Workers made redundant in Covid-19 re-employed

The tourism capital, Livingstone, has made a concerted effort to avoid any job losses during the Covid-19 pandemic being permanent.

According to the UNDP, Zambia’s tourism sector was one of the worst affected during the pandemic with major disruption to international travel. In 2019, the tourism sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP was 7.7%, which fell to 4.3% when the pandemic hit.

In a statement made to ZNBC on 2nd June, Musokotwane Sichizuwe said that it was “impressive to see we are coming back to almost our pre-covid levels in terms of tourism arrivals. We have seen a lot of people that were previously let go, coming back to their jobs.”

Mr. Sichiwuze was in Livingstone with members of the Licenses, Permits and Certificate Approvals Committee to monitor investment portfolios and to update business owners on the investment, trade and business development acts.

Business communities have banded together after the pandemic to support those who worked hard at promoting the country’s tourism sector. Aggie Banda, Lodge Manager of the Royal Chandu said, “We made a decision to say we will carry this ship. Whoever works here is our family. So we did not release a single staff member.”