HARARE - South Africa's business mogul and former African National Congress (ANC) boss, Cyril Ramaphosa, who was supposed to grace this year's Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), has pulled out at the last minute.
ZITF bosses refused to comment on the “sensitive’ issue preferring to say that he had told them that he was “busy” and, therefore, could not attend the annual business extravanganza.
Ramaphosa has been replaced by Johnny Smith, Chief Executive of theWalvis Bay Corridor from Namibia.
Investigations reveal that Ramaphosa had in fact not agreed to address the conference and the advertisement had been sent out “prematurely”.
Questions sent to the ZITF in writing had not been answered at the time of going to press.
African Development Bank President, Dr Donald Kaberuka, will officially open the fair – the first time a non Head of State or Government has done so.
A ZITF spokesperson said this year’s focus was to create an open forum for public and private sector discussion on how to develop and exploit Zimbabwe’s competitive advantage.
Once rated as the largest and most influential gathering of local and international business leaders in Zimbabwe, the annual ZITF is now very mediocre and has been overshadowed by other international events such as the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA).
Many foreign exhibitors have pulled the plug on the ZITF saying Zimbabwe is not a good investment destination, has lopsided investment regulations and its government under President Robert Mugabe does not respect property rights, among other problems.
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