Land dispute stalls construction of US$50 million Vic Falls hotel

A boat landing company that was leasing a jetty from Victoria Falls City Council is stalling the construction of a US$50 million 5-star hotel by local investor Better Brands after refusing to move off the land although it was given 90 days notice laid down in its lease, and even though the council had offered a new jetty site 200m away.

The new hotel will be employing more than 200 employees, most of them locals.

Wild Horizons was given the required notice by Victoria Falls council through the town clerk Mr Ronnie Dube to vacate stand number 1392A, where it operates a boat jetty after Better Brands owned by Mr Pedzisai Scott Sakupwanya applied to buy the land for the purpose of building the new major hotel.

Tourism in Zimbabwe is expected to continue its strong growth from 2022 in the first quarter of 2023, signalling a recovery from the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. International arrivals surged in 2022, recovering from a decline in 2021, and this growth looks set to continue in 2023.

Wild Horizons have been leasing the property from council for some time but was just using it as a jetty where boats could be tied.

The council gave the required notice to its tenant under Section 18 of their lease agreement, which states: “Either party can terminate this agreement at any time upon giving the other party ninety (90) days’ notice in writing of such intention. Upon early termination of this Agreement, all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall cease, except such rights and obligations as may have accrued on the date of termination and such rights and obligations as are expressed to survive beyond termination; and neither party shall be liable to claim for loss of revenue as a result of such early termination.”

Mr Dube said Wild Horizons responded by rejecting council’s position and they claimed that the move would cost 700 employees their jobs, but the council can only see around 10 people employed and has offered a new jetty site about 200m away.

“It is council’s considered view that the new applicants would add value in the development trajectory in line with the National Development Strategy (NDS)1, which calls for employment creation,” Mr Dube said.

“This will also imply that council will be able to charge rates unlike the US$7 000 lease rental being paid now. The relocation on its own would even create more employment with the beginning of construction which will benefit most businesses in Victoria Falls.

“When council held its full council meeting on February 3, 2023, Wild Horizons brought a bus load of people to try and force council into submission and that type of bullying is unprofessional, unacceptable and as council we will remain resolute to make an informed decision that will benefit our residents and country at large.”

In a letter dated January 30, 2023, Wild Horizon’s corporate affairs and business development director Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa-Hughes said the company was opposed to the proposal to terminate their current lease agreement and relocate them to an alternative venue.

“Wild Horizons has a valid lease which expires in March 2029. We have always paid lease fees timeously, going as far as pre-paying lease fees for the next 5 years in order to assist council with cash flow difficulties they are experiencing. We constantly strive to foster the great partnership we have always shared with the council.

“Wild Horizons has leased and maintained the area for more than 25 years, and are a sitting tenant with senior employees having lived in the city for between 33 and 50 years, showing long term commitment to the municipality. Wild Horizons has applied on numerous occasions to purchase the land but to no avail as the land was said to be not for sale,” she said.

Mrs Murasiranwa-Hughes said Wild Horizons would like due process legally followed by council where a full council resolution was made on the notice to terminate their lease agreement.

Better Brands Jewellery in May last year submitted an application to Victoria Falls City Council to buy the commercial stand and the application was approved.

Source: Land dispute stalls construction of US$50 million Vic Falls hotel (14/02/23)

Tourism Development Pressures Threaten Victoria Falls World Heritage Site (Zimbabwe)

(14th February 2023)

A new independent report produced for Keep Victoria Falls Wild highlights urgent concerns over the management of the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site (WHS) and recent allocation of leases and concessions by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, threatening the vulnerable riverine fringe along the upstream river corridor above the Victoria Falls.

Download the Keep Victoria Falls Wild 2023 State of Development Summary Report (pdf, 887kb)

A series of new tourism developments have been authorised within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' of the Victoria Falls National Park (VFNP), a long-standing 'no new infrastructure' zone, including a proposed riverside 'tree lodge' development (a significant new 57-room development on a 40 hectare concession stretched along the riverside fringe within the VFNP and already widely promoted within the tourism industry) as well as a riverside restaurant development, currently under construction immediately above the Falls.

Site of riverside restaurant construction (January 2023)

There are also concerns over the allocation of Zambezi National Park Kandahar Camp for development as a lodge concession as this site is also recently identified in management documents as within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone.'

The report calls for an immediate halt to construction of the riverside restaurant and 'tree lodge' developments, all impacts on the sites mitigated and their lease concessions with National Parks rescinded, and further recommends that the World Heritage Committee requests a total moratorium on all developments in and surrounding the WHS until suitable management plans and maps are in place and agreed by all parties and all issues relating to the World Heritage Site management zone boundaries are confirmed and clarified.

Sketch outline of World Heritage Site boundary superimposed over satellite image and showing the location of existing and proposed developments in the south bank upper river corridor of the World Heritage Site (Satellite image: Google Maps)

Conservation Concerns

The riverine forest fringe is a protected feature of the WHS and noted for its importance to wildlife and wider scenic value. The vulnerability of this habitat is also recognised in the 2016-2021 Joint Integrated Management Plan:

"The Zambezi River, in common with all rivers in tropical Africa, has a distinct fringing vegetation of gallery or riparian woodland. The Riverine Forest is found along the banks of the Zambezi, Songwe and Maramba Rivers and on some islands. On the riverbanks it is with a width rarely more than 20-100m wide from the high water mark (Fanshawe, 1975, Meynell et al., 1996). At its best development, riparian forest is a three storeyed forest with a closed evergreen canopy attaining 21m in height... This habitat houses the highest concentration of animals and is the most sought and threatened by human developments." (State Parties, 2016, p.18-9)

The draft Management Plan, circulated in November 2022, identifies the forested riverine fringe as being particularly at risk from tourism developments, the river, islands and gorges, together with the springs and drainage lines which flow into the river, being under very high risk from development (ZPWMA, November 2022, p.19). Yet despite the vulnerability to this habitat being widely recognised in management documents, tourism developments continue to impact and threaten the river corridor, especially in the upstream section of the site, the draft report of the recent Reactive Monitoring Mission concluding:

"For the area upstream from the Falls, the mission observed that the rationale for the 1989 recommendation to focus on the riverine strip of the National Parks remains justified, with most pressure actually felt by the NP areas near the river that are most relevant to the integrity of the site. While MoTNP and ZNP have been identified as buffer zones, the tourism developments have shown that the status of National Park has not provided the envisaged protection" (UNESCO, 2022).

Zoning Issues

The text of the 2007-12 JIMP clearly identifies the riparian vegetation above the Victoria Falls as within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' (State Parties, 2007, p.39). The supporting map (State Parties 2007, p.38) is unclear in showing the zonation of the property in the upstream river corridor.

The 2016-21 JIMP detailed revised zones for the property, although the text description again indicates that the riverine vegetation is included in the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' (Block 6) and is described as “...following the Victoria Falls Rainforest, thence up the Zambezi River covering the riverine vegetation strip to where it joins the Zambezi National Park boundary” (State Parties, 2016, p.29).

The 2016-21 JIMP identifies the boundary with ‘Medium Ecologically Sensitive Zone’ (Block 7) as extending along Zambezi Drive road.

"The zone covers the Victoria Falls border and the Rainforest car park area and continues from the Victoria Falls Rainforest VIP entrance gate, thence along the Zambezi Drive Road to beacon R11, thence westwards following the boundary beacons to where it joints Zambezi National Park boundary" (State Parties, 2016, p.29).

Map showing boundary line of Victoria Falls National Park and site of riverside restaurant development (Satellite image: Google Maps)

This clearly indicates that the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' includes the entire area of the land between Zambezi Drive road and the river - the area commonly known as the riverine fringe or strip - extending along this whole section of the river immediately above the Falls. This interpretation is also consistent with the historical management of this area which has been part of a strict ‘no new infrastructure’ policy since its management was taken over by National Parks in the early 1950s.

It follows that the land from the road away from the river is considered to be within the 'Medium Ecologically Sensitive Zone,' an area which is described in the 2016-21 JIMP as including the road and rail transport corridor which dissects the site below the Falls.

The supporting map presented in the 2016-21 JIMP (State Parties, 2016, p.27) confuses the issue by not clearly showing the line of the river above the Falls and appears to incorrectly show the riverside fringe within the 'Medium Ecologically Sensitive Zone' (yellow area). The confusion, or error, is more clearly apparent in the map presented in the 2012 Retrospective Inventory (Image 6), which while clearly indicating the line of the river and area of the upstream riverine fringe covered within the VFNP and WHS, mistakenly identifies the area as being in the 'Medium Ecologically Sensitive Zone,' an error which is repeated in the most recent map of the property, presented in the 2021 State of Conservation Report (State Parties, 2021, Appendix 2a, p.2).

Map showing management zones and proposed tourism developments within WHS, (Adapted from State Parties, 2021, Appendix 2a).

We believe that all these maps are clearly incorrect in not showing the area of riparian fringe as protected within the VFNP and WHS as being within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone,' as indicated by the text of the JIMP documents. For this section of the riverine fringe to be in anything other than the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' would be a significant shortcoming in the administration and management of the site. For it to be within the 'Medium Ecologically Sensitive Zone' - the same zone as the rail and road transport corridor and visitor car parking area - would be a serious neglect of Parks core conservation aims and its international obligations under the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

It should also be noted no management zonation is detailed for the upstream area of the ZNP which is included in the WHS in either of the JIMP documents - a significant omission which subsequently allowed the development of two lodges along this section of riverine fringe, the Victoria Falls River Lodge (opened in 2012) and the Old Drift Lodge (opened in 2018). Although the river upstream to Kandahar Island is identified as being within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' (State Parties 2007, p.39) this still did not prevent the development of lodge units on Kandahar Island (opened in 2017, part of the Victoria Falls River Lodge development). The revised zonation map subsequently presented in the 2021 State of Conservation Report shows the whole WHS area of the ZNP within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' (State Parties, 2021).

The 2016-21 JIMP also presented revised guidelines for permitted activities and developments allowed within the management zones. The original 2007-12 JIMP prohibited all new infrastructure developments (with the exception of existing facilities) the both the High and Medium management zones (State Parties, 2007, p.39-41). The 2016-21 JIMP, while still prohibiting all new infrastructure development within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone,' permits the development of 'semi-permanent facilities' within the 'Medium Ecologically Sensitive Zone' (State Parties, 2016, p.32).

Urgent Implications

The errors and discrepancies shown in the management zonation maps are of particular concern in relation to three developments along this stretch of the river - the riverside restaurant (with on-site construction well under-way), the new National Park structure (constructed in early 2022) and the proposed riverside 'tree lodge' (again with preparatory work already underway on the ground). The developers of the riverside restaurant are falsely claiming that their site is located within the ‘Orange’ (Medium) management zone and therefore an allowable development.

Image showing approximate lines of VFNP and WHS boundary
and management zones [click for larger view]

As it appears certain that the area of the VFNP upstream river corridor and riverine fringe is within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' which prohibits all new infrastructure construction there must be an immediate halt to construction of the riverside restaurant (and also by implication the 'tree lodge' development), all impacts on the sites mitigated and their lease concessions with National Parks rescinded.

There are also questions over the allocation of Kandahar Camp for development as a lodge concession as the 2021 State of Conservation zonation map shows this site within the 'Highly Ecologically Sensitive Zone' - where no new infrastructure or facilities are allowed.

Download the Keep Victoria Falls Wild 2023 State of Development Summary Report (pdf, 887kb)

Please sign the online petition against the current wave of tourism development proposals which threaten the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site.

Read more on all these issues and developments on the Keep Victoria Falls Wild website.

Follow our Facebook page Keep Victoria Falls Wild for latest news and updates.

References

State Parties (2007) 2007-2012 Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage Site Joint Integrated Management Plan (external download, opens in a new window).

State Parties (2016) 2016-2021 Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage Site Joint Integrated Management Plan (external download, opens in a new window).

State Parties (2021) Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage Site State of Conservation Report. (external download, opens in a new window).

UNESCO (2022) Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls World Heritage Site Reactive Monitoring Mission (February 2022) Draft Report. (pdf download [3.16 mb], opens in a new window)

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (1996) Parks and Wild Life Act.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (November 2022) Victoria Falls-Zambezi National Park Draft Management Plan.

Victoria Falls City Council in ultimatum tiff with Wild Horizons

BATTLELINES have been drawn between the Victoria Falls City Council and a tourism operator, Wild Horizons, after council issued the latter with a 90-day ultimatum to vacate the jetty site along the Zambezi River.

Wild Horizons, owned by local and foreign investors, operates boat cruises on stand 1392A and have a lease that is running until 2029. Victoria Falls Town Clerk Mr Ronnie Dube on 30 December 2022 wrote to the tour operator advising them about the need for the company to relocate to the Boat Club in the same area.

“Reference is made to your lease agreement with council which is current, however, council now wants to utilise stand 1392A for other purposes and therefore gives you in terms of Section 18 of the agreement 90 days to relocate to your new site. Council will meet your relocation expenses which among others include setting up your jetty site infrastructure.

The lease rentals that were paid in advance will be credited to your new site. Kindly liaise with the undersigned for clarification,” said Mr Dube.

In response, Wild Horizons corporate affairs and business development director Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa-Hughes said the company was opposed to the decision.

“Please be advised that Wild Horizons is opposed to any such proposal to terminate our current lease agreement and relocate us to an alternative venue for the following reasons: Wild Horizons have a valid lease which expires in March 2029. We have always paid lease fees timeously going as far as prepaying lease fees for the next five years in order to assist council with cash flow difficulties they are facing,” said Mrs Murasiranwa-Hughes.

She said the company strives to foster great partnership with council and have leased and maintained the area for more than 25 years with senior employees having lived in the area for between 33 years and 50 years, showing long term commitment to the municipality. She said the company had applied on numerous occasions to purchase the land but to no avail as the land was said to be not for sale.

Wild Horizons also hold a separate licence with Zimparks for river frontage. The company said the notice was invalid as due process was not legally followed by council as there was no full council resolution on the notice to terminate the lease agreement.

“If the land is now available for purchase from the council, Wild Horizons as the sitting tenant should be given the first right of refusal and have the option to purchase the land before it being offered to investors from outside our city limits. We have indicated in past applications that we will develop this land appropriately and have a clean track record of the ability to do so in numerous other investments we have made on the City of Victoria Falls,” said Mrs Murasiranwa-Hughes.

She said while it has been highlighted that an alternative site exists at the current Victoria Falls Boat Club, Wild Horizons was not willing to go there as the Boat Club also holds a valid lease with council. The company argues that the Boat Club site was not convenient for launching boat cruises because of the nature of the river there, hence it is used as an access point to the river for recreational purposes.

Wild Horizons employs 700 staff, a majority of them locals and pays school fees for 129 disadvantaged children among other numerous corporate social responsibilities, the company said.

Wild Horizons top management attended a full council meeting on Friday expecting the matter to be discussed and left disappointed when it was deferred.

“Having attended the full council meeting of today, it was disappointing to listen to the chair deferring the issue of stand 1392A from the agenda to another date, reason being the matter must be discussed at committee level before its presented back to full council.

We would like to put on record that we believe this move has rendered your letter null and void as we feel Wild Horizons was given notice illegally before all due processes were followed with council. We await advice from council on next full council meeting where we will eagerly attend to defend our position,” she said.

Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association chair Mr Kelvin Moyo said residents were concerned about the matter since Wild Horizons is part of Victoria Falls community and biggest employer.

Source: Victoria Falls City Council in ultimatum tiff with Wild Horizons (05/02/23)