ZTA, Safari Operators Dispute Escalates
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/


Saturday, 13 June 2009 14:35
SAFARI operators have asked Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi to
intervene in their dispute with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) over
the disputed trophy fees in yet another battle that threatens to derail the
growth of the industry.

Operators and ZTA have been haggling for the past two years over the
two percent levy on trophy fees which the authority charges operators and
the matter has spilled into the courts.

In a June 5, 2009 letter to Mzembi, the Safari Operators' Association
of Zimbabwe (SOAZ) accused ZTA of using the issue of the disputed levy to
deny them new operators' licences.

Unlicensed operators cannot import tourism products duty free
according to fiscal incentives given to the tourism industry in April.

Statutory Instrument 46 of 2009 provides the terms and conditions
under which the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority may grant suspension of duty on
specified types of motor vehicles for licensed tourism operators.
The suspension is effective March 1 and will run up to February 28,
2011.

SOAZ said the industry had always paid the two percent levy on their
daily rate since the promulgation of the Tourism Act in 1996.

They argue the daily rate covers all facilities in the camp -
accommodation, food, drinks, services, and transport but not trophy fees.

The operators said matters came to a head in 2006 when ZTA advised
operators that trophy fees were now included.

SOAZ sought legal opinion from their lawyers, Scanlen & Holderness,
who found out that trophy fees could not be classified as "Tourism Facility".

The legal opinion was delivered with a cover letter from SOAZ chairman
Jacob Mudenda to ZTA chief executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke on January 17
last year.

An appeal was made to the minister through the then permanent
secretary who responded that trophy fees should be included in the levy.

"From the beginning of the hunting season 2008 (April) our hunting
members were being harassed by demands from ZTA to pay two percent on the
Trophy Fees. SOAZ advised its members to refer ZTA to the legal opinion,"
the operators said.

"In June 2008, ZTA sent out letters to all hunting operators demanding
the two percent and they sent the police around to visit the offices of
these operators, demanding to see three years of documents, and implying
that if payment were not made there would be legal consequences."

This prompted SOAZ to ask Scanlen & Holderness to write a formal
letter to Kaseke advising their interpretation of the Act as already made to
ZTA.

The lawyers advised that should the harassment of their members
continue, they would seek a Declaratory Order from the courts.

Scanlen & Holderness wrote a letter to the ZTA's lawyers Gula-Ndebele
& Partners on August 28 laying out the case, and asking them to instruct
their clients to desist from using threats of arrest in a civil matter to
coerce payment, SOAZ said.

SOAZ said harassment continued until it culminated in the arrest of a
number of operators, including the association's administrative officer on
August 29.

Affected members were Makuti Safaris; Chapungu Safaris; HHK Safaris;
Lowveld Hunters, Mazunga Safaris, Mokore Safaris, Threeways Safaris, Big
Five Safaris and Roger Whittall Safaris.

The lawyers then met privately with the ZTA lawyers and an agreement
was reached that the matter would be sorted out between SOAZ and ZTA
lawyers.

It was agreed that both parties would abide by the judgment although
there would be redress through an appeal if it was justified.

The case went to the High Court in January 2009 and the ruling is
still pending, the operators said.
SOAZ told Mzembi that operators had in January received reports that
ZTA were refusing to renew operators' licences on the grounds they had not
paid their two percent levy on trophy fees.

The association instructed their lawyers to write to ZTA advising that
this amounted to extortion and advising that it was illegal.

Gula-Ndebele responded that their client, ZTA, denied that this was
the reason for not renewing licences, the operators said.

"We appeal to you, Minister Engineer Mzembi, to assist our struggling
industry in reaching an equitable solution to this problem," SOAZ wrote.

Since his appointment as Tourism Minister in February, Mzembi who is
on a whirlwind tour of western capitals with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai has been diffusing tension among members who accuse the authority
of killing the industry.

But ZTA argues that it is merely enforcing the laws. Mudenda was
unavailable for comment.

BY NDAMU SANDU

Africa. Nothing ever changes. Aim at foot. Pull trigger.

same bullshit-different day. when are" Africans" going to learn not to bite the hand that feeds them?