A community association has signed an agreement to operate an ecotourist lodge in the Maputo Special Reserve, in the southernmost Mozambican district of Matutuine, as part of a tourism project co-financed by the World Bank.The Association, “Hi Zameni Chemucane” represents about 850 people in the Matutuine communities of Mavukuza, Tsolombane ad Mabuluko, and the concession is for a period of 50 years. The Maputo Special Reserve is internationally renowned for its biodiversity, which it combines with unspoilt beaches, and all just a couple of hours drive from the Mozambican capital.A World Bank press release says that the lodge will be developed through a “public-private-community partnership”. The total investment is estimated at three million US dollars, and it is expected to create about 50 direct jobs.Cited in the release, Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana said “The policy of the government has been to involve local communities in the management of natural resources and encourage them to take advantages of the economic opportunities in the conservation areas”.“Through this pilot model of partnership with the communities we intend to assist in relieving poverty and in the sustainable use of resources”.Babatunde Onitiri, the representative in Mozambique of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector funding arm, said “The present agreement contributes to the participation of local communities in the important sector that tourism is for Mozambique”.He added that “helping Mozambique develop the tourism industry is part of the strategy of the World Bank Group to promote economic growth in the country”.This strategy hinges on the “Tourism Investment Anchor Project”, of which the new lodge will be part. The Anchor Project is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Tourism and the IFC. It is financed by the governments of Denmark, Japan and Holland, the African Development Bank (ADB), the Financial Investment Advice Services of the IFC, and the Mozambican government’s National Tourism Institute (INATUR).
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