House Chair, the Portfolio Committee on Tourism undertook an oversight visit to Howick and also
attended the World Tourism Day celebrations at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site in KwaZulu-Natal Province on 26-28 September 2019. Howick Falls used to be the tourism destination that attracted local and even international tourists.
At least 10 busses used to visit the area per day, and that has been reduced to at least two buses a day. That resulted to job loses and closing of some of businesses in the area, including the community of Empopomeni whose businesses was also affected due to the decline of business in the Howick Falls.
Our observation as the committee was that there is poor coordination amongst the three spheres' of government and that resulted to the following challenges, which are related to crime; for instance drunk driving, drinking in public, litter, drug dealing, drug abuse, vandalism and also broken ablution facilities of the precinct. Whilst at Howick Falls, the committee notice that on the other side of the falls there is a community living in the squatter settlement without water, as a result this
community uses water at the edge of the falls for washing and other household uses.
Our recommendations, the committee recommended that the Minister of Tourism engages the Member of Executive Council, MEC, for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal to engage Umngeni Local Municipality to do the following: Develop the Howick Falls Precinct Development Plan, and provide feedback report on the execution of the Plan, and report to Parliament on quarterly basis, provide monthly progress reports to all affected tourism stakeholders, including Parliament, develop the Transformation Oversight Action Plan, and also feedback on the plan to declare Howick Falls as National Heritage Site, identification of all pieces of legislation that hinder growth of tourism businesses in South Africa, avail Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, houses for the resettlement of the informal community that is currently residing in the Howick Falls precinct, mobilisation of volunteers to clean the Howick Falls precinct, interact with the Department of Basic Education to develop a schedule for school tours to Howick Falls. I
therefore request that the House adopt the Howick report. Thank you.