THE Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo — our supposed showcase to the world — has instead exposed Zimbabwe’s addiction to shortcuts, cronyism and waste.
The event exposed the rot of patronage politics and financial impropriety.
The decision to shift the event from the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds in Bulawayo to a makeshift tented venue at Mutare Sports Club raised eyebrows from the start.
Now, allegations abound: local businesses sidelined, contracts handed to politically-connected elite and hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on temporary structures and mobile toilets.
Government might want to call it innovation.
But the public will call it what it is: a “wedding tent economy” dressed up as international tourism promotion.
A lot of money was reportedly spent on temporary structures, mobile toilets and road patchwork that will vanish as soon as the last delegate leaves.
Local businesses, the very backbone of tourism, were pushed aside while politically connected middlemen cashed in.
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The result? A flagship expo that looked more like a backyard wedding than a serious international event.
Why host an international expo in hired tents when permanent facilities exist — or better yet, when Zimbabwe could invest in building a world-class exhibition centre?
The answer, sadly, is as old as Zanu PF itself: rent-seeking, cronyism and the looting of public resources under the guise of national events.
As local entrepreneurs were excluded and the well-connected feasted, this was not just economic malpractice; it was sabotage of tourism itself.
What message was sent to the world when our premier tourism fair looked like a temporary wedding reception, complete with inadequate toilets and flimsy infrastructure?
Zimbabwe’s tourism sector deserves better.
Our entrepreneurs deserve inclusion, not exclusion.
Our taxpayers deserve accountability, not secrecy.
If it is true that certain individuals benefited from the malpractice, considering that Zimbabwe’s tourism potential is immense, that potential will remain stunted so long as national showcases are reduced to feeding troughs for a few.
The Tourism ministry must account for every dollar spent.
Contracts must be audited.
And if this expo was, indeed, hijacked for political patronage, heads must roll.
The scandal of Mutare is not just about tents and toilets.
It is about a government that continues to confuse development with enrichment of the few, while the many are left on the sidelines.
Until accountability replaces cronyism, Sanganai/Hlanganani will not be a celebration of Zimbabwe’s promise — but a display of its betrayal.
This is where Parliament and the Auditor-General must step in.
They must demand a full audit of the funds, contracts and decisions behind this expo.
Without transparency and accountability, Zimbabwe’s tourism brand will be tarnished and citizens will remain trapped in the shadow of endless patronage.
This cannot be left to officials alone.
Citizens must demand answers.
Taxpayers must insist on transparency.
Local businesses must refuse to be sidelined in silence.
Tourism workers, entrepreneurs and communities who stand to benefit from a thriving sector must raise their voices.
If government will not hold itself accountable, then the people must force it to.
What happened in Mutare is not a mistake.
It is a system. A system where government prefers the quick rent-seeking deal over long-term investment.
A system where contracts are about who you know, not what you deliver.
A system where taxpayers’ money builds temporary toilets instead of lasting infrastructure.
We run the risk of seeing Sanganai/Hlanganani as less a celebration of Zimbabwe’s potential and more a stage for our leaders’ betrayal — a “toilet tourism showcase” that flushes opportunity down the drain.
