Chiefs Waylay Mzembi To Demand For Answers In Conservancy Saga
Harare, September 06, 2012 – The Minister of Tourism Walter Mzembi was
yesterday forced to have an impromptu meeting with angry chiefs who want
Zanu PF officials invading conservancies evicted from the Lowveld area.
Mzembi met the weary looking chiefs who had been waiting for him at the
doorsteps of his office at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) house at
around 3 pm.
He had an exchange with them for about 15 minutes on the staircases leading
up to the elevators to his office. He had to leave a business delegation
that had also turned up for a meeting with him and went to entertain the
visibly exhausted chiefs.
He later walked with them across Samora Machel Avenue to Charter House where
the meeting to discuss the stormy Save Conservancy issue finally took place.
The chiefs want top Zanu PF officials who recently invaded the conservancies
in the Lowveld evicted from the area.
The chiefs on Monday begged government at a press conference to spare the
conservancy from the controversial indigenisation policy and accused the
Environment ministry which has been spearheading the exercise of only
empowering a few politically-connected individuals at the expense of
communities.
Among the chiefs was Chief Gudo, Felix Chindava, a representative of Chief
Tshovani, and Willis Chauke who stood in for Chief Sengwe. They met Mzembi
on behalf of their communities.
The complaints by the chiefs come as Zimbabwe Prepares to host the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference next year in August in
Victoria Falls.
The European Union has since threatened to impose sanctions on the event if
the invasion of the conservancies mainly owned by Germans, Italians,
Americans, Dutch, and South African nationals are not protected from the
controversial empowerment policy.
Situated along the banks of Save River, the conservancy is respected
worldwide as a leader in wildlife management and research.