Govt Proposes Civil Servant Savings Scheme To Boost Domestic Tourism
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has proposed the establishment of a facility that would allow civil servants to contribute monthly towards end-of-year holidays, to promote domestic tourism.
During a media engagement in Harare on Monday, July 8th, Rwodzi said that Zimbabwe has numerous tourist attractions, yet very few people have visited them.
The proposed savings scheme would enable civil servants to set aside funds throughout the year, which they could then use to take vacations within the country during the holiday season. Said Rwodzi (via NewsDay):
You were talking about the Balancing Rocks, we have been advertising it for international tourists so that they go and see that place, but how many of us have visited that place?
We need to advocate a facility for civil servants through the banks, where they can pay every month throughout the year so that they can at least have even a weekend where they visit any domestic tourist destination.
Every year, their families would know that they have a place that they visit as a family.
Minister Rwodzi’s proposal for a civil servant savings scheme comes at a time when the earnings of government employees in Zimbabwe have significantly declined compared to the Government of National Unity (GNU) era.
During the period from 2009 to 2013, civil servants were earning salaries of around US$540 per month.
However, with the reintroduction of the local currency, their take-home pay has dwindled, making it increasingly difficult for them to afford domestic travel.
Rwodzi lamented the difficulty in accessing many of Zimbabwe’s tourist destinations, highlighting the need to improve the supporting infrastructure.
She called for a bolstering of the Zimbabwe Tourism Fund, which would be used to develop the necessary infrastructure linked to the tourism industry. Said Rwodzi:
If you look at the roads that lead to our tourist destinations, we can see that the roads are bad. If you look at the road that leads to the Balancing Rocks which you were talking about here, is it good? Who do you think is going to fix that road?
It is not the city council, it is the Zimbabwe Tourism Fund. That place needs to be developed because there are no resting places or restaurants there.
There is no bulk infrastructure that can attract investors, so we need to boost domestic tourism.
According to the latest figures, Zimbabwe’s tourism industry generated a total of US$1.16 billion in receipts last year.
Of this, US$732 million was earned from international tourism, while the domestic market contributed US$428 million.
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