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NewsDay

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Zimbabwe will never learn from the past

Opinion & Analysis
Sadly, the Zanu PF-led government seems to be splashing a lot of resources on rallies to bolster its hold on power and ignoring various things

In June this year it was announced amid much pomp and funfare that Zimbabwe had won the bid to host one of the biggest summits in Africa, the International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA).

NewsDay Editorial

Announcing the outcome of the assessment that was carried out over three days, ICASA president Ihab Ahmed profusely thanked President Robert Mugabe, who is also the current African Union chairperson, for accepting to host the event.

The conference, which will bring together scientists, policymakers, activists, people living with HIV and some civil society representatives, is expected to review HIV and Aids response mechanisms adopted by countries as well as come up with ways of strengthening the partnership among governments and co-operating partners.

However, six weeks before the grand affair kicks off, the prospects of holding the event look bleak after it has emerged that the country was struggling to raise the $3,6 million required to host the event.

Frantic attempts by the Health ministry and partners to rope in the private sector might just be a tad too late to pull off a world-class conference.

There has not been much publicity around the event despite the fact that it might actually be the biggest event Zimbabwe has hosted in years and present the country with a golden opportunity to market itself to the international community by attracting over 7 000 guests.

This raises the question: Why had government offered to host the event before being sure of its financial capacity?

The failure, after assuring the whole continent, has the potential of further destroying the country’s image.

But, after successfully co-hosting the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in 2013 with Zambia, we had hoped that the government would be more serious about preparing for international events and spare the country of continuous embarrassment.

Sadly, the government seems to be sliding back to its old ways. Memories are still green on how the soccer-loving nation was stripped of its right to host the African Nations Cup in 2000 that was later co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria because Zimbabwe was ill-prepared and had not invested in infrastructure development.

While it is commendable that the Health ministry and partners like the National Aids Council fought hard to win the bid ahead of other countries, it will all go to waste if there are no resources to back up the splendid speeches that were given when the bid was won.

It is unfortunate that the Zanu PF-led government seems to be splashing a lot of resources on rallies to bolster its hold on power and ignoring various issues that have a bearing on people’s lives.

Much effort was put into winning the bid, yet government seems to have weaned everything to the hard-pressed private sector, surely setting the country for another embarrassing episode.

There is need for government to respect its international obligations.