Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
CANADA quit the United Nations World Tourism Organisation before President Mugabe’s appointment as a special tourism ambassador, but went on to give a false claim for its pullout, it has emerged.
President Mugabe and his Zambian counterpart Michael Sata were appointed tourism ambassadors by the

UNWTO last month during the sign­ing of a trilateral agreement for the co-hosting of the general assembly in Vic­toria Falls next year.

Canada also owed the UNTWO close to US$400 000 in overdue sub­scriptions.
Foreign Minister John Baird told the Canadian House of Commons that the move to appoint President Mugabe a tourism ambassador was “outra­geous”.

Facts on the grounds, however, show Canada had long ceased to be a UNTWO member when it made the announcement.

Analysts believe the North Ameri­can state was only trying to be mischie­vous in citing President Mugabe’s appointment as the reason for its with­drawal.

A reliable Government source told The Herald yesterday that “Canada was making cheap political mileage”.
“The UNTWO communications chief Sandra Carvao said that Canada had formally tendered its withdrawal notice on 12 May 2011 in a letter not made public. Canada did not cite any reasons in that letter,” the source said.

According to UNTWO statutes, withdrawal is effective one year after the formal notice and this means Canada’s pullout was effective on May 12, 2012 — 18 days before Minister Baird announced his country’s pullout.

“The UNTWO wondered how its recognition of President Mugabe had played into Canada’s withdrawal when the country had already withdrawn its membership as a matter of fact,” added the source.
After realising it had lost the plot, Baird’s Press secretary Joseph Lavoie was quoted recently saying his boss “did not cite President Mugabe as the reason for its withdrawal but rather as an example of why Canada was leaving the UNTWO”.

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He confirmed that Canada had given its notice a year ago, but “the final step in that withdrawal process required an order-in-council, which Minister Baird signed after hearing the news of the appointment of President Mugabe”.

Canada owed about US$388 000 in yearly dues to UNTWO in 2011 and is one of the highest paying members.
Claims by Canada to have with­drawn from the UNTWO because of President Mugabe’s appointment have exposed that country’s unwarranted negative political obsession with Zim­babwe and the President in particular, analysts noted yesterday.

Zimbabwe has since dismissed the withdrawal as a non-event with Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi ear­lier this month saying the decision will not affect progress made so far in Zim­babwe and Zambia.