TOURISM players operating in Masvingo have been urged to take
advantage of the Sanganai/Hlanganani and showcase their wares.
Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Fair has been slated for 10-12 October at
the Harare Conference Centre in Harare.
The fair runs under the theme, “Where the World Meets Africa”
More than 900 exhibitors have registered for the premier tourism
showcase of which 43 are foreign exhibitors.
In an interview Great Zimbabwe Chamber of Businesses(ZGCB) secretary
general Mr Oliver Baloyi said companies should take advantage of big
platforms to exhibit their products to a bigger audience.
“Tourism fairs of the magnitude of Sanganai/Hlanganani present players
with an opportunity to exhibit their wares to the world. Small to
Medium Enterprises should take advantage to market their products by
showcasing at these foras,” he said.
Mr Baloyi said lodges and hotels in the province should thrive to
market their products to the outside world.
“Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Fair is a world event that brings
together world players in the tourism sector. This is an opportunity
for local players to learn international best practices” he said.
He said Masvingo is home to one of the best natural wonders in the
country and world at large that it should be represented at the
tourism fair,in a big way.
“We have on of the best natural Wonder in the form of Great Zimbabwe
monuments from which the name of the country was derived from. This
means that the province should have a number of exhibitors at the fair
so as to justify our being a tourism hub,” he said.
Mr Baloyi who is also  Masvingo Chamber of SMEs chairperson said there
are a number of advantages in showcasing wares to the world audience.
“In tourism,what matters most is being known. If the world knows your
existence,the potential to do well in the industry are very high. Our
culture and heritage here is very unique thus our people should take
this opportunity to exhibit to the outside world,” he said.
A total of 120 buyers will grace the occasion and the Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority chief executive officer Mr Karikoga Kaseke has reportedly
said the fair hinged on buyers and hoped the number would increase.
This year’s edition of Sanganai/Hlanganani comes hard on the heels of
the succeful co-hosting of United Nation World Tourism
Organisation(UNWTO) general assembly by Zambia and Zimbabwe

The following is MURRA’s  press statement :

There is a threat to the provision of social services in Masvingo since the beginning of a spate of attachments on Council movable properties after the city council of Masvingo lost its case against its workers at the courts of law. Ambulances, garbage compactors, fire brigade vehicles, computers, motor vehicles and other accessories have been attached by the messenger of court and are now awaiting auction. This means that service delivery is going to be negatively affected. Council owes its lower grade workers a staggering USD $ 3, 5 million.

The issue now is, where are the city fathers going to get the money to pay the workers? In the event that they get the money it also means that, according to the court ruling, the workers ‘salaries have to be hiked by more than 160% and the least paid worker will now take home a minimum of 800 USD, which to us is not sustainable considering that the money will come from the residents through the payment of rates .Industry and commerce gurus will agree with us to say the money is just too much considering the prevalent economic environment.   The statutory obligation is that 70% of revenue collected should go towards service delivery and 30% towards administration and salaries but in the situation that we are faced with the reverse will be true.

Questions to quickly arise are; will the property raise the required US$3.5 million? What then happens to service delivery when garbage trucks fire trucks and ambulances are sold? And the workers, where will they work? Is selling council property the most plausible solution to this dilemma? What then should we do as residents?, Should we just sit down on our laurels and watch ? What then will happen next?

As MURRA we stand guided by our vision to advocate for world class municipal services and we are committed to effective civic participation by residents in determining efficient and affordable municipal services. Having consulted with residents on this issue, none were pleased on the possibility of having their property sold as it would eliminate the possibility of efficient service delivery

We are reliably informed that the central government, through different government departments, owes Masvingo city council around USD$ 6 million. Wouldn’t it make sense for the central government to pay their debt so that the council may offset its debt instead of transferring the burden to the ordinary residents, most of who earn far below the poverty datum line?

As MURRA we believe that though the courts ruled in favor of the workers, government should intervene to save the people of Masvingo from this looming catastrophe. If the government decides to ignore then it means that service delivery in Masvingo will collapse and this has negative impacts on the lives of the residents of Masvingo and is also a threat to the outbreak of several diseases.

On the 20th of December 2012, we wrote a letter to the police asking for permission to carry out a peaceful demonstration but we were not granted the permission and they strongly warned us against taking such action and threatened to arrest whoever would have taken part in that demonstration. Our purely democratic right to freely express our disgruntlement was thwarted by the powers that be.