open Giriyondo Access Facility
16 August 2006
The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park's (GLTP) Giriyondo Tourist Access
Facility was officially opened by Presidents Armando Guebuza of Mozambique,
Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Wednesday, 16
August 2006. The Access Facility is a link between Limpopo National Park in
Mozambique and the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
During the opening ceremony President Thabo Mbeki said, "The African Union's
(AU) programme, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) urges all
of us, as leaders and as citizens of the African continent, to develop and
implement coherent action plans and strategies to address the continent's
environmental challenges while at the same time promoting socio-economic
development and fighting poverty."
The treaty to establish the GLTP was signed in Xai Xai, Mozambique in
December 2002 by Presidents Joachim Chissano of the Republic of Mozambique,
Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa and Robert Mugabe of the Republic
of Zimbabwe.
The GLTP is one of the 14 transfrontier conservation areas in the Southern
African Development Region (SADC). The aim of the whole transfrontier
conservation area concept is to promote joint regional co-operation in
conservation effort, however, in the process it also takes into consideration
issues of socio-economic development through eco-tourism to boost the regional
economy.
Part of the fence separating Limpopo National Parks in Mozambique and Kruger
National Park in South Africa was dropped between 2003 and 2005 and will
continue in future until the whole fence has been dropped. The process to
develop the crossing point over the Limpopo River between South Africa's Kruger
National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou is currently being undertaken and will
give complete access to the GLTP when completed.
Giriyondo Access Facility will facilitate tourism flow within the GLTP.
Tourists using the facility are expected to produce valid passports; however,
the visa requirements between South Africa and Mozambique have been waived for
all bearers of the passports of the two countries who wish to stay in each
country for a maximum of 30 days.
Standard operational procedures are applicable to tourists when making use
of the facility. The hours of operation from April to September are from 08h00
to 15h00, while during October to March the facility is open from 08h00 to
16h00. The roads in the Limpopo National Park part of the GLTP are accessible
only by 4x4 vehicles. No commercial traffic or vehicles with an excess of a
maximum of four tonnes (axle load) are allowed to use the Giriyondo Tourist
Access Facility.
"I have no doubt that the easy access facilities and open spaces within the
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park which has been branded as the world's largest
animal kingdom will be a major attraction before, during and after the 2010
FIFA World Cup. We must surely redouble our efforts to ensure that this unique
and rich tapestry of life on our planet is turned into a jewel of the tourism
market," emphasised President Mbeki.
"We need to build on this potential tourist boom and accelerate Africa's
share of the global tourist market which stood at 4,5 percent as at 2003," said
President Mbeki. Mbeki went on to add that Transfrontier Conservation Areas
(TCAs) coupled with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, provided us with a unique
opportunity for exceptional growth in the tourism industry.
For further details contact:
Mava Scott
Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
South Africa
Tel: (012) 310 3862
Cell: 082 411 9821
Dr Jorge Ferrao
Ministry of Tourism,
Mozambique
Tel: +258 213 02362
Ms Margaret Sangarwe
Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Zimbabwe
Tel: +236 702 042
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism on behalf of the
GLTP Ministerial Committee
16 August 2006
