03 Feb 2016

Residents of Nata have expressed a wish for their village to become a tourist destination.

The villagers told the ongoing National Vision 2036 consultative meeting on Monday that they want to exploit the village’s strategic location along roads leading to other established tourism hubs. They said they want to offer tourists going to Kasane and Maun facilities to spend a night or two in the village.

Nata resident, Mr Justice Jobe, said they do not have facilities to keep people longer in Nata despite the fact that the village has tourist attractions. He suggested that facilities such as a golf course and a bowling green be built to entice tourists to spend a lot more time in the village and create employment for locals.

He said with the completion of the Kazungula Bridge, they were confident of high volumes of traffic to the north. He said facilities such as truck inns should be up and running to cater for truck drivers.

Another resident, Mr Bonewamang Ntuane, said their area has to be restructured in such a way that wildlife does not become a danger to human lives. He said the government should demarcated the area to separate wildlife from people by 2036 to prevent the current wildlife-human conflict.

He said the demarcation would also help the agricultural sector in the area, saying it was not doing well because of the destruction of crops by wildlife. He appealed for community involvement in decision making processes.

For his part, a member of the consultative team, Mr Mpho Balopi said they were going to have committees in several places across the country to monitor the progress of the vision’s new pillars.
He urged residents to continue sending suggestions to them even after the meeting. Ends