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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau
GOVERNMENT has joined business operators and residents of Kariba in coming up with measures to revive tourism and the fisheries industry which have been on a progressive decline in the last 20 years.

This comes amid concern that tourism recovery in the resort town was not in sync with other tourism destinations in the country while kapenta and other fish stocks have been dwindling, threatening people’s survival.

Speaking at the Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Stakeholders workshop here, Minister Prisca Mupfumira said there was need for multi-pronged intervention to resuscitate the industries in the town.

“The journey we have started today defines our collective quest towards the realisation of the full development of tourism in the majestic town of Kariba.”

“It underlines our policy thrust as a Ministry which is to ensure that the development of tourism is nurtured and sustained in all provinces where tourism has potential to thrive,” she said.

Tourism and the fisheries industry anchor the economy in Kariba employing thousands of people directly and indirectly along the value chain. Minister Mupfumira affirmed Government’s commitment to address challenges being faced in Kariba working together with the private sector.

Some of the challenges include shortage of accommodation, land for expansion and transport connectivity to the destination amid a drive to have flights linking Kariba, Victoria Falls, Gonarezhou and Hwange National Parks.

“I have been made aware of the reduced availability of hotel accommodation and this is not just in Kariba but throughout the country. It is not enough. I know there are local investors who want to build hotels,” she said.

“We need new hotel and we need a conference centre. To our investors we are saying we need more hotels and bigger conference facilities in Kariba. Our local players can come together to see how best we can have those facilities.”

She tasked the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) to come up with a clear marketing strategy for the destination working with all stakeholders in Kariba.

The strategy, she said would also include deployment of tourism officers in all the provinces and revival of the Nyaminyami Festival and promotion of the Tiger Fish Tournament as annual signature events for the destination.

ZTA chief operations officer Mr Givemore Chidzidzi said there has been a drastic reduction in the number of visitors to Kariba resulting in hotels operating at 44 percent from a peak of around 59 percent in 1999.

“The occupancy rates have to be looked at in the context of a variance in the available accommodation in 1999 and now. It may seem like a small decline from 59 percent to 44 percent but we have to know that it was 59 percent of an elephant against 44 percent of a mouse now,” he said.

Mr Chidzidzi said while the nation was recovering in general, Kariba’s recovery has been slow. Residents also expressed concern at the depletion of fisheries which has seen annual kapenta fish harvest from between 30 000 and 54 000 tonnes in 1998 to around 9 000 tonnes in 2014.

The downward trajectory has persisted in the last seven years with emerging evidence of reduced harvest of the bream and tiger fish types. Indigenous Kapenta Producers Association (IKPA) chairman Mr Harrison Nyamupfukudza said the lake has been overexploited without being given time to replenish itself.

“There is a high number fishing boats and rigs in the lake with some of them operating without permits while there is a high number of poachers leading to a reduction in the harvest,” he said.

“Our business is now affected and the worst thing is that people are fishing in breeding areas. We cannot explain the extent to which the resource has been depleted.”  Follow-up meetings are expected to fine tune and address issues raised.