe.

CCCC Limited is a publicly-traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction and operation of infrastructure assets, including highways, bridges, tunnels, railways, subways, airports, and marine ports.

The company has come up with at least three models for the proposed bridge; namely, the "Wing Bridge", the "Flying Bird Bridge" and the "Rainbow Bridge".

The Wing Bridge is a single-tower composite Girder Cable-Stayed bridge, two-lane road standard with sidewalks.

The bridge length is 297m and width is 17,5 metres, and can be transformed into a four-lane bridge.

The Flying Bird Bridge is a twin towers Composite Girder Cable-stayed Bridge, two-lane road standard with sidewalks. The bridge length is 262m and width is 17,5m.
It also has capacity to be transformed into four-lane bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge is a Deck Arch Bridge, two-lane road standard with sidewalks.

The bridge length is 208m and width is 13,5m and can also be transformed into a four-lane bridge.

Source: Chinese firm seeks to build new state-of-the-art Victoria Falls Bridge (11/09/18)

Victoria Falls aborts vote for mayor, deputy over ‘imposition’

 VICTORIA FALLS – Councillors in Victoria Falls failed to elect a mayor and deputy mayor on Wednesday amid claims of imposition of candidates.

The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance party secured all 11 seats in the municipality.

Wednesday was the date for the swearing-in and selection of the mayor and deputy by the councillors, but the process ended abruptly.

The party leadership had dispatched Farai Chinobva, who is director for mobilisation, to direct councillors to vote for Ward 1 councillor Margaret Varley who is the leaderships’ preferred choice for mayor.

Somvelo Dlamini, the councillor for Ward 9, was however nominated by some councillors to be mayor and Patricia Mwale as deputy.

Dlamini was nominated for both mayor and deputy mayor which prompted presiding officer Simon Muleya, who is the Hwange District Administrator, to ask him to choose one of the two posts before voting could begin

Dlamini initially asked for a 10-minute break saying he needed to consult with other councillors but Muleya would not agree.

Dlamini then opted to contest as deputy mayor much to the anger of his supporters in the gallery who started mumbling that Chinobva, who was making some hand gestures, was unduly influencing the process.

Councillors requested to go out of the boardroom to caucus when Muleya insisted they were supposed to vote for the mayor, despite the fact that Valley was now uncontested.

Muleya told the councillors that by going out they would have nullified the election process.

Some of the residents started shouting that they did not want Valley to be mayor, and would block her election.

The DA then called off the election indefinitely citing security reasons and some of the residents started chanting songs denouncing the process.

“Can we then call it off for another day?” Muleya said to the councillors.

There was chaos outside the boardroom as the crowd which had grown bigger bayed for Chinobva’s head. He immediately left fearing for his life.

The chairman of the Victoria Falls Residents Association Morgen Dube said: “The positive thing is that people have made a statement that as residents of Victoria Falls they cannot fail to make a decision. They voted for their councillors and suddenly somebody from Harare comes and gives instructions in the boardroom which is a clear sign he was instructed by the party.”

Town Clerk, Ronnie Dube, who presided over the swearing in of the 11 councillors earlier, said a decision on the way forward will be made soon.

Bulawayo City Council also postponed its selection of mayor and deputy to Friday citing “security fears” after residents protested against the MDC Alliance’s preferred choices.

Source: Victoria Falls aborts vote for mayor, deputy over ‘imposition’ (06/09/2018)

African Sun profit up 672pc

Hospitality group, African Sun Limited, reported earnings growth for the half year to June 30, 2018 as operating profit surged 672 percent to $3,8 million on good business during election period.

Revenue rose 29 percent to $27 million buoyed by increased volumes at its hotels.

Basic earnings per share increased 1 700 percent to 0,36 cents from 0,02 cents in the comparable prior year period.

During the period under review, Zimbabwe witnessed an increase in foreign arrivals as observers from all over the world flocked the country to observe the election. The election campaign period was generally peaceful, and economists have said this should continue boosting investor confidence across sectors of the economy during the remainder of the year and going forward.

Domestic and foreign revenue growth was 26 percent and 32 percent respectively.

Key source markets, especially Europe, Asia and United States of America played a critical role in the growth of arrivals, all on the back of global tourism resurgence.

“There was a remarkable increase in volumes across the hotels, with city hotels benefiting significantly from elections, conferencing and corporate related business whilst Victoria Falls area hotels benefited from increased foreign arrivals,” said African Sun in a statement accompanying the group’s financial results.

“This positive trend was achieved despite the constrained macro-economic environment emanating from unresolved liquidity and foreign currency shortages.”

Occupancy level increased 10 percent to 55 percent, which helped boost revenue growth. Average daily rate also increased 9 percent to $97.

African Sun said the occupancy growth was driven by a strong performance from all the markets, with room nights sold for domestic, international and regional increasing by 16 percent, 26 percent and 22 percent respectively.

This resulted in revenue per available room (“RevPAR”) increased by 33 percent to $53 from $40 achieved in the same period last year.

Finance costs declined by a notable 33 percent to $0,33 million from $0,49 million due to loan repayments and lower average borrowing rates. Total assets remained almost flat at $38 million.

In the outlook, African Sun is upbeat of maintaining the growth trajectory as the sector enters its peak period- festive season.

“The remaining trading period falls into the Group’s peak trading season. We expect conferencing and international market business to drive performance.  The Victoria Falls properties should continue to experience growth in foreign arrivals,” said African Said.

Bookings for the remainder of the year are already higher than same period last year while various infrastructure projects around the country, including upgrading of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, the Beitbridge to Chirundu road rehabilitation and Beitbridge border post development will bring business opportunities for the group.

Management will therefore continue to focus on revenue generation and cost reduction initiatives to navigate the current challenging business environment, leveraging regional and international brands and their respective loyalty programmes.

The group declared an interim dividend of 0,0581 cents a share.

Source: African Sun profit up 672pc (06/09/18)

Elephant kills L/stone man

 AN elephant has trampled to death a 38-year-old Livingstone hotel worker.

Southern region senior wildlife warden Lewis Daka confirmed the incident but referred all queries to the Musi-oa-Tunya National Park area warden Bovax Kachali, who said the deceased was killed at around 06:00 hours yesterday as he cycled to work.

“I received a call from our wildlife officer from our office near Chrismar Hotel entrance who informed me that a person has been trampled upon by an elephant. I called the police and also rushed to the scene. On arrival at the scene, which is in the Musi-oa-Tunya National Park, we found that indeed a man had been trampled upon,” said Kachali. “The deceased has been identified as Mutema Muzya of Linda residential area aged 38 and worked for a lodge in the kitchen. And his remains have been deposited in the Livingstone Central Hospital mortuary.”

Source: Elephant kills L/stone man (17/08/18)

‘Vic Falls Grand Prix arena to boost tourism’

ZIMBABWE will be able to host about five international motor racing events per year in Victoria Falls once construction of a G1 standard Grand Prix arena is completed.

The sport is expected to attract hundreds of motor racing fans thereby boosting sport tourism in the country.

Feonirichi Pvt Ltd from Dubai who are funding the construction of the arena, were in the resort town yesterday for a ground-breaking ceremony presided over by Vice-President Costantino Chiwenga.

Th company has set aside $1,2 billion to construct the Grand Prix arena, convention centre, medical centre and shopping mall on a 271ha piece of land between Victoria Falls International Airport and Masue River.

A representative from Feonirichi, Prince Adebayo Bamidele Oni, said construction will start once all regulatory approvals are met.

“We actually intend to construct a G1 standard Grand Prix arena which will host various competitions. We intend to have at least four or five of these competitions every year which will attract tourists to Victoria Falls,” said Oni.

He said talks are ongoing with various motor racing bodies for approval.

“We are awaiting approval from various authorities for G1 standard arena and race track. We will not disappoint Zimbabwe because six banks are funding this project,” he said.

VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe will score a first as the only African country to have Grand Prix after the sport was stopped in South Africa in 1985.

“The motor racing events are geared to attract, not only local, but international tourists hence we need more hotels. Victoria Falls already occupies the top position of adrenalin capital of the world and bringing Grand Prix here is another feather in the cap,” said VP Chiwenga.

“Motor racing is a risky but heart-throbbing pastime for those who have no fear for death. It has been alien to Africa after the Grand Prix in South Africa was shut down in 1985  and Feonirichi has brought it back to Africa making Zimbabwe the only appropriate gateway for sporting and leisure tourism,” he said.

The VP said Government was committed to the project and more than 8 000 jobs will be created during construction.

Victoria Falls mayor Sifiso Mpofu has been vocal about the need for the local authority to partner investors to build sporting facilities to attract international competitions.

He expressed gratitude to the investor and said the local authority will fully support the project.

The Zimbabwe Rugby Union has already engaged council to upgrade Chinotimba Stadium into a multi-discipline sport facility.

Zimbabwe Cricket was allocated land to construct a 10 000-seater stadium in Victoria Falls about four years ago, although nothing has materialised.

All efforts are aimed at developing sport tourism and bring world events to Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is one of the world’s most preferred destinations but is failing to attract world sporting events because of lack of facilities

In August last year, World Chess Federation president Kirsan Nikolayevich IIyumzhinov said Zimbabwe was likely to host the Chess World Cup in 2021.

Source: ‘Vic Falls Grand Prix arena to boost tourism’ (30/07/2018)