Good evening my dear friends,i must say this week has been a very - TopicsExpress

Good evening my dear friends,i must say this week has been a very busy week. Just something for your reading in case you missed this news NHCC seems to be failing on Victoria Falls - Mukuni By Brina Siwale in Livingstone Fri 28 Feb. 2014, 14:01 CAT Chief Mukuni Chief Mukuni SENIOR chief Mukuni says the National Heritage Conservation Commission seems to be failing in the management of the Victoria Falls in relation to illegal tour operators. But National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC) public relations manager, Isaac Kanguya, says the commission has not received any complaints regarding illegal tour guides adding that the Zambia Police was doing a commendable job in policing the Victoria Falls. Chief Mukuni said in an interview that the National NHCC was facing challenges because it did not have its own police officers to deal with the challenge of illegal tour operators at the Victoria Falls. Zambias tourism key is without doubt the Victoria Falls; it is world class. In my view, we have to look at the optimal management of the Victoria Falls on the Zambian side if we are to compare to the management of the same on the Zimbabwean side, Chief Mukuni said. On our Zambian side, you will find that NHCC seems to have an upper hand in the management of the falls, unfortunately, they dont seem to have the craft to manage it very well. There are a lot of illegal tour operators within the Victoria Falls. This is because NHCC do not have police officers of their own, like ZAWA does. He said due to the lack of its own police officers, NHCC was dependent on the Zambia police to deal with illegal tour operators. Chief Mukuni said when illegal tour operators were arrested, NHCC handed them over to the Zambia police who do not fully pursue the cases. But on the Zimbabwean side, they dont have people masquerading as tour operators; the experience on the Zimbabwean side is different from that on the Zambian side. We need to work on the proper management of the Victoria Falls, he said. Chief Mukuni also said tourism should be seen as key in the development of the countrys economy because countries such as Seychelles and Kenya were benefiting fully from the tourism sector. But Kanguya said the commission has not had any reports of illegal tour guides at the Victoria Falls since the engagement of plain clothed police officers to patrol the area. The Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwean side does not have its own police officers. They are from the Zimbabwe police services but they are called Tourism Police. On our side we have put plain clothed police officers from the Zambia Police who patrol the area. Since we did, that we have not had any challenges with the illegal tour guides and we commend them because they are doing a good job. For us even if we arrest we dont have the powers to prosecute so it all goes back to the Zambia police, he said. Kanguya also commended the Mukuni Curio traders within the Victoria Falls who were also helping in apprehending illegal tour guides within the tourist spot.