Faculty of Social Sciences

Department of Geography & Environmental

Studies

NAME: KOMO MATHEW

REG. NO. R115390C

MODE OF ENTRY: CONVENTIONAL

LEVEL: 4

RESEARCH TITTLE: THE POTENTIAL FOR RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN ZIMBABWE

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR: MRS. C. MADEBWE

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements………………. Abbreviations/ List of Acronyms………………..

List of Tables………………………… List of Figures………………….. Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………… 1.1. Abstract…………………….. 1.2. Back ground to the Study………………….. 1.3. Statement of the Problem…………………….. 1.4. Aim andObjectives…………………………………………………….. 1.5. Justification………………………………………………….. 1.6. Study Area 1.7.Organisation of the Study

Chapter 2: Literature Review…………………………………………………. 2.1. Introduction……………………………………………….. 2.2. Relevant Literature and Citations Identified………………….. 2.3. Critical Analysis of the identified Literature 2.4. Literature Context to the Problem…………………………….. 2.5. Summary…………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter 3: Methodology…………………………………………………… 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Research Philosophy 3.3. Research Design…………………………………….. 3.4. Research Population 3.5. Sampling Procedures 3.6. Sample size 3.7. Research Instruments…………………………….. 3.8. Data Collection Procedures……………………….. 3.9. Data Analysis Procedures and Presentation……………………………………… 3.10. Validity 3.11. Reliability

3.12. Ethical Considerations 3.13. Summary

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations…………………………. 6.1. Summary of the Study……………………………………………… 6.2. Conclusion ……………………………………………… 6.3. Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………… References…………………………………………………………………………………….

Acknowledgement

First and foremost, I would like to thank my academic supervisor Mrs.C. Madebwe for leading and guiding me throughout the process of this project. She assisted me timelessly through advising, guiding, gathering data, provision of some of the resources needed for the success of this research and review of my rough drafts. Last and foremostI thank my mother Mrs. R. Komo for giving me physical, moral and economic support for the success of this project.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

Religious tourismor faith tourism is where people travelindividually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, leisure(fellowship), vacations, faith based cruising, crusades,conventions, rallies, retreats, monastery visits, guest stays,faith based camps, and other religious tourist activities (Rajand Morpeth, 2007).

Globally, tourism is the fastest growing industry with anaverage annual growth rate of 4%. The industry plays vital

roles in the economy. It employs approximately 200 millionpeople (about 12% of the global work force), accounts for 40%of all exports and contributes 10% of global GDP. Demand fortourism has remained healthy in both developed and emergingeconomies (UNWTO, 2012).Religious tourism is globally an US$18billion hospitality market which attracts 300 milliontravellers worldwide who go on faith-based vacations andcruises (UNWTO, 2012). Religious tourism has noticeable worldmovements which enables its classification as a viable tourismsegment (Timothy and Olsen, 2011). The world’s largest form ofmass religious tourism takes place at the annual Hajjpilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In North America religioustourism contributes about US$10 billion to the tourismindustry. 2.5 million people visited the holy site of Rauza ofImam Husain in Karbala in Iraq. Other holy cities which haveattracted many tourists are Madinah and Armenia-Ejmiatsin inSaudi Arabia and holy sites of Kaaba in Turkey, Western Wallin Jerusalem and Brahma Temple of Pushkar in India (Raj andMorpeth, 2007; Timothy and Olsen, 2011 and UNWTO, 2012).

Although no statistics on religious tourism statistics havebeen compiled worldwide, some aspects of religious tourismhave been measured. According to the WTO (2012), ‘an estimated300 to 330 million pilgrims visit the world’s key religioussites every year’. The United States of America Office oftravel estimated that the number of Americans travellingoverseas for religious or pilgrimage purposes increased from491 000 travellers in 2002 to 633 000 in 2005. In Africa andZimbabwe in particular there are no statistics on religioustourism and no information on well defined religious tourismsites as compared to such tourism sub-categories like naturallandscapes and wild life (Sebastian, 2011; UNWTO, 2013).

In Zimbabwe tourism is run by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority(ZTA) a parastatal that was formed from the Tourism Act of1996 (Chapter 14:20) with a mandate of developing, managing,promoting and marketing Zimbabwe as a tourism destination bothin the local, regional and international market. ZTA’s mission

is to serve the interests of the tourism industry througheffective and efficient utilization of resources for thebenefit of the national economy.As a National TourismOrganization (NTO), ZTA is responsible for tourism promotion,planning and development, research and enforcement ofstandards and services. Its overarching goal is to promote thesustainable growth and development of tourism in Zimbabwe forthe social and economic benefit of the nation through settingand monitoring of standards, market research, productdevelopment, investment promotion and destination marketing.ZTA falls under the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality (ZTA,2013 and UNWTO, 2012).

1.2. Statement of the problem

The government of Zimbabwe forecasts to boost tourism earningsfrom US$1 billion in 2013 to US$5 billion by 2020. To do thisit launched the National Tourism Policy (NTP) on 24 July 2014.The NTP is set to introduce new tourism products, make thesector the first to sponsor itself in reaching the targets,engage foreign partners and design an incentive travel holidayscheme for civil service employees of at least one holiday ayear. Religious tourism was named among products fordiversification (The Daily news, 2014; The Herald, 2014, TheZimbabwe Independence, 2014; Financial Gazette, 2014 andChakanyuka, 2014).

Zimbabwe’s tourism is predominantly nature based and sufferscompetition from neighbouring countries which provide the sameproducts. National Parks and wildlife conservancies wereformed all over Africa as a result of the London Convention of1933. These places provide alternative places to view wildlife and natural landscape. For instance, Botswana reserved38% of its total land to wildlife and landscape viewing.Tourists from developed countries holiday in South Africa andfind no reason to proceed to Zimbabwe to view products whichare just the same as those found in abundance in South Africa.More so, tourism in Zimbabwe is underfunded. There has been no

research on the potential contribution of religious tourism toZimbabwe’s tourism industry.

Development of religious tourism in Zimbabwe can possibly playa pivotal role through diversifying the industry and expandingconference tourism. Diversification of the tourism industrywill not only create a new option for tourists but also boostexisting tourist destinations since tourism has a highelasticity of demand. Religion may extend beyond political andgeographic boundaries to link foreign players in the tourismindustry. More so, religious tourism in most cases attractsmass gatherings which may raise tourism earnings and improvehotel occupancy rates.

1.3. Objectives

1.3.1. General Objective

To assess the potential of religious tourism in Zimbabwe.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives

To identify the specific sites with potential forreligious tourism

To assess the viability of the identified sites astourism products

To analyse the potential contribution of religioustourism to the growth of the tourism industry in Zimbabwe

1.4. Justification of the Study

Given the absence of research on the potential of religioustourism in Zimbabwe, this type of research is necessary. Thegovernment has through its National Tourism Policy (NTP)called for the development of new tourism products. In view ofthis, it is necessary to examine an under-researched aspect ofZimbabwe’s tourism industry. To do this it is necessary to

identify and assess the specific sites with potential toattract religious tourists. Such tourism can help to improvethe livelihoods of communities in which these places arelocated. Information gathered from this research can be usedfor policy formulation. Tourists need information first beforetravel to locate, understand and access the destinations. Theproduct suppliers (religions) needed the information as wellto effectively utilise the opportunity to benefit from tourismand government.

1.5.Study Area

Map 1.1 Distribution of potential religioustourism in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a country located at about 20 degrees South and 30degrees East in Southern Africa region. It has a totalpopulation slightly above 13 million (ZIMSTAT, 2014). Majorreligions in Zimbabwe are Christianity, African traditionalreligions and Islam (IndexMundi, 2013; Danneel, 2012). Thedemographic survey of 2010 to 2011 showed distribution of thepopulation based on religion as follows Christians (85%),African traditional religion (3%), Islam and other religions(1%) and people reporting themselves as non-religious (12%)(ref). The major Christian communities and movements inZimbabwe are African Indigenous Churches, Anglican Church,Baptist Churches, Evangelical Churches, Lutheran Church,Methodist Churches, Orthodox Church, Pentecostal and AfricanInitiated Churches, Reformed Churches and Roman CatholicChurch. These form domestic religious tourism demography(NationMaster, 2014; JourneyMart, 2014).

Currently, only Zion Church of Christ (ZCC) Mbungo in Masvingoand the Celebration Centre in Harare have registered their status with ZTA as tourism destinations.ZCC was founded in 1925 by Bishop Samuel Mutendi in Bikita district of Masvingo Province and currently ministered by Nehemia Mutendi . Ordained as a ZCC minister, Mutendi founded the Rhodesian branch of the new church, with its headquarters near Nyika Halt in Bikita. Although he retained ideological and historical links with what was to become the largest ChristianChurch in South Africa, Lekganyane's ZCC, currently based in Pietersburg, he developed the Zimbabwean ZCC into a fully autonomous church, with an estimated 500,000 members in 1996. Zimbabwean-affiliated ZCC congregations also exist in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, United Kingdom, Americaand South Africa among other countries. ZCC at its Mbungo Estates in Masvingo constructed a big church complex at an estimated value of US$2 million making a conference centre with a capacity to accommodate over 40 000 people. That was the transformation of its once dull headquarters used to be a dusty compound dotted with small huts in the early 90s into a modern church headquarters replete with a guest house, offices, library and a communications centre (Anderson, 1998 and Daneel, 1971).

The Celebration Centre is a superb location capable of hostinga wide variety of functions. Set in beautiful landscaped gardens five minutes from the city centre of Harare in Zimbabwe, it is without doubt one of the premier conferencing venues in the SADC region. Comprising of a 3100 seat main

auditorium, four smaller venues and a 2 000 seat capacity outdoor amphitheatre; these facilities are complimented by an impressive marble foyer entrance, a public coffee shop with professional caterers, in-house security and technical supportincluding sound, lighting, video and multi-media skills (Celebrate, 2013).

1.6. Organisation of the study

Chapter 1 of this study introduced the problem statement and described the specific problem addressed in the study. Chapter2 presents a review of literature. Chapter 3 presents the methodology and procedures used for data collection and analysis while Chapter 4 contains data presentation and analysis. Chapter 5 contains discussion and Chapter 6 presentsconclusions and recommendations.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1. Introduction

A literature review is an evaluative report of informationfound in the literature related to the selected area of study,making an account of what has been published on the topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In other words it surveysscholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic. In this case the related literature is that to do with the identification, assessment and analysis ofreligious tourism.

2.2. Relevant Literature and Citations Identified

Religious tourism, also commonly referred to as faith tourism,is a type of tourism, where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes (Griffin and Raj, 2013)

The world's largest form of mass religious tourism takes placeat the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Meca, Saudi Arabia. North American religious tourists comprise an estimated $10 billion of the industry. Modern religious tourists are more able to

visit holy cities and holy sites around the world. The most famous holy cities are Mecca, Madina, Kabarla, Jerusalem and Varanasi. The most famous holy sites are the Kaaba, Rauza of Imam Hussain at Kabarla Church of the Naivity, The Western Wall and the Brahma Temple at Pushkar . Religious tourism has existed since antiquity. A study in 2011 found that 2.5 million people visited Karbala on the day of Arbaeen in 2013, pilgrims visited Jerusalem for a few reasons: to understand and appreciate their religion through a tangible experience, to feel secure about their religious beliefs, and to connect personally to the holy city (Raj and Morpeth, 2007; Timothy and Olsen, 2012 and UNWTO, 2013).

Religious tourism comprises many facets of the travel industryincluding pilgrimage, missionary travel, leisure (fellowship) vacations, faith-based cruising, crusades, conventions, rallies, retreats, monastery visits, guest-stays, faith-based camps and other religious tourist attractions (Barber, 1993; Kreiner and Kliot, 2000; Fleisher, 2000 and Jackson and Hudman, 2008). Pilgrimage journeys are dedicated to churches, temples, mosques, sacred mountains and places of divine visitations. Part of the various religions, they are regarded as sacred and spiritual places, where worshippers come to pray, ask for forgiveness or other form of  personal spirituality (Metreveli and Timothy,2010). Kreiner and Kliot (2000) reported that, “some tourists came to improve their religious faith while some were centred upon their knowledge of religion as a whole, as the case of Vatican City.” Religious tourism is often accepted as a modern kind of pilgrimage tourism (Tsai et al, 2002). Religious tourism and eco-tourism complement each other (Mu et al, 2007).

Although no statistics on religious tourism statistics havebeen compiled worldwide, some aspects of religious tourismhave been measured. According to the WTO (2012), ‘an estimated300 to 330 million pilgrims visit the world’s key religioussites every year’. The United States of America Office oftravel estimated that the number of Americans travellingoverseas for religious or pilgrimage purposes increased from

491 000 travellers in 2002 to 633 000 in 2005. In Africa andZimbabwe in particular there are no statistics on religioustourism and no information on well defined religious tourismsites as compared to such tourism sub-categories like naturallandscapes and wild life (Sebastian, 2011; UNWTO, 2013).

Singh, R. (2006) noted the presence of more than 28million pilgrims during the Hindu celebrations in River Ganges and regarded religion as one and only generator of income for the local community. Similar impacts were found by Vukonic (1992) in the case of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Jackowski and Smith (1992) in the Polish town of Czestochowa. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is probably the perfect example of thevalue of religion as the participants in the Hajj bring around$8 billion (Salih, 2008) turning pilgrimage into the second largest industry in the country (Aktas and Ekin, 2007)

Religion has an enormous influence in the daily life of Asiansand the four major religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity all playa major role in South-

East Asian society. Invariably, religious tourism in the region is closely linked to these faiths. Religions have inspired the construction of some of the most spectacular monuments in the region and all forms of art and architecture find expression in them. However, religious tourism has not been fully exploited due tothe high sensitivity of the subject, the lack of scientific data and its overwhelming domestic nature. The paper, while giving available statistical data, makes a case study ofthree of the leading destinations of South-East Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. While Thailand is essentially Buddhist, attempts have been made by the authorities to include ‘meditation tourism’ into the gamut of religious products while Malaysia and Indonesia toy with the promotion of ‘Islamic tourism’. Attention is drawn to the interplay of different religions in these countries and to the different tourism packages which can be marketed as regional products (Jackowski and Smith ,1992).

Previous research papers also reported positive socio-culturalimpacts like job creation from religious tourism (Evans, 1998). The most significant impact of pilgrimage centers fortunate to provide religious tourism products are more opportunities for local businesses and population especially employment opportunities(Ambrosio and Pereira, 2007 and Terzidou et al., 2008). However, community should consider some negative impacts like increased prices of goods and properties (Terzidou et al., 2008; Vukonic, 1992) and be aware about environment implications like pollution, overcrowding and environmental degradation (Shinde, 2007)

In Zimbabwe tourism is run by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority(ZTA) a parastatal that was formed from the Tourism Act of1996 (Chapter 14:20) with a mandate of developing, managing,promoting and marketing Zimbabwe as a tourism destination bothin the local, regional and international market. ZTA’s mission

is to serve the interests of the tourism industry througheffective and efficient utilization of resources for thebenefit of the national economy.As a National TourismOrganization (NTO), ZTA is responsible for tourism promotion,planning and development, research and enforcement ofstandards and services. Its overarching goal is to promote thesustainable growth and development of tourism in Zimbabwe forthe social and economic benefit of the nation through settingand monitoring of standards, market research, productdevelopment, investment promotion and destination marketing.ZTA falls under the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality (ZTA,2013 and UNWTO, 2012).

ZIM ASSET recognizes tourism as a potential quick win sector, with great potential for value addition services and export earnings. The signing of the UNWTO Golden Book on tourism by the His Excellency, The President in May 2012, signified Government’s highest commitment to the development of tourism in Zimbabwe. Accordingly and guided by the National Tourism Policy, Government in 2015 will continue to deepen efforts to ensure that tourism continues to be a vibrant growth node for the economy. Support interventions will target the following priority areas: Promotion of domestic tourism; enhancement of bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the field of tourism; destination marketing and brand Zimbabwe promotion; tourism legislation re-alignment; and tourism investment promotion. Furthermore, Government will continue to support the implementation of on-going programs that include the development of the Ports Authority, review of visa regime, open skies policy, and the finalization of the tourism satellite account ().

According to the Newsday, tourism minister Walter Mzembi yesterday described Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa as a tourist attraction, who draws huge crowds to his congregations. Mzembi added that the Ministry of Tourism was happy with the emergence of religious tourism in Zimbabwe.

This week’s event comes after United Methodist Church’s 117th anniversary yesterday that also drew thousands of parishioners locally and elsewhere.

Thousands of Jehovah's Witness parishioners have descended on Harare, snapping up all available hotel accommodation and spending millions of dollars as government's religious tourismpush pays off.

Walter Mzembi, the minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, told the Daily News on Sunday yesterday that prime hotel accommodation has been taken by the parishioners, who started trickling in from across the globe last week, with volunteers receiving them at the Harare International Airport.

The National Sports Stadium, the country's biggest stadium that is usually used as a convention venue by local celebrity preachers such as Emmanuel Makandiwa, was filled to the rafters as the witnesses started their convention in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

An elated Mzembi, who has been trying to market religious tourism, said government plans to cash in on the convention.

"That is very true, hotels have been filled up and you can hardly get any places to stay," Mzembi said.

"Some locals have vacated their houses to accommodate the foreigners."

Of the more than 60 000 witnesses who are attending church services at the giant National Sports Stadium, 3 500 are foreigners.

Mzembi, who has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) inaugural conference on Tourism and Pilgrimages to be held in Spain in September, said the Jehovah's Witness convention was a classicexample of what religious tourism can bring to the country.

Asked on the potential earnings that Zimbabwe could make, Mzembi said it was too early to estimate.

"Imagine 3 500 international visitors and they snap up all your accommodation all your prime accommodation," he said.

"If we say they spend an average of $1 000 per visit, that will be substantial and if you factor in the domestic component, which is actually bigger with at least 50 percent of the people who are in that stadium from outside Harare, that could be substantial."However, it is early days to start estimating expenditure."

While minibuses cashed on, shuttling the witnesses to and fromthe city centre, motorists complained about the congestion that ensued along the road leading to the conference.

Mzembi said it is now time for government to step in through the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and coordinate travelling and restore order.

Thousands of volunteers have been lined up not only to welcomethe international visitors, but also to assist the missionaries preach the gospel.

As well as showing the guests the tourist attractions around Harare and nearby areas, volunteers will organise music, danceand even offer accommodation to their comrades inprayers.

The shortage of hotel rooms in the country will most likely put pressure on government and the Harare City Council to consider constructing more hotels in the capital.

Already, a local company, owned by businessman, Farai Jere is in the process of working on statutory requirements to clear the way for the construction of Hilton Hotel in Harare. Jere'sStream Walk Recreational Arcade (Stream Walk) has reportedly secured guarantees and finances to the tune of $140 million tofinance construction of the hotel.

Stream Walk is in partnership with international hotelier Hilton World Wide to build the multi-million dollar "mixed-use" property in the prime Eastlea area.

- See more at: http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-religion-byo-52822.html#sthash.E02AuMro.dpuf

   

Samuel Mutendi was the founder of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). A muRozvi-Shona born in the Bikita district of Masvingo Province, he was raised and educated in the Dutch Reformed Church. Even as a young man, Mutendi had dreams and visions reflecting his church leadership ambitions. As a labor migrant in Pretoria, he firstobtained membership in the Zion Apostolic Faith Mission, then in 1925 broke away with EnginaseLekganyane and a few other keyfigures to form the ZCC. Ordained as a ZCC minister, Mutendi founded the Rhodesian branch of the new church, with its headquarters near Nyika Halt in Bikita. Although he retained ideological and historical links with what was to become the largest Christian Church in South Africa, Lekganyane's ZCC, currently based in Pietersburg, he developed the Zimbabwean ZCC into a fully autonomous church, with an estimated 500,000 members in 1996. Zimbabwean-affiliated ZCC congregations also exist in Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique.

As bishop of the ZCC, and unlike his Apostolic counterpart, John Maranke, Mutendi focused on building an impressive Zion City, or Moriah, with schools, church, a faith-healing "hospital," and other symbols of the presence of Christ, the Lamb of Mt. Zion (Rev. 14:1). In Zion City, Mutendi's leadership resembled both that of a Rozvi monarch and that of a messianic "man of God," as he is called by his followers. Asa black icon, he mirrored the life of Christ in an African setting. His resistance to oppressive colonial rule, which resulted in several detentions, added to his popularity and stature among African chiefs and commoners alike.

In ZCC theology preoccupation with human well-being through exorcistic healing and agro-economic development contributed toward a strong emphasis on this-worldly salvation. Zionist achievement and progress therefore became essential componentsof the Good News propagated by the ZCC. Nevertheless, Mutendi's church never forfeited its essentially missionary character. The annual paschal celebrations at Zion City serve as a springboard for massive missionary campaigns throughout Zimbabwe and beyond its borders-campaigns of witness, outreach, celebration, and healing that activate entire churchcommunities.

After Mutendi's death, a schism occurred, each faction operating under the leadership of one of his sons, Nehemiah and Ruben. The relationship between the two factions is markedby meaningful interaction rather than alienation.

Marthinus L. Daneel

This article is reproduced, with permission, from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, copyright © 1998, by Gerald H. Anderson, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.

Dream comes true for ZCC followers

August 7, 2011

The letters, made up of huge stones coated with white paint, were a bold sign for travellers that they were passing throughthe famous Mbungo Estates, the spiritual home of the Zion Christian Church.

But now the unmistakable letters have been eclipsed by a greenand white majestic conference centre with a capacity to accommodate over 15 000 people that is now the main spectacle in rural backwater, Bikita.

So imposing is the church complex that it’s a game changer forthe faithful, sending a message to outsiders that ZCC, whose roots can be traced back to 1913, remains vibrant in the face of sprouting Pentecostal churches led by young charismatic preachers.

And indeed this is a reality.

A team from The Standard that visited Mbungo last week was amazed by the transformation of the once dull headquarters of the ZCC into modern church headquarters, replete with a guest house, offices, library and a communications centre.

The big church complex constructed at an estimated US$2 million, is a sign of the rapidly changing fortunes of what used to be a dusty compound dotted with small huts that housedthe church faithful in the early 90s.

On Wednesday, Mbungo was brimming with young and old people, some in designer suits, and others with crude home-made sandals. They were the first to turn up for the annual ZCC pilgrimage that has been held at Defe for the past 34 years to commemorate the death of founder member, Bishop Samuel Mutendi.

This year, the pilgrimage was moved to Mbungo for the consecration of the new conference centre in a jamboree that ended yesterday.There was this mix of rural and urban people, one church official remarked, that made the ZCC such a formidable force on the religious landscape, with close to a million active members.

Now the church has branches in Botswana, Lesotho, UK, America and SA, among other countries.

While it was impossible for The Standard to meet ZCC leader Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi who was locked up in a dare (church meeting), officials described developments at Mbungo as exciting.

Sanctions Mutendi, who is the headmaster at Mutendi High School and an advisor to the Bishop, said it took them five years to construct their multi-purpose centre.

He said ZCC meetings were never destined to be held under the trees.

“The ZCC built churches in the colonial times starting with one at Mutawarira,” he said.

“Six of these churches were however destroyed by authorities who associated the rise in black independent church movements with nationalism.”

He also talked about opposition by main line churches against the founder of ZCC, who was also building schools.

 

The history of the Zion Christian Church

According to church officials, the founder of ZCC, Bishop Samuel Mutendi, started speaking in tongues in 1913 while he was still a member of the British South African Police in Chegutu, then Hartley.

Some in the Dutch church developed a dim view of him thinking he was possessed by multiple demons.

Mutendi had to go to South Africa where he identified himself with the ZCC in Transvaal. The former policeman came back a powerful preacher armed with a spiritual rod dubbed mapumhangozi.

How the charismatic Mutendi acquired and used mapumhangozi is steeped in both mystery and controversy but what is generally agreed is that the stick was handy when he performed miracles.

This, together with his powerful teachings, helped him grow his church from a small congregation in Bikita to one of the largest religious organisations with wings across the country and beyond.

Bishop Mutendi was forced to relocate to Defe in Gokwe in the 60s. When he died on July 20 1976 his son, Nehemiah, moved thechurch back to Masvingo in 1981.

Nehemiah pursued his father’s dream by building schools and modernising the church.

Double storey structures at Mbungo, dubbed “The Land of Peace”, bear testimony to his transformative agenda.

NyashaMarufu, a telecommunications student, travelled all the way from Algeria for the pilgrimage.

“I wasn’t born in ZCC, I was converted,” said Marufu beaming with pride.

“Some people look down upon our church, but they do know that it is offering the community schools, values and shokorowedenga (word of God) that is helping many people,” he said.

 

ZCC criticised for ‘exploiting’ the faithful

But like other churches in Zimbabwe, ZCC, which is well-known for faith healing, has received its fair share of criticism for accepting donations from people who are too poor to part with their cash and beasts.

Villagers also trek to Mbungo estates to plant church crops and they are involved in harvesting them.

However, a church official, who preferred not to be named for protocol related reasons, said such criticisms by outsiders were unfounded.

“ZCC, unlike other churches, has no donors. Party members fundwhatever costs that are associated with running the church. They do it voluntarily, knowing that if they don’t do it, the church will collapse,” said the official.

He pointed at the massive buildings at Mbungo as the result ofthe work of church members’ sacrifices.

He said ZCC was also giving back to the community by running anumber of schools and sponsoring more than 300 disadvantaged children to acquire an education.

Between 61 to 100 students were being assisted with universityfees, he added.

Celebration Centre: The Building That Couldn't BePosted on April 26, 2013 by Celebrate

story

Africa is often referred to as the 'dark continent', a derogatory description that connotes hopelessness and backwardness. But for Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle, Africa has always been a fascinating continent full of promise; poised for spiritual reformation for the gospel of the Kingdom. With this positive perception, they have elected to strategically use Celebration Centre (a community centre) in Harare, Zimbabwe as a springboard for reaching out to other African countries.

Pastor Tom Deuschle wrote in his book Building People, Building Dreams:

We wanted it to be a centre of reformation for the nations; a community centre that would serve as a platform for reaching

not only the city, but also the rest of Zimbabwe and the neighbouring countries with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hadno idea how God was going to do it, but we had already seen enough miracles to know that another would not be difficult for Him.

The Celebration Centre was conceived when, one morning, while driving through an up-market suburb, Pastor Tom sensed God directing him towards a specific property. He had been searching for a piece of land on which to build the church forover eight years. After inquiring as to its zoning designationat the City Council, he discovered that it was a Green belt area and therefore, could not be developed or bought.

The church, however, convinced that this was God's plan for their community centre, persevered in applying for the land but were turned down repeatedly over a period of five years! In 1995, they were finally granted permission by the City Council to purchase the land. It then took another two years for them to raise the money to acquire it. The building itselftook another seven years to construct. During the worst economic inflation the world has seen in recent times, the church paid cash for and built a magnificent building which they called Celebration Centre. Today the building stands as atestimony of God's limitless awesome power.

Celebration Centre is a superb location capable of hosting a wide variety of functions. Set in beautiful landscaped gardensfive minutes from the city centre of Harare in Zimbabwe, it iswithout doubt one of the premier conferencing venues in the SADC region.

Comprising of a 3,100 seat Main Auditorium, four smaller venues and a 2,000 seat capacity outdoor Amphitheatre; these facilities are complimented by an impressive marble foyer entrance, a public coffee shop with professional caterers, in-house security and technical support including sound, lighting, video and multi-media skills.

Celebration Centre Fact Box

Main Auditorium seats 3,100 inclusive of balcony with 820seats.

Amphiteathre seats 2,500, the two areas (Main auditorium Stage and Outdoor Amphiteatre stage) are the only two combined in/outdoor stages in Africa.

The seats in the auditorium were manufactured in Spain with advance acoustic dampening quality.

The main foyer area has a specifically designed dome thatcreates an echo at its central point said to reverberate 78 times a second! As it is in heaven so it shall be on earth—what goes up comes down.

There are 640 marked parking bays with a further 200 car capacity overflow parking area.

In a heavy thunderstorm, the gutter drains seven tonnes of water per minute off the main roof.

The roof sheets on the main auditorium expand and contract 63mm every day.

Each foundation is 3.5 metres deep, the biggest excavation could house a 40-foot container intact and hasa bible buried therein.

Over two million screws were used to hold the building skin together.

250,000 litres of paint were used to decorate initially. 2,500 bulbs are in place throughout the building.

Several prestigious events and celebrated personalities have been to Celebration Community Centre including:

Chinese Disabled Performing Artists The late Mamma Miriam Makeba, South Africa Oliver Mtukudzi and his late son Sam, Zimbabwe Steven Covey, USA John Maxwell, USA Alvin Slaughter, USA Lachel Griffin, USA Angel Mission Team (GOD TV) Citi Hope International World Children's Fund Drakensberg Boys' Choir Robin Banks Daniel Vega Johnny Wimbrey Patricia Glynn

Celebration Centre, 162 Swan DriveBorrowdale, Harare, ZimbabwePostal Address: P.O. Box HG 88Highlands, Harare, ZimbabweTel: +263-4-850-880/87Email: info@celebrate.orgwww.celebrate.org

2.3. Critical Analysis of the identified Literature 2.4. Literature Context to the Problem 2.5.Summary

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1. Introduction

Research methodology is a process used to collect informationand data for the purpose of coming up with results and fordecision making (Wisker, 2009).

3.2. Research Philosophy

This researcher used a mixed approach as both qualitative andquantitative approaches were utilised. The research requiresboth qualitative and quantitative methods to triangulate andback up one set of findings from one method of data collectionunderpinned by one methodology, with another differentmethodology. Qualitative methods are essential due to the factthat some social aspects need to be derived from ZCC the casestudy and entire religions to get an in-depth understandingthrough interviews and direct observations to assist in theassessment of religious tourism viability; this method ingeneral generates words. Quantitative research methods such asquestionnaires are also required for the great part of theresearch will be dealing with statistics in analyzing the

potential contribution of religious tourism to the tourismindustry (Rotchford).

3.3. Research Design

The researcher adopted two types of research design for this

study, case study and descriptive designs.

A case study is an in-depth study of a particular researchproblem rather than a sweeping statistical survey orcomprehensive comparative inquiry. It is often used to narrowdown a very broad field of research into one or a few easilyresearchable examples. The case study research design is alsouseful for testing whether a specific theory and modelactually applies to phenomena in the real world. It is auseful design when not much is known about an issue orphenomenon. The selected case study for this research is ZionChristian Church (ZCC) Mbungo headquarters in Bikita, Masvingo(Jeane, 1999).

Descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. The researcher found this design to be effective in identifying the religious tourism sites and get an overview of major religions as far as religious tourism is concerned and to identify general movements which resample tourism in those religions.

3.4. Research Population

The population comprised. The list of ...was obtained

from ..... The population comprises

3.5. Sampling Procedure

Saunders et al (2007) stated that sampling techniques can be

categorised into probability and non-probability sampling

techniques. With probability sampling the chance of each case

being selected from population is known and is usually equal

whereas in non-probability the chance of being selected from

the total population is not known.

The researcher used probability sampling technique and used

stratified sampling in selecting respondents in .....place.

The religions were grouped into various strata according to

the type of religion. Random sampling, which is a probability

sampling method, was then used within each stratum to select

respondent religion. They were approached at first sight and

asked politely to participate in the study. Those who

cooperated were given questionnaires to complete.

3.6. Sample Size

Malhotra (2007) advised that an optimal size is important if

meaningful deductions are to be drawn from research study. He

states that too large a sample brings administrative burden

and costs while too small a sample give inaccurate results.

The sample size for this study was determined using the sample

size table (see appendix V)

NAME OF SME SECTOR NUMBER OF SMEs IN

STRATUM

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS

SELECTED

Services 35 32

Mining 17 16

Manufacturing 32 30

Agriculture 18 17

TOTAL 102 95

Table 3.1: Sample Size

A total of 95 SMEs were selected to participate in the study

and 102 SMEs clients agreed to participate in the study out of

the targeted 190 clients which were to represent two clients

from each SME. Officials from SEDCO and Ministry of Small and

Medium Enterprises were also respondents.

3.7. Research Instruments

These are part of the Research Design above, therefore theyhad already been alluded to as questionnaire, interview,observations and reading. Questionnaires are required to learnwhat the respondence know, think, expect, feel or prefer andor what they have or have not done. Interviews are as wellrelevant to find out what is on someone’s mind so are going tobe directed to professional employees with relevant skills andunderstanding of electrical accidents. Observations are partof the research instruments during work placement period wheretargeted sites visited, creating images and record relevantdata for the research. Reading ZETDC, NSSA and other relevantsources of compiled data on electrical accidents aresignificant for this research (Wisker, 2009).

The researcher used questionnaire, interviews, observations

and reading as the main data collection instruments.

3.7.1 Questionnaire

Two sets of structured questionnaires containing both closed

and open questions were used for this study, one for SMEs

representatives and one for SMEs clients. The questionnaire

is most suitable to the survey research design (Labovitz and

Hagedorn 2008). This method was used in order to capture the

desired information and consequently to produce quality

results. The advantages of using questionnaire were that they

were administered to a large number of people at the same

time. Moreover, this proved to be cost effective and

convenient in collecting data (Ferber 2006). Thus considering

a sample size of 95 SMEs and 190 SMEs clients it was a large

population which justify use of questionnaire.

Furthermore, the questionnaire permitted respondents time to

consider their responses carefully without interference from

the researcher. Questionnaire also allowed uniformity, since

respondents received identical set of questions.

Questionnaire also permitted anonymity. Anonymity increase

response rate, (Malhotra, 2009). In this research the

questionnaires were mostly closed –ended questionnaires to

allow for standardised responses which made the compilation

and data analysis of these responses easier (Milne ,2008).

Open ended questions were used to probe for more information

on perceptions regarding factors influencing e-business

adoption and perceived benefits to SMEs.

The researcher followed Neuman (2008) principles for writing

survey questions that is avoiding jargon, slang, ambiguity,

confusion, vagueness, emotional language, prestige, bias and

double barrelled questions. A 5 scale Likert scale was used

in designing some of the questions in the SMEs questionnaire.

The Likert scale is used to measure attitudes towards stimulus

objects (Cooper and Schindler 2008). In this research,

respondents’ attitude towards given statements were sought

hence relevance of the Likert scale.

3.7.2 Interviews

The researcher used face to face in depth interviews to

directly source first hand information from SEDCO and Ministry

of SMEs officials in Mutare urban. The whole issue of

interviewing was concerned with gaining insights and

determining meaning from an interactional relationship between

the researcher and interviewees.

Interviews provided a number of advantages such as

flexibility. They provided the researcher with detailed fresh

information that the research had not predicted or

anticipated.

The interview guide were used specifically to solicit

information on the benefits derived from SMEs adopting e-

business in their operations, the barriers faced by SMEs in

adopting e-business, strategies the government is putting in

place to facilitate e-business adoption in SMES, as well as

information as to whether e-business adoption is really

necessary considering the current market performance in terms

of production and market satisfaction.

3.8. Data Collection Procedures

Data collection procedures seek to give a plan and consistenceto the research design of the empirical research inidentifying reliable and valid data. Therefore this part seeksto answer the following questions;

How is the data collected? When is the data collected? Who is responsible for collecting the data? Where is the data stored? and How do we ensure that the data is correct? (Bala, 2005)

1. How is the data collected?2. When is the data collected?3. Who is responsible for collecting the data?4. Where is the data stored?

The data will be stored as hard copies and soft copies. Thehard copies the likes of questionnaires, interview guidesand reports will be stored in hard copy files and softcopies will be stored in computer storage such as flash,computer hard drive in the documents and email. The files inall styles will be identified by the name Komo Research.

5. How do we ensure that the data is correct?

3.9. Data Analysis Procedure and Presentation

The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social

Science (SPSS) version 19. Frequency distributions were drawn

for responses on the questionnaire and pictorial presentations

namely pie charts and bar charts were used to give a

comparative picture of responses. ANOVA test was used to

verify whether e-business is influenced by availability of

infrastructure or not. The Chi-square tests were used to

test association between awareness of perceived benefits of e-

business adoption and use and the extent of e-business

adoption, relationship between age and e-business adoption,

relationship between SMEs clients aware on SMEs using e-

business platform and SME clients’ involvement in e-business

technologies. The Chi-square test was also used to test for

perceived barrier dependence.

3.10. Validity

The research instruments were designed to measure what they

were supposed to measure, each section on the questionnaire

and interview guide corresponds to research question ensuring

validity. The SMEs were chosen at random reducing sample bias

and distribution of questionnaires was uniform in the selected

SMEs. The respondents were subjected to the same questions

under similar conditions reducing random errors and

confounding effects. The sample was representative and large

enough making results statistically significant and the

results generalisable to the whole country.

3.11. Reliability

A pre-test was conducted to remove ambiguities and errors from

the research instruments. Cronbachs Alpha was 0.83 which is

greater than 0.6 and shows that the questionnaires are

reliable and consistent (Mattila, 2003). The standardised

questionnaires were used on the sample to ensure that they

would yield similar findings.

3.12. Ethical Considerations

The researcher followed internationally recognised research

ethics.

Glesne and Peshkin (1992) cited in Knobel and Lankshear

(2004) propose seeking, obtaining , documenting and honouring

informed consent as indissolubly related to issues of trust

and honesty entailing the researcher’s obligations to protect

the privacy and to respect the dignity of all the

participants.

In this study, the researcher assigned numbers to the returned

questionnaires and not names of respondents ensuring

anonymity. The researcher also presented statistics and not

raw data to protect the respondents. The researcher was not

biased and did not temper with the information provided and

the findings of the research.

3.13. Chapter Summary

In this chapter the mixed methods approach and survey design

were adopted and presented to solicit information on the

extent of adoption and use of e-business in SMEs in Mutare.

Questionnaire and interviews were used as the main research

instruments. The chapter also presented steps taken to ensure

validity and reliability and upholding of research ethics.

BibliographyFleischer, A. (2000) The tourist behind the pilgrim in the Holy Land.International Journal of Hospitality Management,19, pp. 311

Marthinus L. Daneel, Old and New in Southern Shona Independent Churches, vol. 1, Background and Rise of the Major Movements (1971Gerald H. Anderson, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Biographical Dictionary of Christian Barber, R. (1993). Pilgrimages. London: The Boydell Press16Collins-Kreiner, N. and Kliot, N. (2000) Pilgrimage tourism inthe Holy Land: The behavioural characteristics of Christian pilgrims, GeoJournal, 50, pp. 55

Tsai, C. F., Hsiao, C. H., Chen, C., & Huan, T. C. (2002). Holy land constraints, experience and willingness to revisit. Fu-Ran Religion Research, 12,pp. 198

Rinschede, G. (1992) Forms of religious tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 19(1), pp. 51

Mu, Z., Li, H., Jian-Hong, W., Ji, L., Yan-Geng, J. and Xiting, L. (2007) Religious tourism and cultural pilgrimage: A Chinese perspective, in: R. Raj and N.D. Morpeth (Eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management, an InternationalPerspective, pp. 153 (Wallingford, UK: CABI)

Jackson, R.H. and Hudman, L. (1995) Pilgrimage tourism and english cathedrals: The role of religion in travel,Tourist Review, 50(4), pp. 40 Singh, S. (2004) Religion, heritage and travel: Case references from the Indian Himalayas, Current Issues in Tourism,7(1), pp. 44

Clift, J. D., & Clift, W. B. (1996). The archetype of pilgrimage: Outer action with inner meaning. Mahwah, NJ: PaulistPress

Shuo,Y., Ryan,C. and Lio,G.(2009) Taoism, temples and tourists: The case of Mazu pilgrimage tourism. TourismManagement 30 (2009) ,pp.581

Joseph, C. and Kavoori, A. (2001) Mediated resistance: Tourismand the host community, Annals of TourismResearch, 28(4), pp. 998

Shackley, M. (2001). Managing sacred sites: service provision and visitor experience.London: Continuum

Timothy, D.J., & Nyaupane, G.P. (2009). Cultural heritage and tourism in the developing world: A regional perspective. London: Routledge

Brunet, S., Bauer, J., De Lacy, T. and Tshering, K. (2001)Tourism development in Bhutan: Tensions between traditionand modernity.  Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Marinov,S.(2009). Perspectives for religious tourism development in Bulgaria.(In Bulgarian Only) Hotels & Restaurants Magazine,Vol.3,Year 6,pp.7-8 

31Eade, J. (1992) Pilgrimage and tourism: Lourdes, France, Annals of Tourism Research, 19, pp. 18

Pfaffenberger, B. (1983) Serious pilgrims and frivolous tourists: The chimera of tourism in the pilgrimages of SriLanka, Annals of Tourism Research, 10, pp. 57

Singh, R. (2006). Pilgrimage in hinduism: historical context and modern perspectives. In D. J. Timothy, & D. H. Olsen(Eds.), Tourism, religion, and spiritual journeys (pp. 220236). London: Routledge.Salih, W. (2003) A letdown by Tabung Haji, New Straits Times, Malaysia, 27 February.35Aktas, A. and Ekin, Y. (2007) Case study: The importance and the role of faith (religious) tourism in the alternativetourism resources in Turkey, in: R. Raj and N.D. Morpeth (Eds) Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management, AnInternational Perspective, pp. 170–183 (Wallingford, UK: CABI)

Anastas, Jeane W. Research Design for Social Work and the Human Services. Chapter 4,Flexible Methods: Case Study Design. 2nd ed. New York: Columbia UniversityPress, 1999; Stake, Robert E. The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA:SAGE, 1995; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Theory. Applied SocialResearch Methods Series, no. 5. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2003.