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Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
GOVERNMENT is set to erect a shrine at the Battle of Chinhoyi site, where seven gallant freedom fighters who fired the first shots heralding the Second Chimurenga war in 1966, were killed.

The shrine would be erected by June.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira said this was part of Government’s efforts in promoting the liberation heritage tourism, while honouring the gallant seven heroes.

She said this was also part of an elaborate plan to identify and promote key liberation battle sites and vestiges of the country’s armed path to independence and nationhood.

The Battle of Chinhoyi shrine was a Government priority, Minister Mupfumira said.

“There is cultural, historical and liberation tourism, which we want people in the districts to identify places and sites that can be turned into a tourist attraction,” she said.

“The shrine for the seven heroes who fired the first shots in 1966 in Chinhoyi should be running by June this year because it is one of our main priority projects.”

Minister Mupfumira said Government would identify more similar sites across Zimbabwe as tourist attractions to augment the Victoria Falls.

The development comes as interest in Zimbabwe as a tourist destination is high, with the world responding positively to the new dispensation.

Minister Mupfumira said funding for such projects would be sourced to erect museums around the heritage sites as Zimbabwe ensures its heritage is preserved while offering tourists a diversity of attractions.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has already released $100 000 for the development of a tourism site specialising in wildlife in Tsholotsho.

The UNWTO has also promised to continue providing technical and financial support for the development and strengthening of domestic tourism products.

Validation of the exact location of the Battle of Chinhoyi where the seven gallant fighters perished after holding their ground against a heavily armed Rhodesian army for several hours is underway.

Government has also erected a shrine in Masvingo, where President Emmerson Mnangagwa blew up a train in the early days of resistance to colonial rule.

Several streets and buildings in Chinhoyi have been named after the seven heroes who have since been declared National Heroes.