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Minister takes up #JohnVuligate challenge

THE South African John Vuligate challenge has taken Zimbabwe by storm, with a local minister joining in the frenzy. BY WINSTONE ANTONIO Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs minister Mary Mliswa-Chikoka (pictured) mesmerised guests when she took to the dance floor for the sdudla dance at the launch of a tourism campaign dubbed ZimBho #IzimYami #Vakatsha in Kariba. The JohnVuligate or sdudla dance move was created in 2016, but started dominating recently after Amapiano group Mapara A’s jazz song called John Vuligate, which features Ntosh Gazi and Calano, went viral. Mliswa-Chikoka, one of the younger ministers in government, brought the house down with her flawless dance moves as she danced to undoubtedly the song of the moment. The event was officiated by Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Nqobizitha Ndhlovu. South African songs are dominating social media and the world perhaps seeking respite from the coronavirus pandemic, as they are not tiring in coming up with the dance challenges. The John Vuligate dance frenzy has since weaved its way to almost every corner of the country much like the hit song Jerusalem by Master KG featuring Nomcebo. The Jerusalem wave has seen many corporates among them Alpha Media Holdings, the publishers of NewsDay, The Standard and Zimbabwe Independent participating in the dance challenge. Meanwhile, Ndhlovu speaking at the ZimBho #IzimYami #Vakatsha said leisure tourism had been minimal and the country’s total capacity as a sector had remained underutilised. “In the past decades, the tourism industry has been characterised by low participation of locals in leisure tourism, while domestic business tourism has been active as it constituted above 80% of tourism activity in Zimbabwe’s all regions except Victoria Falls which was dominated by foreign tourists,” he said. “Leisure tourism has been minimal and our total capacity as a sector has remained underutilised. This is one area we need to seriously work on, to increase the capacity utilisation of our existing facilities and expand our current product capacity in order to achieve our target of a $5 billion tourism economy by 2025.” Ndhlovu said domestic tourism further expanded the value chain and help in building national pride among locals. “As government, we have opened up areas for tourism development to allow for product innovation and diversification in the form of cultural tourism, recreational areas and resort developments,” he said. “Some of the areas earmarked for these developments include, but are not limited to, Tugwi Mukosi, Kanyemba, Osborne Dam, Binga and Kariba. “This development will go a long way in addressing the supply side of Zimbabwe’s tourism with the support from the private sector in implementation to grow local domestic tourism.”

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