21 Apr 2015

Member of Parliament for Chobe, Mr Ronald Shamukuni, recently met with tour guides and small tour operators to appreciate challenges they face in the industry and to update them on the Kasane facelift project. 

Mr Shamukuni encouraged them not to be guides forever but to own enterprises in the tourism sector. He explained that he had called them separately as he was unable to interact with them during his previous stakeholder consultative meetings due to their work commitments.

About the Kasane facelift, the principal physical planner, Mr Nchunga Kanyenvu, informed them that part of the facelift was to provide residents with access to the Chobe River. Currently, almost all of the property along the river was privately owned which left no room for residents to access the river front.

He added that the facelift was also intended to expand and introduce more tourism activities to add to the two dominant ones: boat cruises and game drives. “We are aware that tourists spend less time here because we do not have enough activities to keep them around for a long time,” he noted. 

Through this facelift, he explained that about 250 households around the Kgapamadi, Botshabelo, and White City areas were going to move to make way for developments including government offices. Some farms will be converted to conservation areas to increase animal corridor areas. 

In their comments, tour operators and guides advised that the area between Choppies and Chobe Marina Lodge be preserved for local tour operators or to a community trust as most of the prime land was already in the hands of established foreign tour operators.

“If such a piece of land falls in the hands of such people, they will privatise it and continue to deny the community access to the river because it will be private property,” noted Mr Mandela Kgowe from Dreams Safaris. The piece of land in question in expected to address the issue of lack of access to the river by the community.

Presenting the guides’ grievances and suggestions, deputy secretary of the Botswana Guide Association, Mr Peace Shamuka suggested that opening up of alternative routes in Chobe National Park to address congestion. Also, he noted that there is no proper signage to indicate where Kasane begins and ends. 

“We also have a complaint about how we are graded by Botswana Qualifications Authority as the grading system now seems to be draconian,” he said adding that through the grading system, seasoned tour guides were now being downgraded just because they cannot produce references from former employers, some of whom have long relocated or passed on.

He added that forums such as Tourism Pitso leave them out as stakeholders as the forums are mostly held in Gaborone.

Another tour operator, Mr Gaonyadiwe Ntshwabi of Classified Safaris noted that closing hours of the Park were disadvantaging them and their clients.

“We have to be out of the park by 6pm yet that is the time when the sun sets beautifully and our clients want to experience that moment but we have to rush them out of the Park,” he said. 

He suggested that the Park could close at 1830hours for their customers to enjoy the sunset. Stretch points, he noted, must also be chosen looking at optimizing scenic views to ensure that points chosen have the best scenic views.

In responding to their queries, tourism development officer with Botswana Tourism Organisation, Mr Mokganedi Ntana said that he will need to engage senior stakeholders in order to get answers. He added that some of the concerns will be addressed at the HATAB annual conference. 

Mr Shamukuni appreciated their concerns and also advised them to utilise his office if they have any issues. 

He said that he wants to meet with them every quarter and he announced the next meeting to be held in June. ENDS