Blessed Saremaᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ܁

Instead of turning moments like this into propaganda, the government should have people competent enough to seize the opportunity and sit down with this billionaire. I am not a fan of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but he is a billionaire nonetheless, and the co-owner of Manchester United. The question that should be asked is what avenues can be pursued to build a relationship, not just with him, but between Manchester United and Zimbabwe. This is what the Rwandan leadership understood. Rwanda has a smaller economy than Zimbabwe, with a lower GDP and a lower GDP per capita. Yet it has a wise leadership that knows how to harness such moments and turn them into investment and revenue. That is how Visit Rwanda ended up on the sleeves of Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, settles for propaganda. “So-and-so came to Zimbabwe, so we must be doing well, it is a badge of approval.” You do not need badges of approval. You need to take these people into your confidence and put together a deal that is too good for them to turn down. He has been to Victoria Falls, he is now going to Hwange, and from Hwange he is going to Mana Pools. You do not have to convince him that the country is worth partnering with. He already knows that, which is why he came here for his birthday. A birthday is an important day in anyone's life, let alone a billionaire's. The fact that he chose Zimbabwe means he already knew it was good, and he was advised by people who told him so. What is needed now is to tap into his network, whether that is Manchester United or his companies. If I were in government, I would invite him to meet our investment authorities and find out which sectors he would like to invest in. He is a billionaire who runs companies in Britain and across the world. That is an opportunity, not a photo op.