Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Walter Mzembi, has expressed concern over the increasing presence of police roadblocks on the country’s roads, saying this was undermining the Zimbabwe brand.
Mzembi has previously called for the reduction in the number of the roadblocks, which have largely been used as a revenue generation strategy by police and have also bred uncontrolled corruption.
“Remove roadblocks from our roads and put security checkpoints. If you say you have a roadblock, what are you blocking? They are blocking commerce. They are blocking economic activity. A security checkpoint is a facilitator. It’s an enabler of tourism because without peace and stability, without security, you cannot have tourism,” Mzembi told the Financial Gazette’s Companies & Markets.
Zimbabwe is home to a number of attractions such as the Victoria Falls and Gonarezhou National Park but is struggling to attract tourists.
The roadblocks, which in some cases are manned by police officers with spikes, have been made worse by the ever-increasing presence of police officers in Harare’s central business district who carry spikes with them to deflate vehicle tyres for public transport vehicles operating illegally from the city centre.
Mzembi, who is running for the secretary general’s post at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), believes the heavy police presence is not helping the country’s goal to attract international tourists and boost the national economy.
His campaign for the world top job in tourism has taken him around the world as he visits influential countries to boost his bid.
On these trips, the minister has found himself spending more time defending his country on these issues that have dented Zimbabwe’s image abroad.
He does not want the country’s tourism sector to suffer from self-inflicted wounds.
“Firstly, the roadblocks are too many, unbearably too many for a country that is peaceful. Secondly, the personnel are not trained in language that can engage the public.”
“What I see as searches sometimes amount to body searches. They are indecent. They should not be allowed. We still want to be able to do spot checks without infringing on personal rights. We must do a cost benefit analysis and look at the loss in citizen trust, loss in citizen goodwill,” he said.
The country’s Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, has also pointed out that the roadblocks are at odds with efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
Mzembi said he would continue lobbying for change.
“We will never stop shouting. Tourism never stops shouting because we are at the tail end of the value chain. We are assisted by the enabler action of everyone from security to home affairs to Information Communication Technology and to the facilitation of plastic money. So we should never stop shouting until we are heard.” Financial Gazette