Vic Falls charges US$1 per hour for parking

The Victoria Falls municipality has reintroduced parking fees as part of measures to broaden the revenue base and to finance the refurbishment of roads around the resort town, with many motorists describing the US$1 per hour charges as exorbitant compared to what other councils are charging.

After suspending the parking fees a few years ago due to limited manpower, Victoria Falls has started enforcing the council by-laws which will see motorists paying US$1 or RTGS$6 per hour for parking at designated places.

Motorists and residents expressed mixed reactions to the development, with some welcoming it as a move towards improving the resort town’s road network, while others have described the fee as exorbitant compared to what other local authorities are charging.

“While we acknowledge the need to improve the resort town’s infrastructure, we feel that one US$1 per hour is exorbitant. There should carry a comparative study and see what other towns are charging,” said one motorist.

Victoria Falls Town Clerk, Ronnie Dube said the move is meant to improve the revenue base, adding that the parking fees will be channeled towards sprucing up the tourism town’s road infrastructure.

“The move is supported by council by-laws and we feel there was need to broaden the revenue stream in order to support road maintenance as we seek to be an attractive tourism destination,” he said.

Meanwhile, the local authority, which had tabled a RTGS$14.4 million capital budget, said after factoring in the prevailing market prices, the capital budget for the 2019 financial year has risen to RTGS$56.4 million.

Source: Vic Falls charges US$1 per hour for parking (18/06/19)