How Jacob Zuma’s Incarceration Has Affected Local Tourism In Nkandla

How Jacob Zuma’s Incarceration Has Affected Local Tourism In Nkandla! Since the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma the businesses in and around Nkandla have been affected negatively. Since his arrest violence and looting broke out in KwaZulu-Natal and businesses were looted and vandalised.

Most businesses were affected directly by Zuma’s arrest and the violence that broke others were affected indirectly, such as the tourism businesses that were running in Nkandla. Nkandla was a popular tourist attraction before Zuma’s arrest due to its rich history of the Zulu nation as well as the environment and local businesses but now the area is experiencing a decline in foreign visitors.

Local businessmen such as Bongiwe Ngubane believe that the decline in tourism is largely due to the Incarceration of the former president. He told Sunday World that, “Heritage tourism is the backbone of the livelihood of most households. UNxamalala [Zuma’s clan name] was the drawcard for local tourism. I run a small craft market specialising in IsiZulu bead work. I also sell traditional food to tourists. In the past three to five months, many people have frequented KwaNxamalala, some were visiting uMsholozi and some were international tourists who wanted to know more about the rich Zulu heritage of the area.”

“In the past five years, the state-of-the-art Zuma homestead and the Nkandla forest were key drivers for our local economy. We benefitted substantially. But the numbers of tourists have since dwindled.” Ngubane added.

Jacob Zuma’s Incarceration did not only affect businesses that are based in KwaZulu-Natal as the looting reached Gauteng and many businesses in the city, towns and townships were looted and vandalised. It was reported that the looting was a way of the people of protesting against Zuma’s Incarceration and people vowed to continue looting until he is released.

Jacob Zuma is till in prison and the mass looting have stopped across the country, but major damage has already been done as some businesses were forced to close down and others are experiencing low number of customers.

By Thomas Chiothamisi