TWO lucrative tourism ventures in Victoria Falls, currently embroiled in a prolonged legal dispute, have been designated within a highly protected “red zone” by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks).
This development has galvanised environmental activists and local residents to intensify their campaign to remove these businesses from the ecologically sensitive area, according to documents seen by the Zimbabwe Independent.
The controversy centres around a restaurant, Baines, operated by Scanner Investments, and a commercial enterprise on Cataract Island managed by Adage Success.
In 2022, residents in the resort town and environmentalists filed a High Court challenge against these businesses, arguing that their operations within the Victoria Falls Rainforest and on Cataract Island pose a threat to the landmark's delicate ecosystem.
The ZimParks, Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe, and Environmental Management Agency were named as respondents in the case.
These agencies are responsible for issuing the necessary permits and authorisations for businesses to operate in Zimbabwe.
However, the court has yet to deliver a judgment on the matter.
The “red zone” designation, which includes Cataract Island and the Rainforest, identifies areas that are strictly off-limits to commercial development due to their ecological significance. The Victoria Falls was granted World Heritage Site status by the United Nations in 1989, underscoring the need for stringent protection measures.
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Despite the red zone classification, court documents indicate that Scanner Investments and Adage Success are not currently within the officially designated prohibited area.
However, the Zambezi-Victoria Falls National Parks General Management Plan, which covers a 10-year period until 2034 and has been approved by both the government and ZimParks, suggests that their operations do indeed fall within this sensitive zone.
“Any discussion of zoning for the Zambezi and Victoria Falls NPs (national parks) needs to take into account the zones defined for the World Heritage Property (VFWHP),” the report reads in part.
“The red zone covers the waterfall, the upstream islands and riverine areas and the gorges below the falls.”
The management plan’s findings have prompted Larry Norton, a local resident who initiated legal proceedings against ZimParks, Adage Success, and Scanner Investments, to petition Environment minister Sithembiso Nyoni and Tourism minister Barbra Rwodzi.
Norton’s petition highlights the implications of the management plan and calls for immediate action to preserve one of Zimbabwe’s most iconic tourist destinations.
In a letter dated August 6, lawyers representing Norton advised Nyoni and Rwodzi that there was a general uproar over the commercialisation of the restricted zone.
“We refer to the above matter in which we represent certain concerned parties in Victoria Falls, who have noted abuse of designated red zone areas within the Victoria Falls World heritage area,” the letter reads in part.
In another letter addressed to the two ministers, Norton singled out ZimParks for disputing that the commercial enterprises run by Scanner Investments and Adage lie in the red zone.
“The latest ZimParks report has just been released. In this report the maps place the Baines restaurant and the Cataract Pool in the red zone, (which is) a highly sensitive ecological zone, and therefore in contravention of existing directives.
“Cataract Pool should be stopped forthwith and have their licence withdrawn immediately, especially after the recent abuse of the place.
“Both operations are condemned by the current map showing their sites are being undeniably in the red highly ecological sensitive zone at/in the Falls itself and they should be ordered to vacate,” the letter further states.
ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said: “The enterprises run by Scanner Investments and Adage Success are located within the “red zone.”
Questions posed to Scanner Investments representative Andrew Lane were not addressed at the time of going to print.
Adage Success through its representative Mark Bosch said: “We are in a JV partnership with National Parks who own 50% of the company. All our activities that we do are allowed in all the zones”.
