Norton legislator, Temba Mliswa has said former American boxer, Floyd Money Mayweather is not doing public relations for Zimbabwe for free.
This comes after a video of Mayweather saying he was coming to Zimbabwe, Africa with his close friend – Scott Sakupwanya – the ZANU PF Harare Ward 21 councillor who is also a gold dealer.
Scott later said he had invited Mayweather and “he agreed to visit Zimbabwe hopefully before the end of the year.”
He added that Mayweather intends to invest in Africa with Zimbabwe being one of his main destinations of interest.
But Mliswa believes that Mayweather is being paid to do what he is doing. He said:
It should be understood that these Americans like Floyd Mayweather are very conscious about marketing and image rights. They don’t do anything for free. He isn’t some Pan African ideologue to glow over. He is just another mercenary out for a payday.
You want him to come here you pay. To meet him you pay. It’s not like he believes in anything about this country or is conscious of any ideological agenda which he wants to support. No! He is simply making his money. He would do anything for Zimbawe as for any other country.
We should focus on practical measures to make the country attractive for investors and foreigners NOT through paying them to speak about us!! Of course Scott is doing it also for his company, Better Brands but for the country, this is a damp squib, there is no value.
The government of Zimbabwe previously paid millions of dollars to individuals and companies to sanitise its image.
In 2019, there were reports that the government of Zimbabwe had hired at least four lobby and public relations firms – UK-based BTP Advisers, United States-based Mercury International Limited, Ballard Partners and Avenue Strategies to cleanse its tarnished image.
Mayweather. A dark storm bringing floods of tourists or a Fairweather friend simply out to fleece our country of money better spent on tourism development?
We have seen these ‘specials’ come and go. Sometimes Zimbabwe may experience a short term interest but long term? Not much. Having said that many leaders become sycophantic when meeting these ‘celebrities’, so humiliating.
I know that many Americans & Europeans of colour, deep down, despise the Africans. They have no interest in their own African ancestors whilst pretending their roots mean they still have one foot in America or Europe and the second (not applicable to amputees). Mentally they are an alien species visiting a zoo.