adminbusiness community snubbed him.
On realising that no businesspeople were turning up for the much-hyped business meeting at Binga Growth Point, Mr Tsvangirai’s henchmen attempted to save face by hastily arranging a rally. The rally too turned into a flop at Binga Rest Lodge after a small crowd attended.
The snub on Mr Tsvangirai confirms recent opinion polls and surveys mostly done by those supporting him, which predicted that he would lose dismally to Zanu-PF.
Some of the businesspeople in Binga told The Herald that the aborted business meeting was going to be nothing, but a mere talk show to peddle MDC-T propaganda.
Mr Tsvangirai was accompanied by his deputy Ms Thokozani Khupe and other MDC-T senior officials.
The consultative business meeting was expected to start at 10am, but Mr Tsvangirai had to delay pitching up at the venue in a vain hope that people would come.
When Mr Tsvangirai eventually arrived at 14.30pm, staff from his office said the business consultative meeting would be held after a party meeting at Binga Rest Lodge.
The media was barred from attending the Rest Lodge meeting since it was an internal party meeting. After the meeting, Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Mr Luke Tamborinyoka said his boss combined the business consultative meeting with the party meeting because of time.
“The two meetings were combined because of time. It is unfortunate that you were not allowed to attend that meeting,” he said.
Mr Tamborinyoka claimed the “business people” in Binga presented their concerns to Public Works Minister Joel Gabbuza, who is also the legislator for Binga, during the meeting. But sources said there were no business people in that meeting.
“Nothing relating to business was discussed,” said a source.
“What we did was to audit party structures in Binga as we head towards the harmonised elections.”
The source confirmed that initially the meeting was for the business people, but the itinerary changed after noting that the business people had refused to attend.
During the meeting, the source said, Mr Tsvangirai said his party would insist on the so-called reforms before the harmonised elections on July 31.
“He also talked about the business opportunities in Binga where he said there are 30 billion coal deposits in the area,” said the source.
“The PM said Binga has great potential for tourism, but he did not explain how that should be exploited.”
A Binga businessman who identified himself only as Mr Sibanda said he did not attend Mr Tsvangirai’s business meeting because he had nothing to offer.
“Since we voted MDC-T MPs here, nothing has changed and we wonder what this so-called business meeting sought to achieve a few weeks before the election,” he said.
“We know that he (Mr Tsvangirai) wanted to use that platform to peddle his party’s propaganda and we refused to be used that way.”
Mr Tsvangirai who is on a whirlwind tour of Matabeleland North province will today attend a field day at Ms Khupe’s homestead in Bubi before addressing a rally in the same area.
He will address another rally in Tsholotsho tomorrow, before holding another rally in Nkayi on Sunday.
Online Reporter