Africa-Press – Zambia. ZESCO limited had received an expression of interest from Victoria Falls Eye Limited (the “Company”) to purchase a portion of the ZESCO land being Lot 473/M Livingstone. For purposes of constructing a Ferris Wheel which would add to the tourism ventures in Livingstone.. The company was on 22 August 2017 pursuant to the Companies Act No. 10 of 2017 registered in
Zambia. The Company’s Shareholders were Qingdao Ruichang Tech Industry Co. Ltd of the people’s Republic of China, holding 13, 500.00 shares and the Ministry of Tourism and Arts holding 1, 500.00 shares for and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. This was already an anomaly as by law only the Minister of Finance can hold shares in a company on behalf of the Zambian government.
The nature of business sector for the Company as stated in the incorporation documents at the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) was Creative, Arts and Entertainment activities. The Company aimed to erect and operate a Ferris Wheel at the Victoria Falls Livingstone Zambia as part of the ways to promote local and international tourism by providing economically acceptable method of aerial viewing of the Victoria Falls.
The land in question was in extent 7.9 hectares located behind the Substation and included 23 of the medium cost Power Station houses from MC11 to MC33. It extended all the way to the plot boundary along the rail line.
Apart from the ZESCO houses the only other structure that could be affected by the proposed development was a church. The houses were constructed under the Power Rehabilitation Project as temporal structure for contractors. At the end of the projects, all ZESCO employees residing in these houses were given plots along the Airport Road with Livingstone to which they were expected to relocate. The rationale for the relocation was that the ZESCO land (Lot 473/M Livingstone, where the houses were built was in the Mosi-oa – Tunya National Park and therefore not designated for human habitation.
Notwithstanding the houses which were occupied by ZESCO employees, it was proposed that they should vacate the houses to allow the development of the Ferris wheel.
Management informed me and the ZESCO Board that the subject property was uniquely located close to the Victoria Falls which the Corporation was not fully exploiting with its current use of the land. Rentals collected from the housing units were also below market rental.
A comparison between rentals collected and market rentals that could be collected showed a loss of income of ZMW 1,998, 000 per annum. Furthermore, the properties would require a large capital injection to upgrade them to modern standards as they were in poor state of repair.
Apart from the factor of age, condition and style of the houses, other factors that affected the Livingstone property market included the following: according to the management brief to the ZESCO Board:
• Livingstone was home to the Victoria Falls (Mosi Oa Tunya) which was a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The presence of the waterfalls and Mosi oa Tunya National Park contributed to the town’s status as the Tourism capital of Zambia. The local economy was predominantly driven by tourism and tertiary services;
• The recent upgrading of the Harry Mwanga Nkumbula airports as well as a reinvigorated campaign by the local tourism boards had contributed to an increase of tourism arrivals in the city;
• Livingstone benefited from the United Nations World Tourism Organization Conference held in August 2013 in terms of infrastructure development such as roads, drainage water reticulation and a general facelift of the town;
• The boom in tourism within Livingstone had led to a surge in local retail facilities with more markets, shops and malls springing up to help both satisfy visitor’s and local communities.
The ZESCO Management proposed that the 7.9 hectares’ part of Lot 473/M Livingstone be offered at a sum of US$ 253, 500.00. The offer price was the Value of land plus the value of the 22 houses and that the offer price was based on a market valuation done by Government Evaluation Department.
Furthermore, the ZESCO management recommended that the proposed sale be under the following terms and conditions: I was very surprised as my sixth sense told me that I was again experiencing an attempt to abuse an office of trust and I flatly hold Given Lubinda that the government position which he briefed me on was not in the public interest.
At the meeting of the ZESCO Board, the members agreed with me that ZESCO would be in breach of its fiduciary duties if it started striping the company of its assets which could not be justified.
The Board then resolved that the following be considered. As it turned out, this was another of my transgressions and I was accused of not being user friendly to the authorities.
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
