A peek into Tongai Mnangagwa’s thoughts
the 2023 AFTER harmonised elections, many new faces made it into Cabinet.
OF note is the new Tourism and Hospitality Industry Deputy Minister Tongai Mafidi Mnangagwa, who is an interesting addition because he has gradually worked his way up the ruling party’s ranks from a tender age of 18.
In 2018, he became Member of Parliament for Harare South, where he brought significant development, especially in the health sector, by spearheading the Stoneridge Health Centre.
He also championed income-generating projects, such as soap making, as well as facilitating connection of swathes of the constituency to the grid.
However, in the just-ended elections, he was successfully elected Member of Parliament for the newly created Hunyani Constituency.
Driving through Hunyani strongholds such as Retreat, the positive energy engendered by the new Deputy Minister is palpable and a testimony of his genuine love for the people, and their love for him.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa is a dedicated family man, who has been married to his wife Gwendolyn from 2001. The couple is blessed with seven children.
The youthful politician also has professional qualifications in marketing and law.
What to expect
I recently had the opportunity to chat with him as we drove through his constituency.
He was grateful for the opportunity granted to him by the President.
Brand Zimbabwe, he said, is not getting the recognition it deserves.
He indicated that he will make it his mission, together with Tourism and Hospitality Minister Barbra Rwodzi, to change the way local tourism is perceived through modernising it and investing in adequate technology and infrastructure.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa noted that the recently modernised Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport was a clear indication of where Zimbabwe’s tourism and hospitality industry is headed.
While speaking about tourism and the economy, he acknowledged that with the country now on a growth trajectory, tourism, as a major foreign currency earner, will play a big role in economic growth.
While also acknowledging concerns over currency instability, he said Government was seized with ensuring that Zimbabwe fully embraces its own currency, as this is a major goal set by the President.
The Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, he added, has a mandate to ensure that this goal is achieved.
The more we positively market Zimbabwe as a collective, the more visitors we attract and the better Brand Zimbabwe becomes, he said.
The youthful Deputy Minister believes it is the duty of every Zimbabwean to positively carry the flag with pride across the world, as well as market Zimbabwe and contribute towards its growth.
The Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry has recently become one of the most engaging ministries on social media platform X.
Plans
The ministry, according to Deputy Minister Mnangagwa, is presently seized with building Brand Zimbabwe through, among other things, sports tourism.
Significant strides are being made internationally.
Zimbabwe, he said, has exported so much sporting talent and the goal is to ensure that all prominent athletes become Zimbabwe’s tourism ambassadors.
In the long term, he is hopeful that mechanisms will be put in place to enable ease of travel to Zimbabwe through improvement of the tourist visa system and a charm offensive on potential visitors from neighbouring countries such as Botswana and South Africa.
He welcomed the introduction of FlySafair flights to Zimbabwe as something that needed to be encouraged to facilitate ease of travel to the country, particularly to Victoria Falls.
The world needs to heed President Mnangagwa’s call that Zimbabwe is open for business and seize opportunities to invest in hotels and unique transport models.
He also reckons that incentives could help lure more investors and travellers to Zimbabwe.
Further, he believes there is need to engage the Zimbabwean global student community and find ways to encourage them to participate in the growth of Zimbabwe’s tourism.