Here at The Hunting Report, we have always found TAHOA (Tanzania Hunting Operators Association) President Gerard Pasanisi of Tanganyika Wildlife Safaris to be an impeccable source of information, and Pasanisi says current operators in Tanzania who have performed up to standard during the current allocation period will automatically get their areas back - end of story, quit worrying. Moreover, he says the government is going to publish the performance record of all current companies through 1998 soon, and The Hunting Report will get a copy. We certainly hope Pasanisi's rosy view of the way things are going to unfold in Tanzania is right because an orderly reallocation will mean a stable safari industry there well into the next millennium. Rest assured, we are going to keep our ear to the ground on this important issue, because it vitally affects all of you out there who are hesitating to put money down on a year 2000 and beyond safari to Tanzania.
Still in Tanzania, there is also the issue of that 20 percent VAT (Value Added Tax) on the daily rate. Is it going to be levied by the government? Here, even Pasanisi could not provide clarity. Reached in his office in Nice, France, at press time, Pasanisi said he had officially asked the government for an answer to the VAT question but had not yet received an answer. Meanwhile, safari operators seem to be all over the lot in their reaction to the tax, with some of them charging clients for it upfront, others pooh-poohing it and still others doing wild things like telling clients the VAT will be applicable only to charges for food. Our guess (and fair warning, that's all it is at this point - a........(continued)
