Council gives in to Chombo

 VICTORIA FALLS - The Town Council here has finally given in to pressure from the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Ignatius Chombo to award its former Mayor a hefty retirement package.

The council has agreed to give Tose Sansole an exit package with a total value of US$182 000. It consists of a house, car and several benefits cash benefits.

When contacted for comment the Mayor, Councillor Nkosilathi Jiyane, confirmed the latest development but was reluctant to give more details on the matter.

“The issue of the former Mayor’s package has been finalised but I’m not obliged to give details,” he said.

Chombo issued the directive sometime last year but the council has been ignoring it until now. According to a source that declined to be named, the local authority decided to comply with the Minister’s directive after a heated debate between the councillors.

“We have been engaged in difficult discussions over this issue since the beginning of this year. Some of the members were adamant and they heavily opposed the matter, but they ended up giving in when the Mayor (Clr Jiyane) used his powers to get the matter implemented within the stipulated period.

“The truth of the matter is that the council has no money so it will be the ratepayers who will suffer the consequences,” said a source who requested anonymity.

Source: Council gives in to Chombo (03/02/2010)

Albida Tourism in $12m expansion drive

AFRICA Albida Tourism (AAT) which owns the world famous Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is investing up to US$16 million in a robust expansion drive as the group positions itself to optimise benefits from the recovery of the country’s tourism industry.

AAT chief executive Ross Kennedy told NewZimbabwe.com at the firm’s Harare head office that the country’s tourism sector is fast recovering from the worst effects of a decade-long economic recession and adverse international publicity.

He said occupancy levels at his firm’s properties had averaged 46 percent during the “difficult years” but have since recovered remarkably, with the Victoria Falls Safari lodge now averaging about 82 percent.

“Even the United States and United Kingdom markets have bounced back with the US alone making up to 23 percent of my business in the first quarter of this year while 26 percent of our visitors came from the UK.

“Occupancies for the whole of the Victoria Falls region have spiked to 76 percent from lows of about 40 percent in the last decade,” Kennedy said.

AAT has also reopened the Bumi Hills Safari lodge in Kariba which had been closed over the last ten years and is investing up to US$16 million to expand local operations as well as venture into the region.

The investment will see the addition of 24 rooms at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge to increase capacity to 96 as well as the development of a new18-bed luxury lodge in neighbouring Bostwana.

However the main project is the US$12 million development of Santonga eco-tourism park in Victoria Falls which Kennedy described as a ‘major drawcard’ for the destination.

“Santonga will bring to the Vic Falls something that is missing at the moment, which is a genuine family oriented activity. It will absolutely please everyone from 2 year-olds to those who are a hundred years old.

“The project is a good example of what, in industry-speak, we call edutainment and encompasses wildlife, conservation and experiential activities,” Kennedy added.

Santonga is a multi-faceted eco-park that is designed to deepen visitors’ appreciation of local culture and the history of the Victoria Falls.

Key features of the project which will be located in a wildlife area include a replica of the Great Zimbabwe monuments, a reptile park, a 600-seater drumbeat amphitheatre as well as an African-themed restaurant which will seat up to 300 diners.


Kennedy said the Santonga is expected to help lengthen visitor stay in the Falls and thereby boost the country’s benefits from its prime resort.

“The average stay in the Falls is presently two-and-a-half nights. If we can get existing visitors to stay one more night - even without adding another pair of legs - that alone would boost business by up to 25 percent,” Kennedy said.

The new projects AAT is carrying out are expected to create another 140 jobs bringing the group’s overall employee numbers to 249.

“There will also be huge downstream benefits because of what will be consumed in the park, raw material supplies as well as general retail spend,” the AAT chief said.

The group also operates the Hide Lodge in Hwange National Park as well as the successful African-themed Boma restaurant located next to the Vic Falls Safari lodge.

Kennedy said there are plans to take the Boma concept to Livingstone town in Zambia and South Africa’s Cape Town.

Source: Albida Tourism in $12m expansion drive (Dec 2009)

See Also

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (31st December 2009) Albida Tourism in $12m expansion drive.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (16th December 2014) Santoga Project an Insult to Vic Falls?.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (31st December 2014) Paradise lost?.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (21st April 2015) Work on $18M Victoria Falls Santonga captive animal park starts.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (24th April 2015) Vic Falls recreational park to open in 2017.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (27th April 2015) $18m park set for Vic Falls.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (15th May 2015) Santonga Project rattles Vic Falls.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (22nd May 2015) Santonga Project: The untold story.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (8th June 2015) ‘Santonga is not a zoo’.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (24th July 2015) Santonga: Tourism game changer?.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (9th September 2019) Santonga Project still on the cards.

Read more on the Keep Victoria Falls Wild website. 

Jackson wanted Victoria Falls as backdrop for final tour

Kenny Ortega, producer and director of This Is It, which was released last week, said: “The night before he died we had completed all of the physicality of the show as it would have been staged at the O2.

“Michael stood out at the front of the stage that night with me and looked out into the empty arena and said, ‘This is the dream. We did it good, Kenny. We did it’.

“There was this feeling in the air, and in our minds we were already on the plane. Michael said, ‘You can feel London. You can smell it’.”

As Jackson hopped on board a golf cart that took him to his waiting car after each rehearsal, he turned to associate producer and choreographer Travis Payne. “I shouted ‘I love you’ to him,” said Payne. “He smiled back and said ‘I love you more’.

“That was the last time I saw him – the last time any of us saw him.” Less than 18 hours later, Jackson lay dead after an overdose of the anaesthetic Propofol and the dream of one of the most spectacular comebacks in music history died with him.

The Sunday Express can reveal that Jackson and his team had lined up a series of show-stopping events and special guest stars for his 50 London performances.

Approaches had been made to Mick Jagger, Bono and Lady Gaga and special effects stunts were to include a Jumbotron screen 3D “experience”.

Details of the spectacular emerged last week as This Is It, the movie compiled from more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage, registered box office takings of £12million worldwide in its first day. Fans have staged protests, including one outside last week’s celebrity premiere at Los Angeles’s Nokia Theatre, claiming Jackson had been “pushed beyond his limit” by tour promoters AEG. But Ortega insisted the star was “bursting to go” at his final rehearsal.

“I was watching Michael come back to life during a period when he’d been really beaten down,” he said. “He wasn’t looking for validation or to prove anything.

“I was in his dressing room and I said, ‘I can’t wait for the curtain to draw back. You’re going to get the validation you deserve and that people tried to rob from you’. He just laughed and said, ‘You’re so funny’. What he was really saying was that the only thing that motivated him was the music and dance routines.”

Weeks earlier, Jackson had telephoned Ortega at 3am. “He said, ‘Victoria Falls’. I mumbled, half-asleep, ‘That’s in Africa’. Then he said he wanted Victoria Falls on a big screen worked into his London set.

“Michael wanted the world up there on that stage with him, in 3D. He wanted to hand out 3D glasses to members of the audience and said to me, ‘Imagine all those people putting on their glasses at the same time to watch Victoria Falls behind me’.”

Music director Michael Bearden said: “Michael wanted to fix everything. He stopped one routine because he heard a single wrong note. Nobody else did, but he said, ‘Trust me. It’s wrong. Listen to my original record’.

Jackson’s dancers also said he was in an ebullient mood. Devin Jamiesen said: “He couldn’t stand still. He just kept moving, trying out new things. You could tell he was amped up.”

Source: Revealed: Jackson's last words (1/11/09)

Change to Visa Requirement Into Zimbabwe

Historically, any person holding a single entry visa who may have left Zimbabwe (E.G. a day-visit to nearby Chobe National Park or a day-visit to the Zambia side of the Victoria Falls) but intended retuning to Zimbabwe to overnight was not requested to reapply for an additional visa upon return.

However, with immediate effect, Zimbabwe will be charging for re-entry visas for anybody who has left the country on a day trip. This information received today (Monday October 18, 2009) seems to have been in place for a few days already.

Any passengers leaving Zimbabwe on a day trip MUST purchase a multiple entry visa for Zimbabwe on arrival at first entry.

The same rule applies in the opposite direction,  if you arrive into the Victoria Falls International Airport, you will need to purchase a visa to enter Zimbabwe merely to take an overland transfer to Botswana.

Source: Change to Visa Requirement Into Zimbabwe (19/10/09)

Zimbabwean Tour Guide plunges into the Victoria Falls gorge

Victoria Falls (ZimEye) – A professional tour guide is believed to have died after falling to the Victoria Falls rain-forest gorges.

Police confirmed the incident, which left Victoria Falls and Livingstone, Zambia residents dumbfounded.

Chief Inspector Chisoni, Police Officer in Charge of Victoria Falls police station in Livingstone, Zambia said the incident happened on Wednesday afternoon on the Zambian side of the rainforest.

He said the guide was trying to save a tourist who was about to fall into the gorges at a spot called The Devil’s Pool.

The name of the guide is still being withheld as his next of kin are still to be notified but according to sources, the guide was working for a South African based tour company called Sunway Safaris.

“He came here (Livingstone) driving a minibus with tourists from South Africa and were booked at the Water Front,” said the source.

“They then went to the devils pool, a death trap which is very close to the edge of the main falls which are 90 metres deep.”

He said on getting out of the pool, one of the tourists slipped and was about to fall into the gorges.

“The tour guide quickly grabbed his hand and successfully pulled him back into the pool but in the process lost balance and fell 90 metres down,” he said.

The source said every year someone dies at the devils pool.

“People should just be banned from going near the place because it is dangerous. On the Zimbabwean side, there are barriers put in place all over. That should be done here,” he said.

Help was called in and tour operators sent in helicopters.

The fire brigade, police and well wishers responded but they could not locate the guide.

Source: Zimbabwean Tour Guide plunges into the Victoria Falls gorge (27/09/09)

More on the Devil''s Pool

Curio carvers, vendors get accreditation

THE Forestry Commission has started accrediting curio carvers and vendors in Victoria Falls, a move aimed at controlling the harvesting of timber in the forestry area.

The curio industry, which employs more than 1 500 people in the area has not been controlled leading to rampant poaching of timber, resulting in deforestation.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, the Forestry Commission co-ordinator for Hwange, Mr David Mandongwe, said they wanted timber harvesting to be done in a controllable manner to ensure sustainability of the forests. He said so far 10 co-operatives at Busy Island, a popular vending area where tourists buy curios in town and at curio stands along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway have been accredited.

 “The Commission has started accrediting curio vendors and carvers in and around the resort town of Victoria Falls. So far 10 co-operatives with about 250 members each have been accredited in line with the new requirements of the Commission,” he said.

Mr Mandongwe said the Commission had already done a stock take to ascertain the number of curio pieces that were in the vendors’ and carvers’ stocks. He said they have also ordered the carvers to stop timber logging until the curio stocks are cleared.

“We have since stopped timber logging. The logging will only commence after the stocks have been finished,” he said.

Mr Mandongwe said the Commission had identified legal sources of timber logging with the hope of controlling the activity. “The natural resources were depleting at an alarming rate because of rampant poaching of timber for curios. So we want to control the Forestry logging so that we leave something for the future generations. We also want to reduce deforestation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Mandongwe said it was now illegal for anyone to export curios without a permit. “Anyone wanting to buy curios should first get a permit from the Commission,” he said.

Noise pollution concerns over helicopter flights at Victoria Falls

AFRIKNEWS
By Alice Chimora, 23 June 2009

Victoria Falls under serious environmental threat - Environmentalists concerned about planned increase of flights over the falls.

The World Heritage status for Victoria Falls is under siege after hotel companies and environmental groups voiced their concerns on plans to increase flights over the falls.

At present there are only 6 flight operators but an additional eight is planned. Their argument is that an increased number of aircraft would damage the environment, worsen noise pollution, harm wildlife and lead to the cancellation of Victoria Falls’ World Heritage Site status.

Already two hotels have made formal complaints to World Heritage Commission in Victoria Falls. “Daily we have to endure the noise and constant irritation from these aircraft which fly directly over and above the Victoria Falls Hotel” wrote K. Snater of Victoria Falls Hotel.

UNESCO had declared a 30 kilometer radius of Zimbabwean and Zambian territory around the Victoria Falls, a World Heritage Site, in 1989. Victoria Falls is an international tourist draw card for Zimbabwe.

The heritage status came under severe threat in 2006 when the Zambian government awarded 220 hectares of land in the 66 square kilometre Mosi-O-Tunya National Park at a cost of US$ 9 million, plus an undisclosed recurring levy, to South Africa’s Legacy Group Holdings for development over a 75-year period under a tourism concession programme.

Guests at the five-star Kingdom and Victoria Falls hotels where the helicopters fly just above the hotels during their flights over the rainforest say it is “a nuisance”. If the additional eight operators are given licences, it means 16 more helicopters, taking two from each operator, and if Zambia gives eight more licences it means 32 helicopters plus the existing seven. It takes the whole number to 39 helicopters.

For environmental conservation reasons, only seven aircraft from both Zimbabwe and Zambia are currently allowed at any given time to operate over the rainforest adjoining the world-famous falls.

This is meant to preserve the delicate environment, curb noise pollution from the helicopters and protect the teeming wildlife.

Five of the seven helicopters fly from Zambia while the Zambezi Helicopter Company based in Zimbabwe has two. But eight potential helicopter operators have applied for licences to offer flights over the falls and the rainforest.

In this light, existing operators have written to the World Heritage Site committee, the local municipality, CAAZ and conservation group Environment Africa expressing their concern over the idea of increasing the number of operators.

Environment Africa manager Nhamo Chuma said the issue of helicopters, if uncontrolled, will pose the single biggest threat to the falls’ status as a World Heritage Site. “The last thing this destination can afford is more negative publicity about the increased number of helicopters. Whatever decision is made should be done with environment conservation in mind, otherwise we will lose it,” he said.

Helicopter rides in Victoria Falls — also known as “the flights of the angels” — are popular with tourists, who pay amounts ranging between US$120 and US$200 for a 15-minute flight. The phrase is attributed to British explorer David Livingstone who once described the falls as: “A sight so wonderful that angels must have gazed down on it in flight”.

The noisy choppers fly slowly at a low level over the magnificent waterfalls, giving sightseers an opportunity to enjoy the unforgettable view and capture photographic souveniers. Microlights and other fixed-wing aircraft are also available to adventure seekers.

Source: AFRIKNEWS

Read More:

Victoria Falls Falls Bits and Blogs (15th June 2008) Helipad endangers tourism.

Victoria Falls Falls Bits and Blogs (17th June 2009) Noise pollution concerns at Victoria Falls (BBC NEWS).

Victoria Falls Falls Bits and Blogs (19th June 2009) Vic Falls Heritage Status Threatened.

Victoria Falls Falls Bits and Blogs (20th June 2009) Noise pollution impact fears for Vic Falls elephants.

Victoria Falls Falls Bits and Blogs (24th June 2009b) Victoria Falls under serious environmental threat.

Victoria Falls Falls Bits and Blogs (24th June 2009a) Noise pollution concerns over helicopter flights at Victoria Falls (AFRIKNEWS).