By Elezo Libanda
Katima Mulilo, Sept. 5 -– Residents of the Zambezi region have called on the government to revive the Zambezi Waterfront and Tourism Park to benefit the locals and the country.
The state-owned waterfront was closed down amid allegations of fraud and maladministration that cost 58 jobs after the government invested N$180 million in the project.
The tourism park boasts of an administration building, 15 bungalows, a camping site, a conference center, and walkways on land measuring 22 hectares.
In 2026 Cabinet directed the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to take over the waterfront but nothing much has happened after the directive.
Zambezi residents are worried that the project in which millions were spent, is now a white elephant, as it continues to accumulate dust.
Investigations into allegations of fraud against the management were completed and it was revealed the millions were either stolen or misappropriated.
An investigation in 2016 revealed that the former administrator of the waterfront, Charles Chipango spent N$1 million in just 20 days. The alleged financial irregularities went to the extent where a contractor was paid N$11 000 for installing a satellite dish, another contractor was paid thousands of dollars for replacing two electricity bulbs at the facility.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism at the time recommended the temporary closure of the park until a sustainable business plan was considered and developed. The ministry requested Cabinet to direct the ZWTP to develop a clear and concrete timeframe for the revival of the project.
The ministry also wanted an application with the Namibia Tourism Board submitted and registration with all relevant authorities for operations to be done but several years have passed with no concrete solution in sight.
In the past two years, the waterfront was used as an isolation center for Covid-19 patients but as the pandemic haves subsided, the facility remains unoccupied and Zambezi residents are urging the authorities to transform the infrastructure into something useful like a school or a hospital.
A man only identified as Simwanza, complained that the people appointed to oversee the development of the have done nothing to ensure something comes out of the millions that the government invested in the Zambezi waterfront and Tourism Park.
“A school or a lodge can help the region put the facility to good use and even hire some of those people who lost jobs because of one greedy official,” Simwanza added.
