ZIMBABWE should review and harmonise entry fees charged to foreign visitors that want to tour the Victoria Falls Rainforest, which some stakeholders feel are discriminatory and negate efforts towards regional integration.
Speaking during a recent 9th edition of the Africa Public Service Day commemorations here, delegates complained about the uneven entry fees.
The new fees schedule effected in April by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, which manages the Victoria Falls National Park in which the Rainforest and the world natural wonder are located, demands locals to pay US$7 per person while Sadc and international clients pay US$30 and US$50 respectively.
Delegates to the APSD meeting who were drawn from different African Union member states said Africa’s Agenda 2063 ‘The Africa We Want’ will not be achieved if Africans fail to treat each other as equals and love their continent.
They were speaking after touring the Rainforest and implored responsible authorities to charge a uniform fee to all Africans regardless of country of origin or region. Delegates said Africa has the potential to launch its growth and Africans should be proud of their identity instead of identifying themselves in terms of individual countries or regions.
The conference, which sought to find solutions to challenges that affect equity, inclusivity, environment, climate change and economic growth, resolved that issues such as different entry fees into the Rainforest were indicators of failure to unite the continent.
It noted that resolving such issues was critical, especially at a time when the region is implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to create a single continental market with a population of about 1,3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product of approximately US$3,4 trillion.
The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects under Agenda 2063 and seeks to boost trade in value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy.
As such, delegates said the entry fees disparity was one of the issues that need to be addressed if the continent is to achieve its set targets.“We went to the Victoria Falls and some were made to pay US$50 because they are international and some were charged US$30 because they are Sadc,” said one of the participants.
“Because of that, we started seeing ourselves as different people. These are some of the things that make us fail to be united, we look at each other as people who are not from the same motherland.” Another delegate had earlier raised the same issue during plenary saying the entry fees were a reflection of lack of unity among Africans. Delegates said the future of Africa calls for futuristic thinking.
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavima who was guest speaker on behalf of President Mnangagwa, said it was imperative for AU member states to follow the principles of the continent’s founding fathers. –
