Vic Falls hotels income up 20pct on increased tourists

VICTORIA FALLS, April 4 (The Source) – Major hotels in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s premier tourism resort, earned about $23.3 million from sales of nearly 178,000 rooms in 2013, as tourism showed signs of recovery and renewed British interest, an official has said.

The country’s profile, battered by years of a political and economic crisis, was boosted by hosting the 20th United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly, along with Zambia in August last year.

Ross Kennedy, a southern Africa director of the African Travel and Tourism Association said 2013 had been good for the eight hotels of Victoria Falls Hotel, Victoria Falls Safari Club, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, A’Zambezi Hotel, Ilala Lodge, The Kingdom, Sprayview Cresta and Elephant Hills Hotel.

“2013 showed an increase in arrivals of nearly 12 percent over the 2012 calendar year; but equally, if not more importantly, revenues grew by 20 percent in the same period,” Kennedy said, who is also the chief executive, of Africa Albida Tourism.

Kennedy said in 2012, the hotels earned $19.261 million from 159,000 rooms sold, adding that there has been a ‘remarkable’ growth from the UK market to Zimbabwe in the last 15 months, with arrivals trebling since 2012.

“The first two months of 2014, have seen the United Kingdom market continue to grow and it is now approximately 10 percent of total arrivals in Victoria Falls. We aim to grow this further to at least 20 percent of our arrivals,” he said.

Zimbabwe received nearly two million tourists last year and that number is seen rising by 50 percent by 2017, according to a recent report by a United Kingdom-based independent financial advisory company.

Source: Vic Falls hotels income up 20pct on increased tourists (04/04/14)

Construction of Kazungula Bridge to start in July

Construction of the US$190 million (P1.7 billion) Kazungula Bridge will commence in July, a joint statement by signed by the Botswana Minister of Transport and Communications, Nonofo Molefhi and his Zambian counterpart Yamfwa Mukanga states.

The two ministers noted that a lot of progress has been made in the procurement process for the contracts. “Out of the 26 companies that expressed interest to participate in the project, three have been shortlisted to bid for the project. It is expected that construction of the Kazungula Bridge will commence on July 12, 2014,” reads the statement. The evaluation of the technical proposals was completed last December.

The civil works for the proposed Kazungula Bridge and the railway line will comprise the construction of a 23 metres long by 18.5 metres wide rail/road bridge.

It will also include two one-stop border facilities, access roads and ramps across the Zambezi River. Speaking at the briefing, Mr Mukanga said the bridge is of strategic importance to the economic integration of the two countries and southern Africa.

He said the bridge will provide the much-needed connectivity and also link regional ports which handle exports and imports through Botswana and Zambia.

“The construction of Kazungula Bridge will address the challenges imposed by the existing ferry service, which is a major bottleneck to trade and smooth flow of people, goods and services,” he said.

Source: Construction of Kazungula Bridge to start in July, Mmegi online (31/03/14)
Construction of Kazungula bridge starts in July, Zambia Daily Mail (26/03/14)

Confusion over Old Bulawayo

Confusion reigns over the redevelopment of the Old Bulawayo Cultural Village with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) and royal Khumalo family giving conflicting statements over the project.

Old Bulawayo was established by King Lobengula as his capital in 1870 after the death of his father King Mzilikazi in 1868. It was abandoned in 1881 due to colonial threats to his political power. In 1990, NMMZ identified the site as a suitable educational and tourist centre and through consultations with the Khumalo family it was reconstructed in 1998 as a theme park. Structures such as a wagon shed, the outer palisade, King Lobengula's palace, eight beehive huts and cattle kraal, as well as a nearby interpretive centre were constructed.

The historic site was, however, destroyed on 24 August 2010, by a fire that started five kilometres from the village. Efforts to reconstruct it have stalled with the NMMZ saying it required $50 000 to complete the project.

In an interview with Sunday News recently, NMMZ executive director, Dr Godfrey Mahachi reiterated that while they wanted to reconstruct the project, funding was a problem with no one coming forward to assist the organisation. "We have made it clear that we require $50 000 for us to reconstruct that village. We realised that we cannot rely on Government funding because they themselves are facing a liquidity crisis. While they can promise us that figure in the national budget this will only be based on the availability of these funds.

"This is the reason that we decided to take the route of trying to attract well-wishers to chip in and assist us reconstruct this village. We are mainly targeting the Matabeleland community and those people that have a direct interest in this village but unfortunately till now we have got nothing," said Dr Mahachi.

"We want at least $10 000 for us to have somewhere to start on. We cannot use our $5 000 because we will do something that is not significant. So with $10 000 I believe we can build some structures that could encourage more donors to come aboard," he said.

However, a representative of the Khumalo family, Prince Peter Zwide kaLanga Khumalo criticised the NMMZ for sidelining them and not being sincere about moves to reconstruct the site. He revealed that as the cultural custodians of the village, they were not informed about the burning down of the village and further refuted claims that anyone from Government or the NMMZ had approached them to raise funds for its reconstruction.

Source: Confusion over Old Bulawayo (Bulawayo24, 30/03/14)

Dawn properties under the hammer

 LISTED property concern Dawn Properties Limited, which has gradually come under the orbit of new investors under the Brainworks banner, has put some of its prime properties – Great Zimbabwe Hotel, Hwange Safari Lodge and the swanky Elephant Hills resort – under the hammer, with market watchers noting that the grand project of the new investors being led by businessman Mr Stewart Cranswick is coming full circle.

Brainworks Capital Management, through its subsidiary Lengrah Investments – fronted by Mr Cranswick – has, after a series of transactions, managed to acquire a 45 percent stake in African Sun (formerly Zim Sun Hotels) and 28,4 percent equity in Dawn Properties.

Dawn Properties, which was formerly a subsidiary of African Sun Limited (ASL), was de-merged from the group as investors sought to unlock full value from its properties.

With Lengrah strategically positioned in the two entities, market rumours suggest that they might be soon rebundled into a single entity. Mr Cranswick lost out on Zim Sun, which used to be a subsidiary of Delta Corporation when the hotelier, together with OK and Pelhams, was unbundled in 2002 following the reorganisation of the business.

The businessman, who had a key shareholding in the entity, subsequently sold his shares to a consortium, Tolenta Investments, then led by local businessman Dr Shingi Munyeza.

But it seems Mr Cranswick, who is brother to former African Consolidated Resources (ACR) boss Mr Andrew Cranswick, has turned the tables.

Apart from holding a 19 percent stake in Lengrah Investments, Mr Cranswick is now the vice board chairperson in ASL.

Last week, Dawn Properties issued a cautionary statement advising its shareholders to exercise caution when dealing with the company shares.

People familiar with the development claim that management had settled to dispose of non-performing assets such as Hwange Safari Lodge and Great Zimbabwe Hotel.

However, the proposed disposal of Elephant Hills Hotel, which is a key property, is proving contentious and a sticky point, the sources say.

Dawn Properties owns Hwange Safari Lodge in the Hwange National Park, Holiday Inn Mutare, Caribbea Bay Sun in Kariba, Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls, Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Harare, Express Holiday Inn in Beitbridge, Great Zimbabwe Hotel in Masvingo and Troutbeck Hotel in Nyanga.

All the properties are presently being managed by African Sun.
The proposed sale of the properties under new management is now being questioned.

“Stewart Cranswick was the operator of Landela Lodges which were then closed due to viability constraints. He also acquired UTC, which was later disposed. Could this investment by Cranswick be another way of looking for assets to strip so he can sell them on at a future date when the market corrects? What is of interest is, on 26 March, Dawn issued a cautionary for a disposal of assets,” noted a well-placed source.

“Some market analysts suspect that this is a way of trying to pick up cheap assets in a depressed market for later disposal when the market turns for the better. Is this not the time to hold on to such assets until the current liquidity crunch improves?” asked the source who refused to be identified owing tof the sensitivity of the matter.

Dawn Properties chief executive officer Mr Justin Dowa would neither confirm or deny that they had put some of their properties for sale.

“That is not something that I can talk about at this point of time,” said Mr Dowa.
Recent developments seem to indicate that ASL and Dawn Properties will be rebundled in the short to medim term.

At an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on March 21, ASL shareholders elected to dispose of 16,54 percent shareholding in Dawn to Lengrah Investments.

But the disposal of the shares was initially reversed by the ZSE on February 25, 2014, after the bourse noted that the deal first had to be formally approved.

African Sun subsequently published a retraction circular.
Last year, the ZSE ordered African Sun to republish its financial results after the group failed to provide a detailed account.

ASL claims that it has been selling its shares in order to reduce its debt overhang, which has accumulated since dollarisation.

It is believed that proceeds of the disposal will also reduce the gearing – defined as a company’s net debt- from the current 48 percent to 34 percent. Further annual interest savings of $975 000 are also being expected.

The target communicated by management in the December 2013 analyst briefing was to bring gearing to below 30 percent.

“African Sun seems to have taken a path to deal with major setbacks it was facing since the dawn of dollarisation, which were hotels that were overdue in refurbishments, an acrimonious relationship with Dawn, operating losses and high levels of borrowings which had put a huge question mark in its going concern. It appears the company has dealt with all these very successfully,” said a source.

“The debt restructuring transactions have been necessitated by Dr Shingi Munyeza, then the largest shareholder who swooped his shareholding in the venture capital outfit led by George Manyere, Brainworks Capital.

“Through its subsidiary, Lengrah Investments, in turn, now owns about 46 percent of African Sun with a pending offer to minorities. It is through Lengrah that two other funds have come in, namely Wallal and Mudhut. This has brought about board appointments, namely Stewart Cranswick, Timothy Nuy and Walter Kambwanji. From these appointments it appears Timothy Nuy represents ADC, who are a significant shareholder in Brainworks Capital, Walter Kambwanji represents Brainworks Capital and Stewart Cranswick appears to represent the other two funds,” added the source.

Mr Cranswick, who was believed to be in Australia last week, only said “I am not the one” in an unclear terse response to questions sent to him by e-mail.

There are, however, fears that Dr Munyeza, who is currently chief executive officer of ASL, might be eased out of the group by the clique of powerful businessmen that has gained a stranglehold on the hotel chain.

Sources claim that at the March 21 EGM, Mr Cranswick also made an audacious $1,2 million bid to buy out African Sun’s management, a claim that could not be independently verified.

Source: Dawn properties under the hammer (29/03/2014)

More mining madness?

Map showing the China Africa Sunlight Energy mining concession. (Halfway House, on the main Victoria Falls-Bulawayo road, is located roughly in the centre of the map).

Concerns are being raised over the activities of mining company China Africa Sunlight Energy in the wildlife rich Gwayi Conservancy, bordering Hwange National Park, in Matabeleland North province. The company is accused of leaving a behind trail of environmental destruction.

China Africa Sunlight Energy, a 50/50 joint venture between Zimbabwe’s Old Stone Investments and Shandong Taishan Sunlight of China, plans to spend $2.1 billion in the next five years on power generation, coal mining and methane bed gas extraction in Matabeleland north.

The firm is one of the 20 companies controversially issued with special grants to explore and extract coal-bed methane gas in the area and has already completed an initial Environmental Impact Assessment.

China Africa Sunlight Energy says it will complete its coal mine and a 300 megawatt power station at its Gwayi concessions by 2016. The company’s deputy general manager Charles Mugari said as part of the first phase of the project the company will build a modern residential complex for 2,000 workers, a coal mine and power plant. “By 2016 we hope that the mine will be up and running,” he said.

He said second phase of the power project will focus on methane gas extraction and another 300MW plant to be completed in mid-2017. The company intends to establish another 400MW plant powered by methane gas. “We have embarked on a very comprehensive exploration process and by end of this year we will know exactly the minable reserves of methane gas,” he said.

Mugari said the projects, which would be carried out on 100,000 hectares of land would create 4,500 jobs in the next two years. The company is also planning to build hotels and business complexes. “This is going to be the beginning of the creation of an economic zone which will attract more foreign direct investment,” he said.

China Africa will also establish a coking plant for coal required in processing of steel.

“We have also completed our environment impact assessment for the mine and right now we are working on the EIA for the power generation and the documents are with the Environment Management Agency,” he said. The company is also working with the water ministry to assist in the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani dam which it seeks to benefit from.

Recently another company, Shangani Energy Exploration (SEE), said it has plans for $780 million gas project and build a 400 megawatt power station in the same area.

According to the Hwange/Gwayi Conservation and Tourism Association (HGCTA) and Gwayi Intensive Conservation Area, the Chinese's exploring activities have caused water aquifer bursts and massive pollution of rivers in the area. "Before the commencement of the actual mining, the exploration process has already caused serious environmental damages. As I speak water is oozing from the ground at eight aquifers which have exploded because of drillings. The most affected are Chimwara and Good Luck farms," said Langton Masunda the chairperson of HGCTA who is also a safari operator in the conservancy in an interview with New Zimbabwe.com.

Mark Russell, the chairman of Gwayi-ICA, said his association and other stakeholders were side-lined from the assessment process. "We are actually shocked that EMA gave this project a thumps up without our input. Gwayi ICA is the custodian of the land but surprisingly our members who have been affected by the exploration activities were ignored," said Russell.

Masunda said the area which the company wants to mine is a buffer zone for Hwange National Park and any mining activity would also have drastic effects on wildlife farming in the area. "After a proper analysis, we have established that there is greater value in preserving the area as it is rather than allocating it for coal mining activities," said Masunda.

China Africa Sunlight Energy managing director, Retired Colonel Charles Mugari dismissed the concerns insisting the mining project would bring foreign direct investment of $2,1 billion in four years and create up to 4,500 jobs. "This project will bring national benefits such as power generation, chemical and brick moulding plants. Only people who are not doing anything on their farms are most vocal about in opposing this project," said Mugari.

Sources: Chinese firm wreaks havoc in Gwayi, New Zimbabwe (20/03/14)
China Africa develops mine, 300MW power plant, New Zimbabwe (15/03/14)

Concerns over Kariba (updated)

Following headlines in national media over the last couple of days the Zambezi River Authority have issued a short statement: “We would like to inform the public that the comments in the Newsday article of March 20, 2014, 'Kariba Dam wall faces collapse,' were made during a roundtable discussion with co-operating partners. Scenarios were presented on what could happen should rehabilitation works not be taken up with urgency. Please, DO NOT BE ALARMED. Measures are underway to start the rehabilitation process in the third quarter of the year. The meeting at which these issues were presented was to raise funds for the works to start around September. We are putting up a full statement shortly."
Headlines earlier this week in Zimbabwe claimed the lives of 3.5 million people were at risk following the revelation that Kariba Dam is in need of yet more urgent repairs.
According to reports the wall of Kariba Dam has developed problems and may collapse if repair is not carried out in the next three years. Felix Nkulukusa, chairperson of an inter-governmental committee mobilising funds for the dam's repair, is quoted as saying "The engineers said if nothing is done in the next three years, the dam may be swept away. An unstable foundation can wash away the dam - a potential catastrophe for the 3.5 million people along the Zambezi River mainly in Mozambique and Malawi," he said.
About US$250 million is required to repair the dam situated in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi River basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Union have agreed in principle to fund the repair.
The dam wall was built between 1955 and 1959 and holds back some 64,800 Mm3 of water in the reservoir. The integrity of the dam wall is checked each working day by a team of experts.
Sources: Three million at risk as Kariba Dam wall faces collapse (New Zimbabwe, 19/03/14)
Kariba dam on verge of collapsing (Bulawayo24, 19/03/14)

Elephants Know How Dangerous We Are From How We Speak

Research from Amboseli (Kenya) show that elephants can recognise different human dialects. From National Geographic.
When an elephant killed a Maasai woman collecting firewood near Kenya's Amboseli National Park in 2007, a group of young Maasai men retaliated by spearing one of the animals.
"It wasn't the one that had killed the woman, says Graeme Shannon, a behavioral ecologist at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins. "It was just the first elephant they encountered—a young bull on the edge of a swamp."
The Maasai spiked him with spears and, their anger spent, returned home. Later, the animal died from his wounds.
Elephants experience those kinds of killings sporadically. Yet the attacks happen often enough that the tuskers have learned that the Maasai—and Maasai men in particular—are dangerous.
The elephants in the Amboseli region are so aware of this that they can even distinguish between Ma, the language of the Maasai, and other languages, says a team of researchers, who report their findings today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read full article here - Elephants Know How Dangerous We Are From How We Speak.