Zim Govt squanders a whooping US$1,2 million to bring in Akon and Sean Paul

Akon and Shaun Paul

A staggering US$1,2 million was splashed out to bring in Akon and Sean Paul to perform at the National Sports Stadium (NSS) , as the government continues with its controversial celebrity host programme.

The show, sponsored by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) and Zimswag, a promotion company, is part of efforts to market Zimbabwe as a tourist destination after years of economic and political decay.

ZTA has hosted a number of foreign artists, but the value to tourism is yet to be ascertained. Critics dismiss the project as a waste of resources.
In April the tourism authority brought in Jamaican Sizzla Kalonji and the ragga star was rumoured to be relocating to Zimbabwe after he was controversially given a farm.

Zimswag chief executive officer, Prince Tendai Mupfurutsa revealed that they had poured in US$1,2 million, although he would not disclose the sources of the money.

“We put in U$1,2 million and we are working with ZTA,” was all he said.

Mupfurutsa stated that the government had waivered some of its strict requirements for bringing in foreign artists.He added that the government had also provided the motorcade for the artists in an effort to raise hype for the show.

A storm is also likely to brew over the involvement of Air Zimbabwe, a poorly performing parastatal, which also poured money for the show.There are reports that the government company was struggling with its wage bill and for the past five months failed to pay its workers.

Tourism minister, Walter Muzembi claimed that the show was a privately-funded event and ZTA was just an event manager.

“They (Zimswag) brought the artists and we are only facilitating,” he said.

The celebrity-host programme was launched two years ago to help market Zimbabwe’s tourist attractions after years of bad publicity spawned by Zanu PF land grabs and electoral violence.

Akon is a Senegalese RnB artist based in the United States and while Sean Paul is from Jamaica. Their visit to Zimbabwe comes at a time when ZTA is still trying to exorcise the ghost of the Zimbabwe-Brazil match.

Brazil played the Warriors at the National Sports Stadium on June 2 after Zimbabwe paid an estimated US$1,2 million to bring them in.The deal has been followed by a number of scandals amid claims some officials could have helped themselves to some of the money raised from gate-takings and sponsors.