By Lloyd Gumbo
The government is in a dilemma on what to do with commercial sex workers who are expected to troop into the country for the United Nations World Trade Organisation General Assembly to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia next year.
The assembly will be held in Victoria Falls from August next year.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry permanent secretary, Dr Sylvester Maunganidze, yesterday told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism that it was inevitable that prostitutes would flock into the country for the assembly.
He was responding to Mbire MP, Paul Mazikana (Zanu-PF) who sought to know what measures had been put in place for commercial sex workers who were coming to Zimbabwe for purposes of prostitution.
Dr Maunganidze said anyone suspected of being a prostitute would be arrested for loitering for the purposes of prostitution. “I have to admit that within Sadc we are the most conservative, hypocritical and pretentious, we therefore assume the ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ syndrome,” Dr Maunganidze said.
“I am not saying we should do it the Hong Kong way where they actually advertise sea, sex and sand, they sell those things. I think Secretary Melusi Matshiya (Home Affairs) would assist me in that area whether to legalise it or tighten security that it doesn’t happen, but if you put stiffer penalties, delegates will go back angry, they will be so angry if you remove those girls from Victoria Falls.”
Sunningdale legislator, Ms Margaret Matienga (MDC-T) asked Dr Maunganidze what his ministry and the sub committees had done to improve HIV and Aids awareness.
“We have a requirement that condoms should be put in hotels and we received criticism from devout Christians,” said Dr Maunganidze.
“Some of them when they get into their hotel rooms and find condoms in their drawers they throw them through the window and then monkeys will have a feast with those condoms. “We have also asked hotels to order the Korans because we are going to be hosting people from different religions.
“If some of them get into the rooms and find the Holy Bible they will move out of the room after destroying the Holy book, but it is better for Christians because they are accommodative. These are delicate areas that we can’t ignore. To imagine that there won’t be sex in Victoria Falls is illusionary.” The Herald
