President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa will preside over the official opening of the Sanganai/ Hlanganani/ Kumbanayi tourism expo in Mutare.
This year’s Expo is being held under the theme, “Devolving Sustainable Tourism Development – Our Future.”
The Expo was moved away from its traditional home, The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds in Bulawayo to Mutare as government decentralizes national events.
However, it is reported that over US$2 million spent in hosting the event due to venue change.
Mutare had no facilities to house the event and a lot of money had to be pumped in, which should not have been the case.
Hosting the event in Bulawayo usually cost an average of US$500 000, but now it has shot up to US$2 million, creating opportunities for officials to make money.
“The Sanganai/Hlanganani which is now set to be held from 10-12 September was moved from Bulawayo to Mutare officially to enable other places to also host it, but this does not add any value to the event and in fact makes it more expensive.
“We usually spent an average of US$500 000 on the event as Bulawayo has the necessary infrastructure at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds to host the tourism event at a competitive cost and return.
“But now the expo has been arbitrarily moved elsewhere by authorities using their powerful offices and political power, not economic imperatives and calculations. The costs will now be over US$2 million, but the returns will not change much.
“Moving around the event to different places across the country sounds like a good idea, but then again it is not an economic imperative, it’s a luxury and a political action for officials to make money.
“In this specific case, the minister, who is a well-known businesswoman in her own right, and her officials and their cronies have a self-serving agenda: to make money for themselves through various infrastructure, procurement and supply deals,” a source told Newshawks.
