Govt scouting new Nyika National Park investor

Minister of Tourism, Parks and Wildlife Michael Usi has said government is currently scouting for another investor to manage Nyika National Park Chelinda Lodge and Camp.

This follows the termination of its contract with Central African Wilderness Safaris which stopped operating the high-end tourism attraction on September 30 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking on Tuesday when he visited the park, Usi said discussions are at an advanced stage to identify another investor to run the facility under a concession agreement.

“From now on, we will prefer a consortium and not a single company to run the facility to avoid a repeat of the scenario we faced,” he said

The minister said this will be helpful in a situation where one company pulls out from the agreement.

“We should operate on terms that are also favourable to us. What if the lodge was fully closed? The government would have been caught pants down.

“From now on, we should look at all the potential threats before signing agreements,” said Usi.

He said there is need to vigorously market the park which has the potential to bring more revenue to the country.

The minister added that for the park to attract more tourists, there is a need to improve the road to the park, which is in poor condition and almost cut off during the rainy season to bitumen level.

On his part, National Parks and Wildlife director Bright Kumchedwa said the government has since asked Central African Wilderness Safaris to run the park with the help of other donors for the lodge to be partially operational.

“It is now running the park on a caretaker basis with Peace Parks Foundation providing operational relief support because of Covid-19,” he said.