Gorongosa National Park (PNG) has seen a 60 percent increase in tourists since the announcement in December 2016 of a cease-fire in clashes between government forces and Renamo’s armed wing, an official source said.
“The situation is positive. We have many domestic and foreign tourists wanting to visit the park ” said Patrícia Guerra, Director at Gorongosa Business Club, on the sidelines of the preview of the documentary ‘On the Front Line: The Rangers of Gorongosa National Park’.
While highlighting the increase in the number of visitors during the last 18 months, the director of PNG was quick to outline challenges such as the state of access roads.
The park is also placing itself as a centre for scientific investigation into animal life, attracting researchers and students from various parts of the world.
“We have teams that come to the PNG every four or six months, from palaeontology to ethology, mammals large and small. We have a wide scope,” she added.
The Mozambican Defence and Security Forces and the armed wing of the main opposition party, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), exchanged shots in the centre and north of the country in 2016 until the first truce announced by the late party leader, Afonso Dhlakama in December.
Hostilities resulted in an unknown number of people, with attacks on buses, trains and other civilian targets, damaged the economy in the affected regions and sparked a refugee crisis, while Renamo and the ruling Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) party exchanged mutual accusations of political persecution and assassination.
The clashes erupted after Renamo refused to accept the results of the 2014 general election, demanding to rule in the six provinces where it claims victory in the ballot.
A revision of the constitution to permit greater decentralisation was approved on Thursday by the Mozambican parliament as part of the continuation of a negotiation process initiated by the Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, and the late Renamo leader.
Reference Source: Lusa – Club of Mozambique