SRC to refurbish sports facilities in Mat North

Leonard Ncube , Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) has said plans are underway to refurbish sports facilities in some identified areas in Matabeleland North to promote recreation.

Director of Sports and Recreation Virginia Chidakwa said a sports pavilion in Jotsholo, Tsholotsho Country Club as well as Victoria Falls swimming pool will be top priority in the commission’s 2019 budget.

Victoria Falls swimming pool has been lying idle since commissioning in December 2017.

It was renovated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for legacy projects in Victoria Falls in 2014.

It had been earmarked for professional and recreational swimming by tourists and locals but has remained closed with its water now filled with algae despite rising demand from locals, who include schoolchildren that require swimming lessons.

Chidakwa said SRC will soon engage Victoria Falls Municipality and other stakeholders over the facility.

“As government when we put resources we commercialise the facility so that many people have access. We are going to sit down with Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and also go to council to have an agreement.

“We need to get a position so we see how we can move forward as we want to put money and monitor usage. That’s in our budget for 2019 and we will consider the pool as well as other facilities in Jotsholo and Tsholotsho,” she said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Dr. Thokozile Chitepo who recently visited the pool after she officiated at the Victoria Falls jazz festival expressed concern about the state of the pool.

“We are also concerned about the state of the pool and we are investigating so we come up with a way forward,” she said.

Chairperson of the steering committee set up to run the swimming pool Olga Mutamba recently said people were now crowding small private pools at hotels and lodges and disturbing tourists.