PRIME Minister Morgan Tvangirai was yesterday asked to intervene to ensure Zimbabwe’s rights to host this year’s United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) are not taken away because of discord in the inclusive government.
REPORT BY MOSES MATENGA
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi told Tsvangirai the world tourism body had expressed doubts the country can hold the event set for Victoria Falls when Finance Minister Tendai Biti reportedly said the country had $217 in its coffers after paying civil servants last month.
Mzembi told journalists after meeting the PM at his Charter House offices in Harare that the reports had created “unnecessary anxiety” among officials at UNWTO.
“I told him a few things that gave UNWTO anxiety like the bank balance presented by Biti of $217 and they sought to understand how we would host the assembly,” he said.
“I told them that even the visit with my delegation to Spain did not cost the little money.
“I advised them to dismiss that statement as a statement taken out of context as he (Biti) agreed when I approached him after Cabinet and said that he was quoted out of context.”
Biti reportedly made the statements, which received widespread international publicity, at a Press conference in Harare, but the minister said he was quoted out of context.
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Mzembi said the concerns were raised in Spain where he attended a UNTWO event last week.
“As we advance towards the assembly it causes despondency, but happily we came back with Zimbabwe and Zambia getting a clean bill of health,” he said.
“He (Biti) has not yet released the money, which is around $12 million (to host the conference), but my Zambian counterpart has been resourced with $20 million.
“And with the PM as the implementer in government and execution is his brief, I told him to play his part.”
Mzembi said he had also agreed with Tsvangirai in their meeting that Zimbabwe must go for elections before the world tourism event in August.
“We concluded with the PM that if elections were held before the assembly, it would present a unique brand opportunity for any future government,” he said.
“It’s a good branding window.”
Alex Magaisa, the chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, confirmed the meeting, saying Mzembi was briefing his boss on the preparations for the assembly.
“He had come to appraise his boss who is responsible for policy implementation in government,” he said.
“We are holding a serious UNWTO event otherwise we risk losing it if there is nothing from government.
“Mzembi mentioned that it puts him in an embarrassing position, but he managed to solve it. This is an international event, and we don’t want the embarrassment of losing it for any reason whether economic, political or otherwise.
“And this is an opportunity to present the good part of our character as a country.” Zimbabwe is set to co-host the UNWTO assembly together with Zambia in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.
