Tourism Minister Rodney Malindi Sikumba upbeat with US$100 million boost from World Bank

By DERRICK SINJELA

Minister of Tourism Rodney Malindi Sikumba has appreciated the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors for approving a US$100 million credit line designed to strengthen Zambia’s nature-based economy and increase economic opportunities in emerging tourism destinations in the Liuwa Plains National Park, Source of the Zambezi, and Kasaba Bay.

In a Tuesday, 13th June, 2023 Press Statement, Mr. Sikumba expressed gratitude to the World Bank on the milestone attainment with the Zambian team after successful negotiations.

“I wish to show my appreciation to the Project Preparation Team (PPT) for burning midnight oil to ensure stringent and robust World bank fiduciary standards and procedures were all met on time to be able to attain this milestone. The Ministry is focused on realizing the economic status of the tourism industry and will utilize the US$100million in Tourism Development Areas (TDA’s)that will improve the investment climate and attract more private sector investors to move the Tourism Industry to levels never seen before. After the backdrop of the COVID 19 pandemic, the destination Zambia is recovering and rebounding and therefore the US$100million will be a boost to deal with basic infrastructure development and connectivity of the TDA’s earmarked for Development and Tourism product enhancement,” a delighted Sikumba said.

Sikumba praised President Hakainde Hichilema, for leadership foresight and making Zambia an attractive investment destination as well as assuring confidence in the current governance system to cooperating partners.

Sikumba equally acknowledged counterpart, Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane for unwavering support in the whole process of negotiating for the US$100 million credit.

The GREAT-TDP is aligned with national priorities in the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) and Vision 2030.

The 8NDP underscores the government’s commitment to unlock the tourism sector for economic transformation and job creation.

Sikumba explained that the project supports the government’s strategic vision of increasing tourist numbers both international and domestic, improving accessibility, increasing the length of stay for tourists, diversifying the tourism product offerings, and increasing the tourism sector’s contribution to the economic development of the country by providing support to effective links between TDAs and circuits.

The project aligns with the government’s high-level priorities on climate change and those of the World Bank as enshrined in the Bank’s Climate Change Action Plan (2016) and its Next Generation Africa Climate Change Business Plan, under Strategic Direction I: Food Security and a Resilient Rural Economy and Strategic Direction II: Ecosystem Stability and Water Security.

The project approach to implementation at the landscape level is consistent with Zambia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The NDC promotes a landscape approach to enhance synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions.
The main beneficiaries of the Green, Resilient and Transformational Tourism Development Project are local communities, nature-based community enterprises, and private sector entities within the emerging tourism destination. In addition, women-led entities will be assisted with business advisory services, including access to finance, to benefit equitably from the project.

At national level, as a United Party for National Development (UPND) Livingstone Central Member of Parliament (MP) in the Southern Province, Sikumba says the project will strengthen the institutional capacity for participating ministries through a variety of capacity-building activities and programmes. –Kwilanzi Newspaper Zambia KNZ