Speaking in the National Assembly, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira said Government is working on legalising shebeens to promote local tourism.
Mupfumira said the shebeens should be registered with her ministry through the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Said Mupfumira:
What we are in the process of doing as a Ministry is to ensure that all tourist activities, shebeens, lodges or whatever are registered with the Ministry through ZTA. So, we have the next two months to register such. I would urge Honourable members to advise us of any lodges you might find mushrooming in the residential areas so that we register them. Once we register, we will be able to find out what activities they are carrying out and if they are not lawful, the law will take care of whatever is unlawful. I am talking about registration.
Mutoko East MP Ricky Mawere had expressed reservations on legalising shebeens or the practice by some people to turn their homes into lodges saying it would erode the country’s moral fabric. However, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda allayed fears that shebeens will be prostitution hotspots saying once legalised they would adhere to the tourism policy.
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