Senegalese Mouhamed Faouzou Deme, one of the candidates for the position of the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-Tourism) won by the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Shaikha Nasseer Al Nowais in the just concluded UN Tourism election has accused Nigeria and other African representatives of corruption and allowing their voting to be swayed by money.

In an passionate open letter, Deme alleged that Africa’s vote was ‘bought at a high price’. He accused the African delegates of being swayed by money and working against the African Tourism Charter. His letter reads:

“A heartfelt plea from the former candidate of Africa and Senegal for the position of Secretary-General of UN Tourism
Africa has humiliated itself: The appointment of the new Secretary-General of UN Tourism will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next November.
The curtains fell after two rounds of elections in which the competing countries received, respectively: the UAE 16 votes, Greece 11 votes, Mexico 6 votes, and Ghana 2 votes. In the second round, the UAE received 24 votes and Greece 11 votes. This distribution of votes reveals a long-observed imbalance that confines the African continent to the role of spectator, yet still carries voices that make a difference. This result confirms the dominance of Arabs, Europeans, and the United States on the world stage and the exclusion of all other continents from the management of UN tourism since its creation.
“This means that all the promises made by African states are in vain. That no state has respected its commitments, the African Tourism Charter, and the calls from the private sector to vote wisely and unite around the interests of Africa and not just one country. The victory of Harry of Greece over Gloria of Mexico is a strong signal from Europe to the rest of the tourism world.
“The United Arab Emirates won by 24 votes, a score well above the quorum, demonstrating the intense underground lobbying that was conducted to achieve this result, which does not honor the world of tourism. Indeed, money and political and personal interests dominated the votes. Money and corruption, an issue we alluded to when the UAE’s candidacy was announced. This is a defeat for world tourism, for the United Nations system on tourism, and a return to square one in 1970. UN tourism is, and will always remain, between Europe and the Middle East for ulterior motives, where the African vote is bought at a high price. It was a great surprise to me that the United Arab Emirates emerged victorious; it is a miracle from God, money aside.
“Africa is known for shooting itself in the foot when collective interests are at stake, and these elections have proven it once again. Has Africa sold its votes to the United Arab Emirates? Time will tell!
I told shortly before the elections that it was a vote between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was neither skills, nor experience, nor expertise, nor even geographic choice that allowed the United Arab Emirates to win the elections almost in the first round with 16 votes. It was a negotiation to deceive the vigilance of informed observers to advance to the second round and win with 24 votes, as only 17 votes were needed to win in the first round.
“Money spoke, and all the members of the Executive Committee from African countries voted for money and political interests. Sheikha Nasser Al Nowais is the daughter of billionaire Nowais, owner of several luxury hotels in Dubai and around the world. Is this a reference, an asset, or a reason for the governments of the UN Tourism member countries to allow themselves to be led by a young woman whose father controls a large part of the world’s luxury hotels? Could there be a conflict of interest? This is not an innocent question.
“Believe me the situation is serious, very serious, for Africa and its tourism sector. Africa remains silent in front of these elections, which many observers describe as the most humiliating, saddest, and most turbulent in the history of UN tourism, with the rejected question of the outgoing Secretary-General’s third term. This may be an opportunity to develop the World Tourism Network in collaboration with the African Tourism Board for a new vision of African tourism at the intercontinental level. Africa must act responsibly, as it is becoming increasingly urgent for Africa to come together and unite around crucial decisions for the development of its tourism.
“The tourism world should be grateful for the work we did to prevent Zurab from running for a third term. And I think the UAE’s letter of denunciation worked in his favor, beyond the fact that Dubai is the center of global tourism. All the major tourism investors are in Dubai, the most influential players and hotel groups are present in Dubai.
” Thus, the voting logic, beyond money, was geostrategic for investors seeking peace, stability, and profitability. It is Africa that is neither in its place, nor in the right place, nor equipped and united enough to command respect. We must step outside of this UN Tourism organization to assess our strengths and adjust our weaknesses.
t is a shame that Africa, divided into pieces, will always be humiliated everywhere! And this is a shock we have all felt. If we are capable, we should bring credible Africans to lead the African bloc for an independent and inclusive African Tourism Organization. If we do this, then we can make more progress through global partnerships and collaborations rather than being part of UN Tourism.
“UN Tourism has never demonstrated its alignment with the African continent. It continues to make decisions that contradict African governments. We call on African countries to resign from UN Tourism, because if the United States, Russia, and Canada can resign from UN Tourism, it proves that we too can do so and thus save all the money from membership fees to put them elsewhere. It is truly regrettable to belong to an organization that clearly does not care about our continent, and yet its members pay membership fees like all members.
“It is now established that Africa must take its destiny into its own hands and leave UN Tourism, which is of no use to it. We can and must create our own marketing and promotion agency. The African Union is already the political instrument, so we don’t need UN Tourism. What happened today, with the delegates’ decision to be less ethical, is so shameful. And they are the ones accusing Africa of corruption. They don’t care about the truth!”

Mouhamed Faouzou DÈME from Senegal