News / National
Zim will not sacrifice thousands of jobs to protect frogs and 23 trees - Kaseke
20 Feb 2012 at 13:55hrs | Views
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority says the construction of a 5-star hotel near the National Sports Stadium in Harare will continue as it met all environmental requirements.
But the Environmental Management Agency insists that its construction must stop to ensure that a proper environmental impact assessment is carried out.
The agency said it will be approaching Environment and Natural Resources minister, Francis Nhema, to order the construction work to stop.
ZTA chief executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke, last week said the outcry over the construction of the hotel on a wetland was largely driven by personal hatred of Chinese people by certain sections of society.
"I am convinced that if the investor constructing the hotel was from the United Kingdom, USA or other Western countries, no one would have queried the project. The Chinese are close to Zanu PF and some people are not happy with that."
Kaseke said some people were speculating that he was bribed by Anjin Investments simply because he was the one who personally invited the company to invest in Zimbabwe.
He said already, over 500 locals were working on the site, while over 3 000 jobs would be created once the hotel and shopping malls have been completed.
"So some people wanted us to sacrifice thousands of jobs and forgo these massive investments in order to protect frogs and 23 trees?" he asked.
"Why did they not complain when the National Sports Stadium was built?".
But the Environmental Management Agency insists that its construction must stop to ensure that a proper environmental impact assessment is carried out.
The agency said it will be approaching Environment and Natural Resources minister, Francis Nhema, to order the construction work to stop.
ZTA chief executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke, last week said the outcry over the construction of the hotel on a wetland was largely driven by personal hatred of Chinese people by certain sections of society.
"I am convinced that if the investor constructing the hotel was from the United Kingdom, USA or other Western countries, no one would have queried the project. The Chinese are close to Zanu PF and some people are not happy with that."
Kaseke said some people were speculating that he was bribed by Anjin Investments simply because he was the one who personally invited the company to invest in Zimbabwe.
He said already, over 500 locals were working on the site, while over 3 000 jobs would be created once the hotel and shopping malls have been completed.
"So some people wanted us to sacrifice thousands of jobs and forgo these massive investments in order to protect frogs and 23 trees?" he asked.
"Why did they not complain when the National Sports Stadium was built?".
Source - Standard
