AFRICAN SUN LIMITED BOOSTS WILDLIFE CONSERVATION WITH FUNDING DONATION TO ANTI-POACHING UNIT

African Sun Limited, Zimbabwe’s leading hotel investment company, has donated US$21 000 to the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU), reinforcing the hospitality group’s commitment to protecting the wildlife and natural resources that underpin the tourism industry in the resort town.

The donation was formally handed over to VFAPU founder Charles Brightman at a ceremony in Victoria Falls, with the funds earmarked to cover a full year’s salaries and medical aid for the unit’s sixteen-member team of game scouts. Speaking at the event, African Sun’s Head of Marketing, Public Relations and Innovation, Charleen Mtezo, said the company recognised the value it derived from the natural beauty and biodiversity surrounding its operations and felt compelled to contribute to its preservation.

Mtezo explained that the town of Victoria Falls, encircled by the Victoria Falls National Park, sits within one of the most striking natural environments in the world, yet this proximity to wilderness brings with it considerable challenges of human and animal conflict. She noted that VFAPU works to ease these tensions by shielding wildlife and habitats from poachers, while also rescuing and rehabilitating animals injured through human interference. She added that the organisation goes further still, training former poachers in alternative skills so they may earn a sustainable living without resorting to harming flora and fauna.

Established in 1999 as a private-sector initiative, VFAPU has grown into a significant force in local conservation efforts. According to figures shared at the handover, the unit has removed more than 30 000 wire snares from the bush around Victoria Falls, arrested over 1 000 individuals linked to serious poaching offences, and rescued more than 500 animals from snares. Brightman, addressing attendees, thanked African Sun and its fellow stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, local authorities and police, for their continued collaboration, and urged other corporates to follow suit in supporting the cause.

Both Mtezo and Brightman stressed the close link between wildlife conservation and the sustainability of Victoria Falls’ hospitality sector, with an estimated eighty percent of the resort town’s economy dependent on the natural game and scenery that draw visitors from across the globe. Mtezo further situated the donation within African Sun’s broader corporate social responsibility strategy, linking it to the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and invited other businesses operating in the area to join the effort to safeguard the region’s environment.