Mnangagwa's foreign jaunt fruitful?

WHEN President Mnangagwa ascended to the highest office in the land, he made it clear that he was a man on a mission. His mission is to rebrand the country.

His mission is to lure foreign investors into the country. His mission is to open closed business doors. His mission is to get sons and daughters of this country based abroad to invest back home. His mission is to unite the people of Zimbabwe so that they all enjoy peace and tranquillity, which are the fruits of our hard won independence.

When he said "Zimbabwe is open for business", he really meant it. It was not just a slogan as he followed it up with actions to engage the business world. He has visited a number of countries in the region to meet and share notes with fellow African leaders and has been overseas to meet business leaders and other world political leaders.

Recently, he was in China to meet that country's President and the business community where a number of mega business deals were signed. It is clear and only logical that the President can only lead economic revival and world political re-engagement when he moves around to meet would-be partners and assure them of both the political and business will of the country to engage with the world and make this country the breadbasket of the region once more.

It is therefore shocking that there are some people who think the President should sit in his office in Harare and enjoy coffee, hoping that word of mouth only will do wonders. It surely does not work like that. If you want something badly you wake up and go and get it.

That is the unwritten rule in life in general, and thus, those in opposition politics who are raising concerns regarding the President's travelling are being insincere and out rightly mischievous.

In his first direct response to reports casting aspersions on his foreign trips, President Mnangagwa wrote on social media on Thursday: "I have seen some comments here asking why these foreign trips are necessary at this time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I appreciate your opinions.

Let us remember where we were, and how we suffered as an isolated nation. In this new era Zimbabwe is open to the world, and governments, businesses and individuals all are looking to do business with us. The new Zimbabwe must embrace the international community in order to secure crucial foreign investment. These projects will create jobs, and foreign investment will inject crucial cash into our economy."

He vowed to continue his work for Zimbabwe.

"I will therefore continue to work tirelessly for the people of Zimbabwe both at home and abroad, as we embark on this new and exciting journey together," said President Mnangagwa. The President explained how his visit to China was beneficial to Zimbabwe.

"Today, I conclude my first historic visit which will help bring further crucial momentum to our economy. We had many fruitful discussions with political and business leaders in China, including President Xi Jinping, and secured a host of deals which will make a real difference to the lives of Zimbabweans," he said.

Added President Mnangagwa: "The refurbishment of Hwange Power Station Units 7 and 8 is set to increase power generation by 600 megawatts while we also secured a massive infrastructure development deal under which the world's largest infrastructure development company will set up a regional office in Zimbabwe. They will focus on road, rail, air and dam construction projects and will be true partners in the development of the new Zimbabwe."

Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba said the benefits that President Mnangagwa's foreign trips are bringing into the country are far bigger and better than the money used to travel outside the country. In an interview with a local radio station Mr Charamba dismissed the complaints as baseless.

"Just to get out a single component of the Chinese trip more than a billion dollars investment, simple mathematics will tell you that this is very good accounting and very good economics . . . Like what I said in another interview maybe let us have the President stay more out of the country to get more billions coming into the economy than staying home enjoying a starved and unmoving economy as is expected by those people who are arguing that he must stay at home. Look, when you are rebranding a country, when you are reorienting its foreign policy and when you are re-engaging you must budget for some cost," he was quoted as saying.