HARARE: Zimbabwe on Thursday sought to dampen a furore sparked by reports that scores of officials accompanied a meagre seven-athlete Olympics team to Paris, saying most were not part of the official delegation.
The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) said only nine staff, including coaches and officials, travelled to France with the squad ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday, after many had vented their anger online at the alleged waste of public money.
"We are aware though that there are many other technical officials, dignitaries invited to the games directly to officiate and as guests and many other hundreds of Zimbabweans in Paris in various capacities," said ZOC president Thabani Gonye.
"These are not part of Team Zimbabwe delegation but Zimbabweans all welcome and free to cheer our athletes on."
The statement came after reports that the impoverished nation had sent, in some cases via private jet, a bloated delegation of more than 60 people, including Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry.
"The sheer size of the official delegation, particularly in contrast to the small number of athletes, raises serious questions about the government's priorities and resource allocation, especially at a time when it is begging for drought relief assistance from countries that sent huge teams of athletes with very few officials," prominent journalist and activist Hopewell Chin'ono wrote on X.
Former education minister Jonathan Moyo described it as an "embarrassing dent on Zimbabwe's reputation", while opposition politician Fadzayi Mahere argued taxpayers' money could have been better spent.
Government spokesman Nick Mangwana said Vice President Chiwenga was in Paris for the Olympics' official opening and "other business" including luring investments, and Coventry was there as a member of the International Olympic Committee.
"It is not just about the Olympics, there is other work," he wrote on social media.
Zimbabwe is one of a band of countries in southern Africa experiencing food shortages due to a prolonged, severe dry spell. In May President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster, saying it needed at least two billion dollars to respond to the drought. - AFP