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Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
Government needs to provide financial support to Air Zimbabwe, to enable the national airline to operate viably and perform its strategic role as an anchor for growth of tourism and the economy, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi has said.
Minister Mzembi made the remarks in his official opening speech at the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism congress, which ends in Harare today. He said Government should adopt Air Zimbabwe as its “baby” because few airlines in the world survive without State support.

Minister Mzembi said there was no way that Air Zimbabwe could stake its claim, be distinctly visible and a competitive carrier on the cut throat global market without strong support from the national fiscus.

“It cannot happen without Government support. We must make a conscious decision to adopt this ‘baby’,” he said.

“It can never survive through its own instincts and creativity,” Minister Mzembi added.

Access into and within Zimbabwe’s tourist attractions is critical for growth of tourism and the economy. Minister Mzembi said Government targets to grow the sector into a $5 billion industry, raise its share of GDP to 15 percent and grow arrivals to 5 million by 2020.

It was against this background that Government is working on addressing critical issues such as the Uni-Visa and congestion at ports of entry to ensure tourism underpins Zimbabwe’s economic growth.

Minister Mzembi said it would not be appropriate for Government to spend millions of dollars, for instance $150 million on Victoria Falls International Airport, to upgrade airports but fail to support its national carrier to be able to utilise such facilities. However, Minister Mzembi pointed out that the national airline would never be able to define its space and competitiveness through protectionism, adding the open skies policy was good for competition.

Against this background, he said through the open skies policy, to enhance access into Zimbabwe Airzim would develop its niche markets such as flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Johannesburg among others.

Minister Mzembi’s perspectives were echoed by South African Airways regional manager for Africa and Middle East, Mr Aaron Munetsi, who said SAA received R12 billion from Government in the last four years and that the state supported all the airline’s its activities.

“We get all the support that we need for SAA. In the past four years we have received R12 billion from Government,” Mr Munetsi said.

He added that SAA was currently talking to the public enterprises, treasury and presidency for financial support it requires.

“We also understand that SAA has a dual mandate, first it must operate profitably, but there are other considerations, so it may operate in routes that are not productive. Some routes may not be profitable but they support the national interest,” Mr Munetsi said.

“We are at liberty to get all Government guarantees,” he added.

Mr Munetsi said major banks in South Africa, such as Standard Bank, Nedbank and Absa, played a critical role in supporting the airline. “Local banks play a critical role in supporting us through and through.”

Minister Mzembi said tourism presented the most viable way through, which the country could achieve turnaround of the economy, considering that it was the only sector performing well at a time when all three other pillars of the economy were struggling.

He also called on operators in the tourism industry to concentrate on attracting visitors and growing the industry and leave the prevailing political dispensation to politicians.

He said operators should have “budgeted” and prepared for such heated political debates ahead of the Zanu-PF congress in December and should be able to rise above such hype to continue as usual.

“It is their season; leave them alone as they talk to each other. After congress, the politicians must come back and find the economy ticking,” he said. Minister Mzembi said there was nothing peculiar about the prevailing political situation in Zimbabwe, also common ahead of major political meetings in the US and UK.