APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has restricted foreign travel by ministers and other senior government officials, saying Tuesday that the trips were draining the fiscus and unnecessarily affecting government operations.
Speaking during the inaugural meeting of his recently appointed cabinet in Harare, Mnangagwa said foreign travel by ministers and permanent secretaries should only be done when the trips hold “strategic significance” to the country’s developmental priorities.
“Overseas travel will be strictly confined to programmes that align with our national priorities and are of paramount strategic importance,” said Mnangagwa who recently won a second term following disputed elections held in August.
He also discouraged ministers and their respective permanent secretaries from being out of the country at the same time, saying this has previous adversely affected routine government operations.
Mnangagwa and his lieutenants have in the past come under fire for undertaking costly foreign trips at a time most Zimbabweans are struggling to make ends meet and the country’s health care system has collapsed.
JN/APA