Opinion / Columnist
Mugabe's foreign trips necessary
26 Mar 2015 at 13:41hrs | Views
It is indeed worrisome that some sections of the private media continue to criticize President Mugabe's foreign trips claiming that the Presidents' foreign state visits were nothing but just a waste of resources. Since the beginning of the year President Mugabe was busy running up and down on African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) business. Presently, President Mugabe is Chairman of both AU and SADC.
Being the head of a State, AU chairman, SADC chairman and head of a family, President Mugabe's foreign trips now quadruples the number that he used to travel abroad, meaning that his foreign visits presently are fourfold depending on which business capacity he is travelling on.
There is really no leader of a free country that does not embark on visits to other countries frequently. The aims of such trips vary from country to country and are determined by each country's situational priorities. These trips may range from purely diplomatic, economic, military concerns and even beyond that.
As the Head of State, just like other African Presidents, President Mugabe has many responsibilities to execute locally, regionally and internationally. Some summits may need only Heads of State to attend, hence, our national leader should be there without fail. Most of the foreign state visits that President undergoes, in his capacity as the President of the republic of Zimbabwe, the host nation usually cater for all the travelling expenses, food and accommodation that the visiting Heads of State encounters.
On his tweeter account, Professor Jonathan Moyo, who is the Minister of Media and Broadcasting emphasized that President Mugabe's traveling to foreign nations is part of his work as he was elected not to rest but to govern.
It is therefore fair to accept that visits to foreign countries by any Head of State or Government are an integral part of the office holder's job description.
It is of paramount importance to note that most of the foreign visits by President Mugabe benefit the entire nation. Last year, the President went to China where nine mega deals were signed between Zimbabwe and this Asian country. China assured that it will support Zimbabwe to recover its ailing economy.
Obviously the President's foreign visits to other countries yield good results for our country. This is important not only for political and diplomatic purposes, but also for trade and commercial cooperation.
For a country like Zimbabwe that is in need of major economic revival in order to speed up economic development and improve its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) it is important that President Mugabe is using such visits to foreign countries to further the country's economic interests. Normally, furthering the country's economic interest should be observed in ways that are directly relevant to the ordinary citizen.
Recently, President Mugabe attended the United Nations 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction which was held in Sendai, Japan. The Japanese government, through their Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pledged $ 2.5million to Zimbabwe for disaster risk preparedness and management. This alone depicts the significance of President Mugabe's foreign visits. It is therefore imperative for our President to attend all foreign summits meant for Heads of State, as this brings food on the table for ordinary Zimbabweans.
Also, when President Mugabe is going to a foreign country, in his capacity as the either the chairman of AU or SADC, the treasury from the responsible organization pays for all his expenses.
President Mugabe is also a human being who is entitled to socialization with friends and relatives from abroad. Therefore, besides travelling for his national duties, the President has the right to freely visit his relatives in any foreign country.
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Peacemaker Zano contactable at peacemakerzano@gmail.com
Being the head of a State, AU chairman, SADC chairman and head of a family, President Mugabe's foreign trips now quadruples the number that he used to travel abroad, meaning that his foreign visits presently are fourfold depending on which business capacity he is travelling on.
There is really no leader of a free country that does not embark on visits to other countries frequently. The aims of such trips vary from country to country and are determined by each country's situational priorities. These trips may range from purely diplomatic, economic, military concerns and even beyond that.
As the Head of State, just like other African Presidents, President Mugabe has many responsibilities to execute locally, regionally and internationally. Some summits may need only Heads of State to attend, hence, our national leader should be there without fail. Most of the foreign state visits that President undergoes, in his capacity as the President of the republic of Zimbabwe, the host nation usually cater for all the travelling expenses, food and accommodation that the visiting Heads of State encounters.
On his tweeter account, Professor Jonathan Moyo, who is the Minister of Media and Broadcasting emphasized that President Mugabe's traveling to foreign nations is part of his work as he was elected not to rest but to govern.
It is therefore fair to accept that visits to foreign countries by any Head of State or Government are an integral part of the office holder's job description.
It is of paramount importance to note that most of the foreign visits by President Mugabe benefit the entire nation. Last year, the President went to China where nine mega deals were signed between Zimbabwe and this Asian country. China assured that it will support Zimbabwe to recover its ailing economy.
Obviously the President's foreign visits to other countries yield good results for our country. This is important not only for political and diplomatic purposes, but also for trade and commercial cooperation.
For a country like Zimbabwe that is in need of major economic revival in order to speed up economic development and improve its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) it is important that President Mugabe is using such visits to foreign countries to further the country's economic interests. Normally, furthering the country's economic interest should be observed in ways that are directly relevant to the ordinary citizen.
Recently, President Mugabe attended the United Nations 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction which was held in Sendai, Japan. The Japanese government, through their Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pledged $ 2.5million to Zimbabwe for disaster risk preparedness and management. This alone depicts the significance of President Mugabe's foreign visits. It is therefore imperative for our President to attend all foreign summits meant for Heads of State, as this brings food on the table for ordinary Zimbabweans.
Also, when President Mugabe is going to a foreign country, in his capacity as the either the chairman of AU or SADC, the treasury from the responsible organization pays for all his expenses.
President Mugabe is also a human being who is entitled to socialization with friends and relatives from abroad. Therefore, besides travelling for his national duties, the President has the right to freely visit his relatives in any foreign country.
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Peacemaker Zano contactable at peacemakerzano@gmail.com
Source - Peacemaker Zano
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