Dawn Properties Look to Acquire Kingdom at Victoria Falls

Dawn Properties is set to acquire 50 percent of Makasa Sun Hotel property in Victoria Falls from Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe while negotiations are ongoing for the other half from Barclays Pension Fund. The property is trading under African Sun's Kingdom Hotel. Barclays Bank last week announced that it had sold its 50 percent stake in Makasa Sun. In a statement, Barclays Bank said that Dawn Properties will pay $7 500 000 within 30 days of concluding on the conditions precedent from which selling costs shall be paid.

The balance is to be paid in instalments over a period of up to 12 years on interest charges which will be reviewed annually in reference to an agreed interest rate benchmark. Currently the majority of the Dawn Properties' portfolio is in hotel properties which are operated by African Sun Limited.

Source: Dawn Properties to Acquire Makasa Sun Hotel (29/02/2016)

African Sun clears $200k Vic Falls debt

African Sun Limited has paid more than $200,000 to clear its outstanding rates and water bills to the Victoria Falls Municipality.

In June last year, the hotel group was issued with summons in respect of the outstanding rates amounting to $383,000 owed by three of its hotels — The Victoria Falls Hotel, the Elephant Hills Resort and The Kingdom Hotel — in the resort town.

The amount took into account an increase of at least 250 percent on the rates and water bills. The listed hotel group had stopped payments as the company felt the increment was too high at a time the company’s hotel units were operating below capacity.

After it was issued with summons, the group engaged the council with a view to break the impasse.
African Sun has 731 rooms in Victoria Falls, about 66 percent of the resort town’s accommodation capacity.

African Sun and the town council agreed to resolve the matter out of court after the former came up with a debt payment plan, which was accepted by the municipality.

The hotel group had proposed a rate, which would have seen it paying a total $203,000 to clear the arrears. But the council declined to reduce the rate and instead offered a discount on condition that its proposed amount was paid by December 31.

The group proposed monthly rates of $7,800 for Victoria Falls Hotel, $7,500 for Elephant Hills and $5,500, $1,271 for the Kingdom at Victoria Falls Hotel.

Council had proposed much higher rates at $9,620,22, $9,426,73 and $8,409,31. The municipality had hiked rates from $3,018, $2,985 and $1,271 respectively, for the group’s three hotels.

The council argued that it could not reduce rates, which had been gazetted, midway into the financial year unless it was to be done through a supplementary budget and all processes were followed to either reverse or reduce the gazetted rates. But they promised the “proposal will certainly be considered in the budget for 2016.”

African Sun paid a total of $202,890 in three equal installments of $67,630 by December.
“It’s the company’s view that all due process was followed and this matter was concluded and the municipality accepted the company’s proposal. All the arrears to Victoria Falls Municipality from July 2015 to the end of December 2015 for the three hotels were paid in full,” the hotel group said. The municipality said it acknowledged the difficulties faced by African Sun considering the difficulties in the business environment.

“Victoria Falls in its full special council meeting held on October 22, 2015 resolved to accept your proposal in its entirety contained in your letter dated October 9 2015. The council appreciates the finality of this matter, which was made possible by your commitment and sincerity in the discussion on the matter,” the council said.

African Sun, however, said that the only outstanding matter is that the municipality of Victoria Falls has not yet approved the proposed rate for 2016 for its three hotels.

Source: African Sun clears $200k Vic Falls debt (24/02/16).

‘165 days left before Kariba shuts down’

Kariba Dam is now left with capacity to generate power for only 165 days, unless significant water inflows are recorded in the next few months, a Zesa Holdings official has said.

BY TARISAI MANDIZHA

Speaking during a tour of Kariba Power Station last Friday, the power station’s general manager, Kenneth Maswera said water levels in the dam were now at 477,15m which is 1,65m above the minimum power generation threshold. He said these were the lowest levels recorded since the 1992 drought.

“If we are taking a cubic centimetre a day, it will take 165 days, but that is if we don’t get any water inflows,” he said.

“It looks like it has been almost constant, but the water levels are going down and it’s a fact. We have not received any significant inflows, basically the level is going to continue going down if we don’t get any water flows into the lake.”

Maswera said power generation at Kariba Hydropower Station had further declined to 285MW against a generation capacity of 750 megawatts (MW) due to
dwindling water levels in Kariba dam.

“We are 1,65m above the level to generate power and if we go below this level, we will not be able to generate. But there is enough water for fishing and other activities,” he said.

Maswera said Kariba power generation was constructed and designed to operate between 475,5m and 488,50m.

He said the expansion of Kariba South Power Station, which was expected to add 300MW into the national grid was now 40% complete.

The $533 million expansion project, which includes development costs to be met by Zimbabwe Power Company, is being undertaken by a Chinese firm, Sino Hydro and is targeted for completion by 2018.

According to reports, to date, China Exim Bank has disbursed the first tranche of about $100 million under the engineering procurement contract valued at $354 million.

Zimbabwe is generating 1 355MW, with Hwange producing 341MW, Kariba 285MW, Harare 17MW and Munyati 28MW. Imports contributed 450MW against a forecast demand of 1 375MW.

Zesa spokesperson, Fullard Gwasira said despite dwindling water levels at Kariba Dam, the power utility company was working on a number of measures to address power shortages, which include importation of 300MW of electricity from South Africa and another 40MW from Mozambique, Dema emergency diesel power plant and the solar water heating programme among many others.

Zambezi River Authority chief executive officer, Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the situation at Kariba was bad.

Kariba Dam services both Zambia and Zimbabwe and on a daily basis the power stations in the two countries consume between 900 to 1 000 cubic metres of water.

Munodawafa, however, said more rains were expected between this and next month and this will improve the water levels to sustain the two countries up to the winter period.

Source: ‘165 days left before Kariba shuts down’ (22/02/16)

Graph Source: Zambezi River Authority

'Cecil effect’ leaves park’s lion at risk of cull

Bubye Valley Conservancy says it may have to cull 200 lions due to overpopulation and "the Cecil effect"

By Peta Thornycroft in Bubye Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe

20 Feb 2016

It is the country where Cecil the lion was killed, sparking international anger against the American dentist who shot him.

The outcry over Walter Palmer’s killing of Cecil drove other big-game hunters away from Zimbabwe, fearful they too would attract the opprobrium of the public. But in what is being described as a side-effect of the affair, Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife area says it now finds itself suffering from an overpopulation of lions.

Bubye Valley Conservancy has more than 500 lions, the largest number in Zimbabwe’s diminishing wildlife areas.

It has warned that its lion population has become unsustainable and that it may even have to cull around 200 as a result of what is being called “the Cecil effect”.

Now Bubye is appealing for other institutions or wildlife sanctuaries to take some of its lions.

Conservationists estimate about half of Zimbabwe’s wildlife has disappeared since Robert Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned land began in 2000, but Bubye has held on by attracting wealthy hunters whose fees support its wildlife work.

But last year’s shooting of Cecil, in a conservancy bordering Hwange National Park, sparked a huge backlash against big-game hunting.

Plummeting oil prices have further led to a drop in the number of visitors from US states such as Texas, from where traditionally large numbers of hunters go to Zimbabwe.

Bubye’s lions are decimating populations of antelope, along with other animals such as giraffe, cheetah, leopards and wild dogs, after the driest summer on record kept grasses low and made the small game easy targets.

Blondie Leathem, general manager of Bubye Valley Conservancy, said: “I wish we could give about 200 of our lions away to ease the overpopulation. If anyone knows of a suitable habitat for them where they will not land up in human conflict, or in wildlife areas where they will not be beaten up because of existing prides, please let us know and help us raise the money to move them.”

In the Forties, there were thought to be as many as 450,000 lions on Earth, but today they are classed as “vulnerable”, with numbers feared as low as 20,000.

Conservationists fear that without a concerted push, particularly in high-risk areas of central and west Africa, their numbers could halve again in the next two decades because of human-animal conflict and reduced habit and food supplies.

Bubye, along with some game parks in neighbouring countries, has been bucking the trend, according to a recent study, with healthy lion populations in “small, fenced, intensively managed, funded reserves”.

The conservation area was founded 22 years ago by Charles Davy, the rancher father ofChelsy Davy, Prince Harry’s former girlfriend. It is now majority-owned by Dubai World, the investment fund of the wealthy emirate’s government.

Millions of pounds were spent fencing 2,000 square miles of land previously cleared of wildlife by decades of cattle farming. The fence was then electrified and hundreds of people were hired to protect wildlife imported to the park.

Bubye also supports schools and clinics in several districts and provides meat every month for people nearby.

When the Telegraph visited Bubye in early February a matriarch lioness called Matilda, her sisters and her latest litter of cubs were lazing in the shade under mopane trees.

Matilda – which was fitted with a radio collar by the Oxford University researchers that also collared Cecil – eats at least 10lb of meat every day.

Pieter Kat, director of Lion Aid, a UK-based charity, said contraception should have been introduced at the conservancy years ago. “It’s too late now,” he said. “There is nowhere in Africa which could take so many lions.”

Paul Bartels, a wildlife scientist from South Africa’s Tshwane University of Technology, said female contraceptive implants used in smaller reserves would be impractical for Matilda’s clan.

“There are a lot of lions on that [Bubye] conservancy. It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for contraception to make any real difference,” he said.

Oxford’s lion research project in Zimbabwe, which monitored Cecil, said that the Bubye conservancy was “a huge success story” in a region blighted by a lack of governmental help for its struggling wildlife sector.

Mr Leathem insisted he was not a hunter but a conservationist, and had no option but to maintain “sustainable” hunting to safeguard Bubye’s future.

Source: 'Cecil effect’ leaves park’s lion at risk of cull (21/02/16)

Dead Poachers Found Floating In The Zambezi River

Two bodies of suspected Zambian poachers found floating on the Zambezi River on Valentine’s Day were retrieved by Zimbabwean police this week, days after they escaped an ambush.

By Judith Sibanda

Victoria Falls, February 20, 2016

The duo were part of a suspected poaching syndicate who escaped after exchanging gun fire with police in the Jambezi area on February 6.

Superintendent Dominic Sibanda, the officer commanding Victoria Falls police, said relatives the two men were in Zimbabwe to collect their bodies. "The two bodies were spotted on February 14  by spotted by fishermen who were at the Zambezi River near Jambezi,” he said.

“They reported the matter and we went to rescue them but we couldn't find them until yesterday (Thursday). 

“They were both naked and the other had both legs missing." 

Sibanda said the names of the deceased could not be released until they were positively identified by their relatives who had returned to Zambia to get proper documents.

He said an accomplice of the suspected poachers had admitted that the group had crossed into Zimbabwe to illegally hunt wild animals.

"Initially the suspected refused to cooperate but his eyes were guilty,” Sibanda said.

“We then interrogated him after finding the names of the six accused and it showed that they were together. 

“He admitted and said they had come to poach as it was their business.

He said the two deceased poachers’ relatives had asked for the bodies from the police.

"The families together with Zambian police came to our office this afternoon  (Friday ) seeking for release of  their and they indicated to us that one of the suspects who is still at large said they had died in the river after failing to cross,” Sibanda said.

“We told them that we had taken the bodies to Bulawayo. They are from Lusaka.  We sent them back to go and collect all their documents so that we release the bodies."

Meanwhile, one of the suspected members of the syndicate Chistopher Malasa Mandaya (35) appeared at the Victoria Falls Magistrates’ Court facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and dagga.

Mandaya is accused of  entering Zimbabwe illegally after he was arrested a fortnight ago in Jambezi.

He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared before Rangarirai Gakanye and was remanded in custody to February 22.

Prosecutor Listen Nare said Mandanya and five accomplices who were still at large were spotted by Jambezi villagers moving around the area carrying firearms.

On February 6, police laid an ambush at night and spotted the group.

Police fired warning shots and the suspects returned fire but Mandaya was eventually arrested.  

He was found in possession of 25 rounds of ammunition, two axes and butcher knives and two kilogrammes of dagga.

Source:Dead Zambian Poachers Found Floating In The Zambezi River (20/02/16)

Zimparks to use drones to fight poachers

ZIMBABWE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) officials are considering using drones, helicopters, sniffer dogs and surveillance cameras in fighting poachers in country's game parks. 

Zimparks director-general Edison Chidziya told Parliament Monday on the plans.

"We are working with other law enforcement agencies on regulatory frameworks on use of drones.

"There are various suppliers of such technology and once the regulatory framework is finalised, we will look at using such technology."

"We managed to detect 8 000 incursions in Parks estates since last year and 145 poachers. 45 poachers were accounted for, as well as 29 poaching foreign nationals. We have seen a trend where local involvement in poaching is increasing."

In 2013 a total of 105 wild animals were lost through poisoning in Hwange, while in 2015 about 100 animals were poisoned with 32 lost at one particular site.


Source: Zimparks to use drones to fight poachers (16/02/16)

Victoria Falls game fence causes divisions

Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter

A WAR is looming among tour operators in Victoria Falls after a businessman fenced off part of Chamabondo Forest in a development that will affect tourism activities as an animal corridor has been blocked.

Proprietors of Landela Complex which runs Landela Lodge in Masue, have erected a fence across Chamabondo Forest in a move some operators have said would push them out of business.

The same land has been earmarked by the government for establishment of a recreational theme park between Victoria Falls International Airport and Masue River.

Two tour operators Lion Encounter and Adventure Zone who are leasing an area in Chamabondo Forest have since been told to vacate as they have been encircled by the fence.

Landela Complex owner businessman Stewart Cranswick represented by his consultant Trevor Lane erected the fence stretching from the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road at Masue Bridge to Stanley and Livingstone Lodge more than 4km away.

The two-metre high fence seen by The Chronicle yesterday, also cuts across Masue River up to the railway line along the highway and extends westwards towards Nakavango area.

Even game drives in Chamabondo National Park operated by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority will be affected as the fence closes off the game area.

Affected tour operators have approached the Affirmative Action Group over the issue complaining that no Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out in terms of the Environmental Management Act.

Brent Williams from Adventure Zone said no consultations were done.

“We wonder what could be happening because there was no consultation as we only saw a fence being erected.

“They’ve closed the game corridor and we wonder if we’ll still have access to our area of operation because that’s all we need,” he said.

Naison Webb from Lion Encounter confirmed that they had been given a notice to vacate.
“We were told last year and because land isn’t ours we’re looking for alternative space for our activities.

“If we fail to get one that means our business will be affected,” said Webb.

Lane said Lion Encounter and Adventure Zone would be removed from the area.

“I don’t know if any other operators will be affected but those operating from there have been told to seek alternative places.

“I can’t explain further because that’s not my land as I’m a consultant for Cranswick,” he said.
Authorities at Stanley and Livingstone lodge refused to allow Lane to join the fence to theirs.

“I don’t want to be seen commenting for now but we couldn’t allow their fence to be joined to ours.
“They also wanted their solar panels in our premises but we couldn’t allow that,” said wildlife manager at Stanley and Livingstone, Ian Dupreez.

AAG Victoria Falls chapter vice president Tonderai Mutasa said there were fears of fierce animal-human conflict as wildlife will now be forced to cross between Fuller Forest and Chamabondo through residential areas.

Source: Game fence irks Victoria Falls tour operators (10/02/16)