Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Walter Mzembi has implored President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to evaluate trips before making them.
He says a cartel of bureaucrats who survive & subsist on Travel & Subsistence (T&S) claims most lucrative on Presidential trips is part of the justifications presented to an unsuspecting President who falls prey to this gravy trips.
Mzembi adds that in the end, the President’s largest audience during the 10 -15 minute deliveries becomes his own T&S Delegation plus some hired diaspora citizens and anything “white” in colour and race often vagabonds.
He points out that the frontline audience will ofcourse be the Conference Organisers and a few credible business entities who are often made to pay for one on one audiences or special audience.
“It is really up to a President unless he is playful to evaluate whether these trips are of national value or bureaucratic/ personal value,” he says.
Mzembi questions why are these trips never convened at home so all this income spent on other destinations becomes part of a country’s earnings in a well conceived MICE strategy?
He says after Dubai Expo 2020 the extra capacity that hosted the entire world at some stage must continue to be utilised in these excuses of Global or World Summits, unfortunately Africa without much due diligence is the first to arrive & last to leave!
It is so obvious a SCAM in the end it cant escape scrutiny.
Mzembi writes:
Dubai is the Conferencing Capital of the world. It has envisioned Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions
(MICE) as one of its pull factors.
Its Thinkers & Strategists envision, conceive and design themes which invariably they always brand as Global something, World something to enhance the appeal and attractiveness of these meetings.
They target susceptible governments always on the hunt for validation and endorsements and whose home populations are restive and anxious for solutions.
Meanwhile a cartel of Bureaucrats who survive & subsist on Travel & Subsistence (T&S) claims most lucrative on Presidential trips is part of the justifications presented to an unsuspecting President who falls prey to this gravy trips.
In the end, the President ‘s largest audience during the 10 -15 minute deliveries becomes his own T&S Delegation plus some hired diaspora citizens and anything “white” in colour and race often vagabonds.
The frontline audience will ofcourse be the Conference Organisers and a few credible business entities who are often made to pay for one on one audiences or special audience.
It is really up to a President unless he is playful to evaluate whether these trips are of national value or bureaucratic/ personal value.
Why are these trips never convened at home so all this income spent on other destinations becomes part of a country’s earnings in a well conceived MICE strategy?
After Dubai Expo 2020 the extra capacity that hosted the entire world at some stage must continue to be utilised in these excuses of Global or World Summits, unfortunately Africa without much due diligence is the first to arrive & last to leave!
It is so obvious a SCAM in the end it can’t escape scrutiny.
Mnangagwa literally addressed 37 delegates at the 78th edition of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recently.
Most of them seemed to be part of his own traveling team.
Commenting on he described as a ‘walk out’ political commentator Ali Naka said: “Zimbabwe’s recent election was free, fair, credible and transparent”
“Diplomats walked out immediately.
“The Unelectable one is addressing his delegation from Zimbabwe at the meeting. He took a delegation of 75 people to the UNGA78 yet he addressed 37 people.”
Commenting earlier on, ZANU PF Patriots said: “Presidents address at UNGA rarely attract a full house, giving example of German Chancellor who literally addressed empty seats.
Mnangagwa incredibly told the whole world that the country’s recent disputed elections were “free, fair, transparent and credible”.
However, the elections have been widely rejected by the opposition, civil society and a wide section of Zimbabweans as shambolic and a sham.
Even the Southern African Development Community election observer mission rejected the polls, saying they didn’t meet the benchmarks of Zimbabwe’s constitution, electoral law and its principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the UN that the SADC report has not yet been finalised and it doesn’t invalidate the elections, but merely points out flaws for in the electoral process for improvement.
He said the regional body would meet and deliberate on the report.
Ramaphosa demand the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe, which is reeling from political and economic problems due to leadership, governance and policy failures.
Zwnews
