By BRIAN HATYOKA –

TOURISM and Arts Minister Jean Kapata has called for individual and collective efforts to preserve the country’s wildlife.
Ms Kapata said wildlife conservation should not be left to the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) alone.
She was speaking in Livingstone on Sunday afternoon when she officially launched the newly constructed ZAWA Dry Manzi Recreation Centre.
The launch was part of the celebrations for this year’s World Tourism Day which was held at the weekend under the theme “One Billion Tourists, One Billion Opportunities”.
Dry Manzi Recreation Centre provides the public a place for picnic provision as well as walking on the Zambezi River bed at sunset.
Visitors to the site were occasionally treated to elephant crossing, Zambezi River curious monkeys and baboons, grazing buffalos, sounds of ‘laughing’ hippos and water birds among others.
“I invite every Zambian to consider their individual roles in wildlife conservation. The local Tonga proverb says ‘Munwe Onwe Taupyayi Njina’, meaning one finger cannot crash lice and hence we all need to participate in wildlife conservation.
“We need concerted efforts to preserve wildlife. I therefore appeal to everyone to ensure that conservation of wildlife be everyone’s responsibility and not the ZAWA alone,” Ms Kapata said.
She said the sight of various animals at the Recreation Centre was an assurance of Government support to wildlife conservation and protected areas.
“With funding from United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Zambian Government issued a directive to ZAWA to modify the Dry Manzi picnic site and develop the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park camping site,” she said.
ZAWA acting director general Kombe Kampamba said the launch of the Recreation Centre was a major milestone achievement by the Authority.
“We are trying to go with modernity now. We came here to officially launch the Dry Manzi Recreation Centre especially in light of dwindling copper prices and the need to diversify the economy.
“Tourism is the alternative and we are trying to promote domestic tourism by promoting such facilities in our premises and this is not the only facility we will be opening up for the locals,” Mr Kapamba said.
He said ZAWA intended to open another facility in the Kafue National Park as well as in the Lusaka National Park.
“We want to provide basic infrastructure for relaxing for the local tourists to come and use at affordable rates,” Mr Kapamba said.