Zimbabwe is currently facing a difficult time transporting its majestic boat to Namibia. This is after the neighboring countries denied Zimbabwe access to their roads where it was planning to transport its boat. Now the only option left is to talk to Botswana to see if they will allow the majestic boat to pass through the country to Namibia.
This was said by the tourism, environment and hospitality minister of Zimbabwe, Edgar Mbwembwe. He revealed the information during an interview last week as he expressed his disappointment over the issue.
The boat, known as ‘African dream’, is a sight to behold. First, it is 30 meters long and its beauty brought everything to a standstill while being transported from Harare to Kazungula Border Post. The plan was to transport the boat to Namibia then launching it in Botswana on Chobe River and later, the boat would have sailed to Zambezi River.
Unfortunately, this has not come to pass as the boat transportation was put to a halt when it reached Kazungula border on Tuesday. It had been there for some weeks but the handlers decided to go back after the prolonged stalemate.
According to a reliable source, the Botswana authorities are responsible for the stalemate as they refused to allow the boat to sail in the country. The handlers did not have a choice other than to drive the boat on Tuesday through Victoria Falls heading to Bulawayo. It is not clear whether the owners of the boat will transport it to Kariba or Harare.
The minister, however, promised to consult with the authorities from Botswana on the matter just to have a full understanding of the issue. He said this as he expressed his amazement at what a good product the boat was.
Just to have a glimpse of the majesty of the boat, it has 20 bedrooms. The accommodation is enough for 32 people. In addition, the boat can accommodate 360 people if it is hired for conferences or weddings.
The construction of the masterpiece took place in Msasa in Harare and was done by GDI engineering. It took the engineers 10 months to construct the boat.
The owners of the boat, a French-operated company, intend to use it to for weddings, conferences and other luxurious activities.
The floating boat has a swimming pool on the topmost part and its power comes from a 2 Volvo engines of 600 hose-power.
