dyton mupawaenda
Tendai Rupapa–Senior Reporter
ENVIRONMENT and Tourism Patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, who was recently conferred patron of the Heritage Village at the giant Liberation City which is under construction in Harare, yesterday hit the ground running by convening a stakeholders meeting to lay a solid development strategy.
The recognition is in support of her sterling efforts in reviving the country’s traditional values and norms.
The Liberation City, which houses the Museum of African Liberation, gives every African country a slot to exhibit mementos from the struggle against colonialism.
This is a dedication to all fallen veterans of the continent’s liberation wars and is meant to document wars fought in Africa in its quest for self-governance.
Other facilities include the Animal Park, Defence Forces Exhibition Park, the Recreation Park, a hotel, a shopping mall and the Heritage Village.
At the Heritage Village, there are kitchens and cubicles where various nationalities of various African states will showcase their traditions and cuisines.
There is also an Afrocentric dining where themed dinners from various countries will be served.
A place has been set up at the village for countries to showcase and sell their traditional artefacts.
Stakeholders at yesterday’s first of its kind encounter to map the way forward in developing the site into a top of the range tourist hub included the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, the Environmental Management Agency, Institute of African Knowledge and ZimParks, among others.
Chief executive of the Institute of African Knowledge (Instak) Ambassador Kwame Muzavazi expressed gratitude to the First Lady for accepting the offer to be the organisation’s founding patron of the Heritage Village which is one of the facilities in the Liberation City.
He said there are many ways to communicate, not just through politics, but through culture and heritage.
“The First Lady has become the patron of the Heritage Village which was an initiative of the board of trustees of the Institute of African Knowledge led by our chairman Professor Simbi Mubako and other six trustees from other African countries that found it fit to say Amai must lead the process of the revival of the African spirit, African culture, African heritage as is the agenda of the Heritage Village.
“The Heritage Village is existing next to the Liberation Mall, the Museum of African Liberation, the Animal Park, the Recreation Park, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Exhibition Park at the Liberation City. This aspect focuses on culture, on heritage, on our history, on who we are as a people of our nation. So we really are grateful for that,” he said.
The discussions with the First Lady, Ambassador Muzavazi said, were inter-departmental and inter disciplinary with representatives from the Ministries of Tourism and Hospitality industry as well as the Ministry of Environment on how best these two ministries and the Instak can collaborate in making sure that the Liberation City becomes a responsible, referable tourist destination that ticks all the boxes .
Herself a hard worker and goal-oriented person, the First Lady implored all stakeholders to put their shoulders to the wheel and work for the success of the project.
“This museum is the first-of-its-kind in our country as it has history of liberation movements of other nations. As Zimbabwe,are we now fully geared and prepared for this big project. What is it that we have received so far in order to receive more from other countries.
“What have we put on the table as Zimbabwe in terms of our history and culture portraying who are we as a nation. The other countries involved expect us to do more for our own history. Their history is supposed to land on a level ground that we would have worked on,” the First Lady said.
She spoke on the need to market the project aggressively in all four corners of the country to ensure no one and no place is left behind.
“How are we going to spread it to our people in the four corners of Zimbabwe? How do we get to the grandmothers and fathers in remote areas so that they also share what they know for the benefit of future generations?
“Do people in rural and remote areas know that we have a place like the Liberation City? Do we know the history that she or he has to tell us about what happened in those years when they were growing up? What about those in Binga?
“Obviously what happened in Manicaland is different from what happened there or here, do they know this place? Have we talked to them? How are we going to do this, so that we gather all this from our country without leaving anyone behind?” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa spoke on the need for a steering committee to foster the success of the programme.
“As a team we want to form a committee that will run with this thing for investigations and history gathering so that we can succeed in this project.
“People drive past and drive through seeing this but do they know the depth of this, what it means and why it is so important and why other countries have already taken it and brought their history to Zimbabwe.
“Do not forget we have generations that do not know anything and we need to sit down with them at the heritage village so that we make them understand so that our history is not distorted.
“This has fallen in our hands as Zimbabweans, it has come during our time, what are going to do during our time so that we pass it on to the next generation. We need to put our hands together,” she said to applause.
She added that it was important to have medicinal plants at the Heritage Village.
Amai Mnangagwa then opened the floor for others to share their views.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi listed various activities that can be done at the monument to create jobs and boost tourism.
“Following what you have just said Amai, our Ubuntu, culture, customs and traditional norms and values are the ones that need to be read at the African museum as well as the activities that will be found in there. The way we see it as a ministry and in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment, I always tell ambassador Muzavazi that we are together in this because tourism is involved.
“When people visit monuments and come to see museums, it speaks to tourism. We have been given an expansive place by the Government to build an African Museum, but we do not want other African countries to come and just visit the museum and leave.
“What else can we do that contributes to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through tourism? There is an idea of a hotel that is being built there and there are activities that we discussed when we met before like amusement park and many other things to be experienced there as people see our history, we aim to have them spend more nights than just viewing the museum and leaving.
“If the hotel is complete a person will look at other activities present. Forestry commission will be involved in planting trees and people will benefit from their therapeutic value,” the minister said.
The minister said ZimParks will come in with the Animal Park.
“The amusement park and tourism village will also attract tourists. Amai your works have an impact in our society and if we have our tourism village, children will be coming to learn through your nhanga/gota/ixhiba programme,” she said.
EMA spokesperson Mr Steady Kangata praised the First Lady for convening the stakeholders’ meeting.
“I wish to start by thanking you for convening this special meeting Amai to discuss this special resource that we have because as EMA we always cherish your guidance that you give us time to time as we move in the environment space.
“I firstly want to thank Instak that when they started the project they acquired all the necessary papers including the environmental impact assessment and we are grateful for this.
“As you said Amai, we need to work together because the project is our project like you said earlier on that this is our collective project and today’s meeting bridges the gap.
“It is a national project. As EMA we are available to work with you closely as we give one another guidelines that we need to follow because the environmental impact assessment is premised on a principle.
“Our commitment as EMA is to ensure that we make this a green development so that we have a model of a green development in the country. Our wish as we work together is to ensure that all facets of the environment are followed in this particular project,” he said.
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