Sekhukhune gets a Tourism Think-Tank

TOURISM in Greater Sekhukhune district received a major boost this week after the historic launch of a local tourism association.

The Sekhukhune Regional Tourism Association (RTA) does not only make history as being the first structure of its kind in the district, but it is also the only regional association that has been launched in Limpopo so far.

Limpopo Tourism and Parks chief executive officer (CEO) Benny Boshielo and Greater Sekhukhune District Municiaplity (GSDM) executive mayor Cllr Namane Masemola said the introduction of this association was in line with the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) - which identified mining, tourism and agriculture as pillars of Limpopo’s economy.

The RTA is a think-tank, which would focus on developing the tourism industry in the district.

Masemola pointed out that Sekhukhune was “buried alive for the past 13 years” as its name did not appear on tourism maps of South Africa.

“This launch is a milestone,” Masemola said.

“In 2000 when we built this government (GSDM), little did we know that we would discover things that put us on the periphery of the economy of Limpopo,” he added.

Masemola said there was an urgent need for a development of a tourism route so that tourists could access unique local features that were found nowhere else in the world but Sekhukhune.

He mentioned that those features were:

• The Foot of God in Fetakgomo. This, said Masemola, was a big footprint of about one-metre long on a rock.

• The Arum Lily Flower in Rossenekal. This flower does not grow anywhere else and thousands of people come to see it when it blossoms.

• The 130 years of Sekhukhune Wars of Resistance, which will be commemorated this year. This commemoration has a historical significance but also form part of tourism.

• The unique crocodile species that are only found in the Flag Boshielo Dam.

• The commemoration of Manche Masemola, a 14-year-old girl who was fatally stabbed with a hoe for converting into Christianity.

• The Methodist Church, which was first established in Limpopo province in Ga-Marishane.

Masemola urged members of RTA to work hard in developing the tourism industry in the district.

“You must position yourselves. You might be poor now, but the future looks great,” he added.

Boshielo said Limpopo Tourism and Parks would help train tourist guides and tap on the kings and kingdoms story.

“Sekhukhune is known as a place of bravery and fights. A tour guide could help tourists learn how the institution of traditional leadership works,” Boshielo said.

He added that Limpopo’s tourism industry was growing rapidly, and according SA Tourism statistics, arrivals in the province were no less than 20 % per year.