Zimbabwe: Emulate First Lady Dr Mnangagwa's Work - Tanzanian VP (2025)

Arusha — TANZANIAN vice president Dr Phillip Isdor Mpango has rallied African countries to emulate initiatives spearheaded by Zimbabwe's First Lady, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, to promote cultural and gastronomy tourism.

Dr Mpango described Dr Mnangagwa as a champion of gastronomy who has contributed significantly to the growth of tourism in Africa.

He made the remarks at the Second UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa, which is currently underway in Arusha, Tanzania.

The inaugural forum was held in Zimbabwe in July last year and Amai Mnangagwa was invited to the second edition as the main speaker.

The vice president of Tanzania said food tourism was also an important instrument for safeguarding the continent's rich cultural heritage.

He further called upon gastronomic tourists to invest more in writing African cuisine cookbooks and recipe collections.

In Zimbabwe, the First Lady launched her traditional cuisine cookbook three years ago to enhance the uptake of indigenous dishes in a first-of-its-kind achievement by a First Lady.

Titled "Cooking with Amai: Zimbabwean Traditional Cuisine Cookbook" the book consists of mouth-watering recipes that were compiled from all the country's 10 provinces when the First Lady held traditional meal cookout competitions across the country.

"I'm really happy and honoured to also have among us the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa who is a champion of gastronomy in Africa. She has done tremendous work in promoting gastronomy tourism not only in Zimbabwe but in Africa and beyond. Even here in Tanzania, Her Excellency President Samia Suluhu Hassan is also championing the growth of the tourism industry in Tanzania. She has, by example, acted in person in a film called the Royal Tour to promote tourism in Tanzania. We have all heard and seen through a documentary the nice, very inspiring presentation by the First Lady of Zimbabwe on her pioneering tourism work in Zimbabwe, again, to promote gastronomy. To me, these two gallant women of Africa stand out at the highest level and will see gastronomy moving very fast in Africa.

"I have been told that the focus of this forum is to leverage our continent's diverse and rich practices surrounding food preparation, cooking techniques, and eating habits to increase tourism competitiveness.

"I commend the organisers for coming up with such a juicy theme and for choosing Tanzania to host this forum here in Arusha, which is the epicentre of traditional tourism activities in East Africa, alongside a wide range of must-try local dishes and culinary traditions intertwined with lifestyles and cultures of the Maasai, the Meru, Chadha, and Swahili people," he said.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa meets Tanzanian Vice President Dr Philip Isdor Mpango on the sidelines of the Second UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy for Africa in Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday. -- Pictures: John Manzongo

Gastronomy, the vice president said, was emerging as a promising niche in the tourism sector.

"Gastronomy tourism has immense potential, notably to catalyse inclusive economic growth through diversification of tourism products and empowering local communities. Food tourism is also an important instrument for safeguarding our continent's rich cultural heritage. However, in order for gastronomy tourism to deliver the potential benefits, I think there are a number of issues and challenges that Africa needs to address, and I just want to mention six of them. First, I think, is zealous marketing of Africa's rich food culture. As it is at present, most tourists are not familiar with Africa's rich food culture. Even within our own countries, gastronomy has only thinly incorporated national tourism development strategies, and as such, it is imperative that aggressive marketing of Africa's food culture is done in order for gastronomy tourism to grow and thrive. In this regard, Africa needs to address potential tourist phobia and hesitance towards unfamiliar African dishes," he said.

Dr Mpango also highlighted Africa's rich catalogue of delicacies.

"There are a number of delicacies in different parts of the continent which really require courage to taste. These include worms which are in a caterpillar stage of formation, which are a delicacy in the southern Africa region and in some parts of Tanzania. There is also a special type of grasshopper, called the serene, which is prevalent and consumed in the northwestern part of Tanzania and Uganda.

"There are also certain types of termites, called kumikum in Swahili, and even ants. But we also have snakes and certain types of seafood, such as octopus and eel," he said.

"There are also certain types of termites, called kumikum in Swahili, and even ants. But we also have snakes and certain types of seafood, such as octopus and eel," he said.

Vice president Mpango said the promotion of gastronomic tourism in Africa needed to take into account environmental sustainability in view of concerns that it exerted pressure on local ecosystems. "For example, while game meat is a tasty gastronomic tourism resource, it may encourage unregulated wildlife hunting and poaching. And similarly, while the amatou marbled grilled meat is famous in Tanzania and the rest of East Africa, there are concerns that lice or pests contribute to land degradation, water pollution, and it is estimated that 15 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, especially of methane and carbon dioxide, tend to drive up global warming.

"Third, I think the promotion of gastronomic tourism in Africa also requires the creation of dedicated areas and gastronomic groups where local products and unique foods are prepared for tourists to enjoy.

"However, in such gastronomic groups and centres, quality of local foods and products will have to be maintained, and doing so requires close collaboration between traditional chefs, local producers, tour operators, and other tourism stakeholders to ensure that services offered to tourists are sustainable. I think, fourthly, there is need to position gastronomy at the core of Africa's tourism industry while reinforcing its global appeal by putting up strategies for linking food production, culinary experiences, and tourism services to generate sustainable local economic impact, but also devising mechanisms to ensure and enhance knowledge transfer to support the emergence of skilled workforce within the gastronomic tourism sector, and positioning Africa's gastronomy in the global tourism marketplace through coherent destination marketing and brand development. I think we need a substantive effort to promote African foods and showcase our rich cuisine, cooking, and dining practices to the world," he said.