The Zimbabwe train company hasn't earned any cash from its deal with Landela Safari Adventures for the Landela Complex since they started working together back in 1998. Parliament members checking public assets just found this out. Surprisingly, the two companies never held a single meeting in more than twenty years. Mr. Charlton Hwende leads this checking group that travels around the country looking at government-owned things. The group visited several train company properties in Victoria Falls last Saturday.
This marks the second time Parliament members came to Victoria Falls to look at train company buildings. During their first visit, they learned the train company lost lots of money because they didn't watch their buildings carefully. Train bosses admitted this problem before and said they were trying to take back control of their properties to make more money. The Landela Complex has thirty shops, including a bank, two restaurants, loan offices, and a travel agency. The train company wants to break up with Landela Safari Adventures because they say they've lost money and can't see what's happening with the business.
Their partnership started in November 1998 when Landela agreed to rent three houses and turn them into tourist lodges using their money. The train company would keep the land and take the lodges after twenty-five years without paying anything. But Landela built a shopping center instead of lodges. This change caused many arguments, and they signed a new agreement in October 1999, creating a company called Victoria Falls Trading Post. They've argued about who owns what, money sharing, and how to run things ever since.
The train company says they haven't made any profit from this deal. Their money boss, Mr. Patrick Mwashita, told Parliament that fights stopped any meetings from happening since 1998. He said three houses were built, but one remains unfinished. He added that Landela never showed them any money reports. Mr. Mwashita stressed that the train company hasn't received any cash benefits since 1999. He said they tried many times to get financial papers and arrange meetings, but Landela never replied positively. Because of this, they started legal action.
A lawyer speaking for Landela Safari Adventures, Mr. Garikai Sithole, heard these worries but asked for more time to write answers. He promised to give me all the information by next Friday. He said since 1998, this has always been about business between two partners with shared goals. Mr. Hwende explained that his group came to gather facts about the problem. He urged both sides to find a solution despite the court case. He asked both the train company and Landela to send all needed papers by Friday to help address problems found by government auditors.
This marks the second time Parliament members came to Victoria Falls to look at train company buildings. During their first visit, they learned the train company lost lots of money because they didn't watch their buildings carefully. Train bosses admitted this problem before and said they were trying to take back control of their properties to make more money. The Landela Complex has thirty shops, including a bank, two restaurants, loan offices, and a travel agency. The train company wants to break up with Landela Safari Adventures because they say they've lost money and can't see what's happening with the business.
Their partnership started in November 1998 when Landela agreed to rent three houses and turn them into tourist lodges using their money. The train company would keep the land and take the lodges after twenty-five years without paying anything. But Landela built a shopping center instead of lodges. This change caused many arguments, and they signed a new agreement in October 1999, creating a company called Victoria Falls Trading Post. They've argued about who owns what, money sharing, and how to run things ever since.
The train company says they haven't made any profit from this deal. Their money boss, Mr. Patrick Mwashita, told Parliament that fights stopped any meetings from happening since 1998. He said three houses were built, but one remains unfinished. He added that Landela never showed them any money reports. Mr. Mwashita stressed that the train company hasn't received any cash benefits since 1999. He said they tried many times to get financial papers and arrange meetings, but Landela never replied positively. Because of this, they started legal action.
A lawyer speaking for Landela Safari Adventures, Mr. Garikai Sithole, heard these worries but asked for more time to write answers. He promised to give me all the information by next Friday. He said since 1998, this has always been about business between two partners with shared goals. Mr. Hwende explained that his group came to gather facts about the problem. He urged both sides to find a solution despite the court case. He asked both the train company and Landela to send all needed papers by Friday to help address problems found by government auditors.
