adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
Victoria Falls Municipality has rejected pressure from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) to reverse rates that tourism operators in the town say are too high. Council says it acted within the confines of the law in crafting its 2015 budget and having it endorsed by the government so cannot reverse it. The Victoria Falls business community that is dominated by tour operators, hotels and lodges last week threatened to withdraw various charity work and developmental projects in the resort town after council hiked rates by more than 500 percent.
A meeting between the local authority and tourism operators aimed at finding common ground ended abruptly during the same week after ZTA chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke declared a stalemate when council treasurer Thembinkosi Khumalo accused him of presiding over a kangaroo court.
Speaking during a full council meeting on Tuesday, Town Clerk Christopher Dube said the local authority had complied with the Urban Councils Act in effecting the increases in a development that saw the government approving the budget in February this year.
He said some tourism operators were unaware that consultations were carried out before the 2015 budget was implemented.
Advertisements were flighted in the press concerning the increases, added Dube.
“The budget was done after extensive consultations with all stakeholders and residents and the proposed tariffs were advertised in the press in terms of the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15 Section 219 (2) (a) and (b),” said Dube.
He said even though the law requires a possible 30 objections to stop the implementation of the budget, only two were registered, resulting in council approving the 2015 budget.
“There were only two objections yet the Act requires that there be more than 30 objections. We had 42 users and only two of them objected, resulting in the council rejecting them as not sufficient. The council crafted and approved the budget after following all legal processes. The budget was forwarded to government and approved in February 2015,” said the Town Clerk.
He said council met three managers from a local hotel who said they would not pay the rates and the municipality indicated that it would withdraw rates or use the legal route to settle the matter.
He said the ZTA had not followed the proper channels in calling for last week’s meeting.
“Any further meetings at the auspices of ZTA will not be entertained in future. If they have issues as a government agency they should approach the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. That meeting was indeed illegal, I was phoned by our director not to go there but I pleaded with him that we be allowed to attend.”
Although Khumalo withdrew his kangaroo court statement during last week’s meeting, councillors said he acted in the right manner as the meeting was indeed illegal.
“A council is business and we can’t be swayed by ZTA to do something we didn’t agree on,” said the Mayor, Councillor Sifiso Mpofu.
The Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Walter Mzembi and his Local Government, Public Works and National Housing counterpart, Ignatius Chombo, are expected to deal with the impasse.
Online Reporter