Two hotels to accommodate SADC summit heads

The 16 heads of State expected in Harare for next month’s Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of State and Government summit will be accommodated at two city hotels, a cabinet minister has said.

The regional body’s 44th summit, during which host President Emmerson Mnangagwa, will assume its chairmanship, is scheduled to be held in Harare on August 17.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Barbra Rwodzi, said Hyatt Regency Meikles Hotel will accommodate five presidents while the 11 others will be accommodated at Rainbow Towers Group.

Other delegates to the summit will be accommodated at the Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn and Cresta hotels.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting to identify gaps prohibiting growth in the industry, Rwodzi said: “We are ready and right now we are busy talking to operators, on what they can offer in terms of entertainment, restaurants, menus, and other activities for the visitors. We are working flat-out to ensure that all that is in place.”

She said the government has been helping in the refurbishment of the Rainbow Towers Group while the Hyatt Regency is also undergoing refurbishment.

“Last week we went as a group to check on the development and ongoing refurbishments, and they are more than 90 percent to furnishing and by

15 July everything will be done,” she said.

Meanwhile, Rwodzi said among challenges inhibiting growth in the industry include the failure by some players to remit payments to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) for onward transmission to the Zimbabwe Tourism Fund (ZTF) despite collecting the money.

The ZTF is currently a division of ZTA while the Ministry is working to set up the fund as provided by the law. Funds from the ZTF are to be used to promote Zimbabwe as a tourism destination and develop tourism infrastructure in the country.

ZTF collects two percent levy from operators in the tourism industry after tourists have paid for service rendered.

Rwodzi said the Tourism Act was drafted and enacted at a time when the socio-economic and political dispensation of the country varied distinctly from what obtains today.

She said the country is endowed with many tourist attractions including in some rural areas like Zaka, where weathering has etched out the map of Africa on the face of a rock on the Mwera Mountain about 16km west of Jerera Growth Point in Jikinya Village in the Veza area of Chief Nyakunhuwa.

Rwodzi said every province in Zimbabwe has tourism attraction and a capacity to host tourists, adding that “we will monitor how much every province will contribute every year.”

She said the Tourism Bill is inclusive and will cater for the poor, marginalised, people living with disabilities, women and the young.

Tourism has to help sustain the economy and the community at large.

Rwodzi said operators and players should promote communities through rural tourism as a strategy while environmental operators are encouraged to go green in their operations.

“We are engaging a lot with the communities and we have put it in the Bill to say no one should operate tourism business without considering the communities around them. They should provide employment, and improve communities,” said Rwodzi.

“Registration in tourism industry is now mandatory. Every player should now register and abide by the law. If you want to be in commercial business of any country you need to abide by the laws.

“Our law was not strengthened and people were just running businesses without registration. Now, we are putting measures to make sure that if you are running a business in tourism, you register as required or you will be punished accordingly.

“We are going to give people ample time to do necessary procedures and register as required by the law before we start hammering on those who do not want to comply.” – New Ziana