The Board of Airlines representative and South African Airways country manager Winnie Muchanyuka told guests at the Zimbabwe Council of Tourism (ZCT) meeting in Harare yesterday that airlines would accept bond notes.
“We have had engagement with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and IATA to see how the bond notes will work. This is because IATA wanted to know how the bond notes would be repatriated to foreign airlines. Airlines will accept bond notes. From that perspective, you do not need to worry,” Muchanyuka said.
IATA’s meeting with RBZ came as the body had reportedly expressed concern as to how foreign airlines would receive their money if clients paid using bond notes on top of dollars.
However, as payments to foreign airlines falls under foreign payments, money would, therefore, be paid in US dollars with the central bank providing reassurance.
The bonds will be introduced by the end of the month under the $200 million export incentive facility guaranteed by the African Export and Import Bank.
An awareness campaign is currently underway ahead of the release of the currency.
RBZ will introduce bond notes in denominations of $2 and $5 that will be at par with the US dollar.
Meanwhile, Tichaona Hwingwiri has been elected as ZCT’s president, and he will be deputised by Muchanyuka, Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe president George Manyumwa and a yet-to-be-appointed third vice-president responsible for services in the tourism sector.
The appointments will be for the next two years. Hwingwiri succeeds Francis Ngwenya.
Hwingwiri, who previously deputised Ngwenya, is the divisional head of Holiday Inn Zimbabwe, with a long history of experience in tourism.
He said among the key areas would be reducing value-added tax (VAT) on tourists from 15% to 5%.
“Before, any export tourism receipts were zero rated in terms of tourism VAT and we then introduced 15% on that, which simply meant the tourism operators had to put the 15% mark-up on top of the prices they sell outside the country. So from there, it is making the destination [Zimbabwe] expensive. Yes, government will get the 15%, but how does that work, vis-à-vis the reduction in tourist arrivals?” Hwingwiri asked.
“We are engaging in the budget preparation next week. We are having an input into it and that is one area we are still going to pursue and I am very confident that we will come up with a win going forward. The issue of pricing is what the input is before arriving at the selling price.”
Muchanyuka will be responsible for the transport aspect of tourism, while Manyumwa will oversee accommodation.
Other areas the new administration will focus on includes resource mobilisation from the private sector, lobbying to be an influential and respected body, synchronisation of the tourism industry, and a focus into research and development.
- Newsday