13 Aug 2017

The managing director of Botswana Ash mine, Montwedi Mphathi says hosting the Makgadikgadi Epic is rewarding for Sowa which has a lot to offer.

Mphathi said many people only know Sowa as a mining town despite the fact that it had pans that were beautiful and were a breeding site for flamingoes.

He said with the epic hosted in Sowa, it was going to help market the town and attract people.

He further said having the epic would also boost the town's marketing strategy and attract investors to set up tourism facilities.

He said with facilities the tourism industry would grow and boost the economy of the town and reduce dependency on the mine as it was the case now.

He further pointed out that Botash mine has supported the event with P100 000 which they were confident would make returns which they would inject into their conservation.

Mpaphi stated that with a  growing number of different wildlife in the park, there would be a lot of people visiting the park and in the process boasting the tourism industry as well as the township.

He noted that they were in partnership with local authorities to ensure tight security for the animals among them rhinos, which they received as a donation from the Khama Rhino Sanctuary as well as elands and zebras.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Sowa, George Maphane said they were looking forward to having the event hosted in their town annually.

This, he said, would help the township to grow in terms of developments as well as being a tourist destination.

He added that they were not necessarily competing to be a permanent host, but that they want to partner for the benefit of the area as a whole and to uplift the tourism dream.

Local skydiver, Cyril Nfila, who is also a member of Parachute Botswana, said although their sport was often perceived as being a white people's sport, he encouraged local skydivers to make use of events such as the epic to show people that it could be done by anyone and be enjoyed. Ends