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Prosper Ndlovu/Mashudu Netsianda, Chronicle Reporters
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is back in the Matabeleland region and will today and tomorrow continue his push for inclusive economic transformation in line with his administration’s drive towards an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

Today the President will visit Victoria Falls where he will officially launch the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy. He is also scheduled to tour key hospitality and tourism facilities as well as commission the Mbano Manor Hotel and Palm Lodge, which are some of the recent investments in the country’s premier tourism destination.

Tomorrow he will tour the Harare-Beitbridge Highway projects at Bubye and Mvuma to assess progress on the rehabilitation and widening of the road, one of the busiest in the Sadc region.

Enhancing the performance of the tourism and hospitality industry is at the heart of the country’s economic development agenda while an efficient road infrastructure is a key enabler across the spectrum.

The tourism sector is a key employer and one of the top foreign currency earners for the economy but has been heavily crippled by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic through restricted travel.

As a part of the recovery from the pandemic, Government has adopted a gradual re-opening approach, albeit with strict conditions, which potentially allow domestic tourism and hospitality industry to recover in the near term. The recovery strategy during the second half of 2020, is expected to remain inward looking with initial focus on domestic tourism while monitoring and assessing implications from opening to international tourism.

“The main objective of the visit is to launch the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy, which has been approved by Cabinet. His Excellency the President will also lead the repackaging of Victoria Falls as the lead destination,” said Mangaliso Ndlovu, the Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry in an interview.

“He will visit hospitality projects and is actually leading from the front in appreciating the significance of the tourism sector and in contribution to the economy.

“We will have both domestic and international investors participating, which shows that indeed ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ and that is how we want to grow the sector.”

The minister said President Mnangagwa’s visit will also counter negative notions about destination Zimbabwe as it strongly expresses Government’s focus and determination in growing the sector and the wider economy. He said President Mnangagwa was walking the talk in terms of assisting business development in the country and hoped the tourism recovery strategy launch will inspire improved operations at various levels of the industry.

Executive director and owner of Mbano Manor Hotel, Dr Matifadza Nyazema said as the new investors they were excited by the President’s visit and prospects for the sector.

“We are excited to reach this stage and look forward to the re-opening of the tourism sector so that we get more bookings. This investment is going to refresh the face of the destination,” she said.

Victoria Falls, in particular, has come under increased focus with Government on Monday gazetting Statutory Instrument 196 of 2020, which operationalises the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. The move sets the process for the actualisation of the Victoria Falls Financial Hub Special Economic Zone on a firm footing.

Cabinet has also considered and adopted a report on the operations of Mosi-Oa-Tunya Development Company, an investment vehicle for Government in the development of tourism facilities in Victoria Falls.

The company is already working with a private sector concern to conduct feasibility studies for the proposed Victoria Falls Integrated Tourism Park in Masuwe Estate. This will pave way for the development of bulk infrastructure facilities at the site. Projects earmarked for this phase include hotels, shopping malls, a medical facility, a convention centre and an upmarket golf course.

Tourism is a low hanging fruit for Zimbabwe and experts have said that any easing of travel restrictions and opening up of airline transport system will create an opportunity to gradually resume international tourism. However, both tourists and service providers will require to take extraordinary caution to avoid resurgence of infections, which can trigger further lockdown measures.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa will tomorrow tour the Harare-Beitbridge Highway projects at Bubye and Mvuma to assess progress on the rehabilitation and widening of the road. Contractors are working on a target to have finished upgrading a combined 200 kilometres by year end.

The Harare-Beitbridge Highway, arguably the country’s busiest road, is about 560km long.

Upgrading works on the highway, a key artery for movement of both land cargo and human traffic linking regional economic powerhouse South Africa and the Southern Africa regional hinterland, entails resurfacing the existing road and widening it from the current seven metres to 12,5 metres.

This should cut the number of accidents and allow speedy movement of goods and humans along the busy road, thereby contributing to aggregate national economic growth in line with Vision 2030 that seeks to grow Zimbabwe’s economy into upper middle-income status. Government awarded the tender to upgrade the highway to five local companies and segmented it into five parts, with each of the firms working on a 20km stretch.

The five are Tensor Systems, Masimba Construction, Fossil Contractors, Exodus and Company and Bitumen World. Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza yesterday confirmed the President’s visit, saying work was progressing well.

“The President will tour road stretches at Bubi and Mvuma on the Harare-Beitbridge Highway to assess progress on the project. He will also meet two contractors while the other three will meet him in the next leg of his visit,” he said.

Minister Matiza said the firms were expected to finish upgrading the first 100km in August before starting work on the second combined 100km stretch scheduled for completion in December. He said the rationale behind allowing the current contractors to continue working on the project after finishing the first stretches was to cut on costs associated with mobilisation and demobilisation of equipment.

Minister Matiza said they would not allow companies that would have failed to do their work properly to proceed to the next stage. He said Government had put in place a fund to ensure resources continued to be available since the upgrade was of strategic national importance.