Pressure is mounting on Seychelles candidate for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Secretary General post Mr Alain St Ange to pull out of the race, following revelations of bribery and usurious dealings meant to destabilise the UNWTO election process.
Investigations conducted by the Pan African Forum Ltd, revealed that Seychelles’s former tourism minister Mr St Ange was paid heavily by a European Super power to disorganise the African Union candidature. The investigation revealed that there has been an ongoing silent war between Zimbabwe’s tourism minister and AU candidate for the UNWTO Eng Walter Mzembi and the beleaguered Alain St Ange.
“Informed insider sources at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa confirm that, Alain St Ange, “breakaway” Seychelles candidate for the UNWTO Secretary General post is coming under increasing pressure from African Tourism Ministers to withdraw from the race.
“Breakaway” because he entered the race late December 2016, well after his government, along with all 54 other African states, had already formally endorsed the candidature of Dr Walter Mzembi, Zimbabwe’s tourism minister, for the top UNWTO post,” said Pan African Forum Chair, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga.
The statement added that Mzembi’s unanimous endorsement emerged from the meeting of African Heads of State and government which was held in Kigali, Rwanda on July 17, 2016 which was followed by Mzembi’s unanimous endorsement by all 15 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) including Seychelles.
“Africa prides itself on its stringent selection process, by way of sub-regional and then continental level “candidature committees” designed to allow the best African candidate for any international post to emerge, so that the 55 countries of Africa can coalesce around that single candidate and enhance his or her chances of electoral victory.
“St Ange’s late entry into the race flies in the very face of that disciplined selection process, a fact which African Tourism Ministers put very squarely before him during a sometimes tense informal consultation session in the wings of the recent UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa (CAF) meeting in Addis Ababa.”
Meanwhile, Matsanga added that if St Ange does not withdraw from the race, he risks embarrassing himself and his government.
“If Africa loses this post through division which is traced to St Ange, he will be pilloried for his stubbornness and Seychelles itself will not escape the harsh criticism. Even now, the AU is discussing some form of sanction mechanism to be applied in cases such as this whereby member states deviate from collective decisions taken by heads of state and government in respect of candidates for deployment to international posts. Is that what Seychelles wants?
“And so, as St Ange continues his race, this irony cannot be lost on him or on his government that there is a candidate from Africa who enjoys no support at all from the African continent. He should withdraw or face humiliation.”
Source: thebusinessconnect.co.zw
