Seven days tourist isolation protocol removed
By Frieda Imbili
International tourists are no longer required to spend 7 days at one facility as per the amendment implementation protocols for the international tourism revival initiative announced recently.
According to the amended protocols, tourists intending to spend less than five days at a pre-booked facility, can proceed to the next destination, provided they should be available on day five (5) for swabbing wherever they find themselves.
The amendment further provides that tourists must be reachable on day seven (7) to receive the results of the swabbing.
In case where result is negative, the tourist is released from any surveillance and when i positive the tourist will be isolated at an identified facility by the Ministry of Health and Social Services and treated at their own cost.
Announcing the amendments, Pohamba Shifeta, environment, forestry and tourism minister, said, the amendments are aimed at removing restrictions that are making it difficult for the tourism industry to secure tourists to visit Namibia under the Tourism Revival initiative which commenced from 1st September 2020.
He emphasized that, since the start of the initiative the industry has not seen any new bookings and in fact has had net cancellations which have resulted in N$ 115.7 million being withdrawn from the country.
According to Shifeta, this has prompted a rethink in the approach also considering the competitive nature of the tourism sector. He noted that, other countries in the southern Africa has opened up for tourism with less restrictions putting Namibia at a disadvantage.
A total 186 community members in the Mpungu constituency of the Kavango East region generated over N$129 thousand in devils claw sales. The community members sold a combined total of 3240 Kg at a selling platform facilitated by NILALEG Project on the 9th and 10th August 2022. NILALEG is a project that is under the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism responsible
for integrated landscape management approach in key agricultural and forest landscapes, reducing poverty through sustainable nature-based livelihoods, protecting biodiversity and restoring forests as carbon sinks, and promoting Land
Degradation Neutrality. The product were sold to EcoSo dynamics at N$40 per kilogram. The harvesters comprised of community members from ten villages namely, Nepara l, Nepara ll, Tjohwa, Nkulivere, Gava, Katope, Ngandu, Kasimba, Nkorose and Siraro villages.
Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), a Consortiue under the NILALEG Project this year managed to train about 186 community members on sustainable harvesting of natural resources particularly the devil’s claw. Out of the trainees, 137 were female and 49 were male of which the majority were youth. The second sell is expected to take place in October 2022. According to Romeo Muyunda, MEFT Spokesperson the sale demonstrates the Ministry's commitment to realised its constitutional mandate, which in translation provides for the protection of the country's natural resources to benefit the citizens of the country. "Through these interventions that the ministry is implementing together with its partners, we are reducing poverty significantly especially in rural areas" Muyunda Added.
Devil's Claw (Harpophytum procumbens) is an indigenous plant to Southern Africa and is widely used as a medicine for treating arthritis, reducing pain and fever and stimulating digestion. More recently, it has become an important product for export to the European market with the biggest exports to France and Germany. In Namibia, Devils’ Claw is listed as a protected species under the 1977 Nature Conservation Ordinance of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, and may not be harvested or exported without the correct permits. A “Sustainably Harvested Devil’s Claw (SHDC) Model” is being implemented across the country to ensure the long-term use of this plant resource.
-->
