Zambia Vice President meets Livingstone business people

Zambia Vice President Dr. Guy Scott on February 9 met Livingstone business people at the Chrismar Hotel to talk about trade and tourism.

Zambia Vice President Dr. Guy Scott on February 9 met Livingstone business people at the Chrismar Hotel to talk about trade and tourism. Over 150 people turned up for the meeting, including hotel and lodge managers, tour operators, small-scale business people, artists, musicians, farmers, government representatives, etc. The Vice President was accompanied by Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo, Southern Province Permanent Secretary Dr. Chileshe Mulenga, and Livingstone City Council Town Clerk Vivian Chikoti. PF parliamentary candidate for Livingstone Lawrence Evans was also present.

In his opening remarks, the PS pointed out that the Patriotic Front Government was not only concerned about the poor but also the business sector. His remarks were followed by those of Sylvia Masebo, who said this was a chance for the Vice President to interact with the business community as we do a countdown to the UNWTO Conference in August. She said that in preparation for the conference, road works had started and some money had been released to improve the water and sanitation system. Various other issues were being addressed. She pointed out that in Zimbabwe, the government had partnered very effectively with the private sector in preparing for UNWTO, and she hoped the same could happen in Zambia.

Dr. Guy Scott then spoke briefly, encouraging participants to feel free and ask about any issues affecting the business community. He said he was interested in what government could do for the private sector and what the private sector could do for the government, particularly in connection with the UNWTO.

After the brief remarks the meeting was opened up for questions. The following are some of the issues that were raised:

Mwape Walumba from Lion Encounter said: โ€œThe roads are pathetic. We can provide fuel but have no graders. Can someone please provide graders?โ€ Answer from TC: โ€œTwo graders have been acquired under the roads project. The roads project for UNWTO will be doing 52 km of tarmac, including Mosi-o-tunya Road.โ€

Benjamin Mibenge from the Wildlife Society said: โ€œA big billboard at the airport welcomes visitors to Mosi Beer. Could the same company please sponsor a sign welcoming visitors to Livingstone and the Victoria Falls instead?โ€ Answer: โ€œThe Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will look into this issue.โ€

Felix Daka from Cross Border Traders Association said: โ€œLoan facilities are not reaching small-scale traders, who are also facing competition from foreign small-scale traders. Can anyone help?โ€

Michael Mubita M, small-scale trader and artist said: โ€œZambian TV advertises many other countries but does not do enough to advertise itself. Further, craft sellers have to compete against big hotels, who sell foreign crafts to their visitors.โ€ Answer: โ€œThe VP said that supporting local artists and craftspeople was very important and there were certain things the government needed to do in connection with this. He said hotels should be encouraged to display local art works instead of foreign ones. He said the policy on hotels selling crafts was under review. The issue of hotels importing foreign crafts was a serious one and should be addressed

Andrew Murrin from Green Tree Lodge said: โ€œCan we do something about reducing or removing visa fees? They are putting visitors off coming to Zambia because they are too high.โ€ Answer from Minister of Tourism & Arts: โ€œ
The issue of visas had been raised by the Ministry and been handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs. There was need to see if some visas could be reduced or done away with completely. She said that Zambia is still one of the most expensive tourist destinations and that the visa fees tended to be a hindrance rather than a benefit. She said the issue of RTSA charging vehicle fees at the borders was unique to Zambia and was also an issue to be looked into. She urged the business community to keep reminding government of these issues.

Peter Jones from River Club said: โ€œThank you to the government for tax incentives in connection with UNWTO. I am concerned about heavy trucks that were damaging the roads in Livingstone. Is anything being done about a bypass?โ€ Answer from Town Clerk: โ€œThis is a long-term plan, but not part of the 20 roads being done for the UNWTO. But it was important and should be dealt with at the next meeting of the LOC. Perhaps could gravel the bypass.โ€

Guy Scott pointed out that many of these were local government issues. He said that there was need to have regular meetings with local government officers.

Mr. Walumo from Mukuni Market said: โ€œGovernment promised to build a modern market and plans are ready. When will the funds be released?โ€ Answer: โ€œContractors for the bus stop and the modern market were being selected this week.โ€

William from a car hire company said: โ€œHow can we benefit from the tax benefits on tourism vehicles if we cannot get loans to buy the vehicles? โ€œ

Senga Chashi, musician from the Zambia Association of Musicians said: โ€œMusicians in Southern Province have been neglected. What is government going to do to support local musicians? The LOC should involve local artists and musicians, particularly youths.โ€

Alexander Mutale from LTA said: โ€œHow far has government addressed the issue of yellow fever vaccination requirements?โ€ Answer from Ms. Masebo: โ€œGovernment is very concerned about the Yellow Fever issue. The Ministry is working on it. This issue should be raised next week when several government ministers would be meeting in Livingstone to discuss the UNWTO Conference.โ€

Alan Mulenga from Muvi TV said: โ€œCan government allow private local broadcasters to cover the UNWTO Conference, rather than foreign ones?โ€ Answer from Ms. Masebo: โ€œMuvi TV should join the Sub-committee on publicity.โ€

Yataba said: โ€œWhat is government doing about street vending? It is getting out of hand.โ€ Answer from Ms. Masebo: โ€œStreet vendors have been engaged on a UNWTO Committee and they are very understanding and agreeable to suggestions.โ€

Nicholas Katanekwa, past chair of LTA said: โ€œCan we reduce border controls to allow visitors to see both sides of the Falls without having to go through customs and immigration? This would allow visitors to see water in the Falls even when it is dry or nearly dry on the Zambian side. Secondly, can we agree on a way of jointly sharing the delegates for the UNWTO between Zambia and Zimbabwe?โ€ Ms. Masebo answered that the issue of immigration was complicated and could not be dealt with in a day.

Ms. Masebo appealed to the business community to help make Livingstone truly a tourist capital.

Dr. Guy Scott said the issues of visas and yellow fever had to be resolved before the UNWTO. He said there had been no case of yellow fever in Zambia for 67 years and that only one country required yellow fever certificates for people travelling from Zambia. He said the issue was being addressed.

Dr. Guy Scott pointed out that the Office of the Vice Presidency strangely has the power of convening meetings where people talk. He urged people to talk with each other even when he was not present. He said he would return in two weeks and would be happy to call another meeting if people wanted it.

Ms. Masebo said that there was a team of government ministers meeting in Livingstone the coming Tuesday and suggested a joint meeting be arranged with them and the business community to deal with some of the issues raised. She said the meeting would be arranged for Tuesday or Wednesday.

Dr. Scott said he had to leave, but proposed that the group remain behind to come up with a list of priority issues to be presented to the Ministers. So after two hours with the Vice President and Minister of Tourism and Arts, a fair number of people remained behind for another two hours or so to produce a priority list of issues to present next week.

Some of the issues brought up in the second part of the meeting were:

โ€ข provision of emergency health services during UNWTO
โ€ข funding for loans for small-scale businesses
โ€ข visas โ€“ reduce them, make available at point of entry, payable by card, remove multiple entry requirement
โ€ข RTSA fees for vehicles at borders
โ€ข information dissemination โ€“ should be positive and patriotic
โ€ข make resources available for local media
โ€ข development of Livingstone airport
โ€ข incentives for training and development
โ€ข coordination between government bodies like NHCC and ZAWA to avoid double charges
โ€ข reduction of charges for various services to reduce tourism costs
โ€ข facilities for people with disabilities
โ€ข lower the tourism tax rate, as for mining and agriculture
โ€ข reduce charges at borders
โ€ข address yellow fever certificate requirements
โ€ข create bypass for Livingstone
โ€ข allow more airlines to fly to Livingstone
โ€ข regulate tourism training in local colleges to improve standards
โ€ข address issue of load shedding
โ€ข include curio sellers in the UNWTO program
โ€ข allow taxis to enter the game park
โ€ข need a recycling center for Livingstone
โ€ข need public conveniences in town
โ€ข organize a fashion show for UNWTO
โ€ข improve water and sanitation facilities
โ€ข improve local information flow about UNWTO
โ€ข decentralize issuing of tourism licenses
โ€ข improve times and frequency of flights between Lusaka and Livingstone
โ€ข city dump site harboring criminals
โ€ข address issue of street sellers as they are making the town dirty and difficult to walk along corridors
โ€ข blocked drains need addressing

I left the meeting before the priorities were arrived at, but it was pretty clear that some of the important issues were visas, yellow fever requirements, tourism costs, roads, and making a clean and tidy city that would be welcoming to foreign visitors. Another important issue was information flow, as there seemed to be not enough sharing of information concerning preparations for the upcoming UNWTO conference.

All in all, I think it was a good meeting. Even if not all the issues were addressed, it provided a good forum for people to raise pertinent issues and learn a bit about what was or was not being done to address them, or who should be addressing them.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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