Paul Fauvet
Independent Foreign Service
Maputo: Mozambique is boycotting South Africa’s major tourism fair, Indaba 2015, in protest against the wave of attacks against foreigners resident in South Africa.
Indaba 2015 is due to be held from May 9 to 11 in Durban, which was the scene of most of the xenophobic attacks.
The Mozambican tourism ministry and other Mozambican operators have habitually participated in previous editions of this fair, with exhibitions showing Mozambique’s own tourist potential.
But not this year. Cited in yesterday’s issue of the independent news sheet Mediafax, Rafael Nambale, head of the information and promotion department in the ministry of culture and tourism, said: “The decision has already been taken that the country will not take part in Indaba 2015. After what has happened and what is still happening, the conditions do not exist for Mozambique to participate.”
Nambale added that given this decision, Mozambique would also not be present at the ministerial meeting preparing the event. That meeting of African tourism ministers is set for May 8.
Asked about what the country would lose if it fails to promote its image at Indaba 2015, Nambale replied that the safety of Mozambican citizens is more important.
Mozambique would participate in such events only if there were effective security conditions, which is not currently the case.
“For Mozambique, Indaba is one of the most important international fairs, and there can be no doubt about that,” he said.
“But what is at stake is not whether the event is important or not. What is at stake is the security situation in South Africa. Right now we think there are no conditions for us to participate.”
Nambale admitted Mozambique might reconsider its boycott, if the security conditions for foreign residents in SA were normalised.