Water surge batters tourismas operators seek bailout
Rising water levels in Lake Malawi have battered tourism and fishing businesses in lakeshore districts, prompting operators to appeal for bailouts from government in form of soft loans to cushion and later help them rebuild.
A visit to a number of facilities along the lakeshore yesterday established that many are submerged in water.
In an interview yesterday, Karonga’scGolden Sand Beach Lodge manager Webster Munthali said apart from affecting business, the high water levels have also destroyed part of a newly-constructed K15.5 million dyke at the facility.
He said: “Last year, we experienced the same challenge. So, we embarked on a dyke project to control water and prevent the facility which has a bar, conference rooms and accommodation.
“However, the waters have destroyed the dyke on top of affecting the economic status of the lodge.
“We, therefore, ask government to cushion us through soft loans or bailout packages because we contribute to the country’s economy through tourism levy and tax as well as job creation.”
In Salima, at Kabumba Hotel, the destruction is visible.
Some structures such as a swimming pool have collapsed while others are heavily field with water.
The facility’s once beautiful beaches are gone, filled with powerful water waves and tree corpses.
“We stopped operating the place,” said one worker who walked The Nation team around.
“What is shocking about this crisis is that it was never anticipated as the beach lied 200 metres away from the buildings.”
Nearby Kabumba is Leopard Bay Leisure Resort, which has seen its own share of trouble. Its bar collapsed and the rooms are almost sinking.
The resort’s owner Rob Jameson tells The Nation that he was finalising the construction in readiness for its opening later this month.
The former publisher of The Chronicle newspaper laments that the crisis has cast him back to square one.
Said Jameson: “It’s quiet devastating that a natural thing like the lake can destroy us. But I understand that half the problem is at the Kamuzu Barrage. It’s still closed even today.
“The National Water Resources Authority says the water is only reclaiming the land in owns and that’s ridiculous.
“They should have either warned us in good time or opened the barrage.”
To get to the resorts site, one has to cross a quarter kilometre knee high water barrier or climb through hilly paths laced with shrubs and rocks.
Meanwhile, the Malawi Tourism Council (MTC) fears that the damages could affect the country’s tourism sector.
The Tonse Alliance government is touting tourism alongside agriculture and mining as key drivers of economic growth.
In an interview yesterday, MTC executive director Memory Mambo Kamthunzi said she toured some lakeside resorts in Mangochi.
“A lot of places have been affected. Currently five establishments have been closed,” she said.
Mambo Kamthunzi said the council’s tour will target other lakeshore resorts in a bid to assess how they can be supported.
