NAMAACHA FALLS UNDER PRIVATE MANAGEMENT

The waterfalls in the southern Mozambican district of Namaacha, on the border with Swaziland, are now being managed by the South Africn company Green Resort, according to a report in the Beira daily paper “Diario de Mocambique”.The waterfalls are one of the main tourist attractions in Namaacha, and Green Resort has a contract to manage them for 50 years. In addition, the National Directorate of Forestry has granted Green Resort an area of 3,000 hectares to be reforested.According to the mayor of Namaacha town, Jorge Tinga, farming the area out to a private investor is intended to provide more attractive facilities. The company, he said, has guaranteed that it will maintain the water circulation system that feeds the falls, and will construct leisure centres for visitors to the falls.“The municipal council preferred to hand over management to a private company, because it recognises that it has no vocation for running waterfalls and forests”, said Tinga.“With the new management, we hope that tourism will take its due place, with visitors contemplating one of the most attractive points in the municipality”, he added. Maputo provincial governor Maria Jonas, who visited Namaacha on Wednesday, noted that tourism is “a sleeping wealth” in this area, which could bring many gains to the municipality if properly exploited.