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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
SUMMER is upon us and for folks living in sea shores and even tourists visiting such areas, it is time to hit the beach!
Rather than just lie around soaking up some sun, several sporting activities are undertaken in the sandy soils, with a completely different ambience and fun.
It was not until last weekend’s Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC)’s Save Beach Bash project came to pass, that many people across the country had realised the beach environment that Save River provides, especially the vast tract of sandy area beneath the iconic Birchenough Bridge can be an ideal venue for different sporting activities.
Different sporting genres of team and individual competitions, with participants from different parts of the country, kept attendees entertained for the greater part of last Friday and Saturday.
In a beach environment, folks in areas around Birchenough Bridge and beyond thronged the picturesque site and were treated to exciting sporting events.
In the beach sprints finals, Mathew Msamanyada came out tops, while Lloyd Dhliwayo settled for second position.
Hatrage Tsimbidza was third.
In the ladies sprints, Media Mafuta was the first to cross the finishing line, while Tadiwa Chadenganga came second and Conchiita Matambudziko was third.
For the bicycle ride 10km with 65m beach dash, Philemon Mlambo was the winner in the men’s category, while Munashe Mujuru came second and Chenjerai Panganai was third.
In the ladies’ category of the same competition, Tendai Rubingo came first, while Tsitsi Matevere was second.
Blantina Mugano was third.
For the popular beach volleyball men’s category, Mathew Msamanyanda and Mike Mapfumo’s combination came first, while Machona Wellington and Deam Mukusa were second.
The duo of Michael Kuzarira and Kudakwashe Tawuya were third.
Ideally, Government is embarking on a domestic tourism promotion drive, an initiative that saw the successful staging of this Save Beach Jamboree at Birchenough Bridge.
In an interview on the sidelines of the event, Tourism and Hospitality Deputy Minister, Tongai Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans need to have a culture of visiting numerous tourism destinations dotted across the country.
“We are here at Birchenough Bridge, not only to enjoy the beach environment, but to market the place as a tourism destination that Zimbabweans and other nationals need to visit and enjoy as well. The place provides a unique beach environment that is suitable for several sporting events or camping. This is what we need to inculcate in the minds of fellow Zimbabweans that we, as a country, have numerous places they need to visit, learn and enjoy,” said Deputy Minister Mnangagwa.
In a separate interview, Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Misheck Mugadza said Zimbabwe has a lot of places that are valuable tourism products, some yet to be discovered.
“It is good that we have people working hard to promote such tourism products. You can see we are here at a place that resembles sea shores, yet we are in Zimbabwe. We want to move ahead to beautify such places and add value.
“We want investors to come to such areas to build hotels and provide other amenities that can make tourists comfortable and willing to patronise such places,” said Mugadza.
Member of the House of Assembly for Buhera South, Ngonidzashe Mudekunye, thanked the Second Republic for living up to its pledge of not leaving no person and no area behind in its development trajectory.
“We are grateful to His Excellency, President Mnangagwa for being a man of his words. He has said it many times that the Second Republic will not leave no place and no person behind in the development processes and what happened here is a living testimony of those words in action.
“Areas such as Birchenough Bridge and the beach environment here were not being given due attention as a tourists destination in the past, but we are happy that Government, under President Mnangagwa, is now walking the talk.
“Surely, there is no reason Birchenough Bridge, an iconic structure that was constructed way back, should not be known the world over just the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We want Birchenough Bridge with its environs to be marketed, and let it be known even more than the Sydney Harbour Bridge,” said Mudekunye.
To spice up the event, musicians later performed and they include Suluman Chimbetu, gospel singer, Mathias Mhere, Zim dancehall chanter, Jah Signal, Dorcas Moyo, Madiz, Samantha Ndebele and Chief Hwenje.
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