The Permanent Secretary in the tourism ministry, Sylvester Maunganidze, told a parliamentary committee on natural resources this week: “We were competing with big nations and wanted to win so we went with pictorial evidence which was exaggerated and we won. But now its reality and we have to meet the standard presented.”
Zimbabwe will co-host the event with Zambia next August. When they won the bid 3,000 delegates were expected, but on a recent visit to Spain the ministry learnt that this had risen to 4,000.
“Most of the money promised is still on paper making it difficult to develop Victoria Falls to levels we were aiming at. Until such funds are made available I will be selling an imaginary Victoria Falls,” Maungidze said, adding that he was embarrassed to have to lie that Air Zimbabwe was flying internationally when it was not.