President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday told his Cabinet Ministers and other senior government officials to cut back on unnecessary foreign travels.
Mnangagwa made the comments while chairing his first cabinet meeting since his re-election for a second and final term on 23 August.
He said no minister and their line permanent secretary could both be out of the country at the same time.
Mnangagwa said unnecessary foreign travels and the absence of both a minister and their line permanent secretary at the same time disrupt the execution of government business. He said:
Further, travel outside the country will be strictly limited to those programmes which are of strategic importance and contribute to our country’s national priorities.
Mnangagwa’s own foreign travels have cost the country millions of US dollars as he uses hired jets and is usually accompanied by scores of government officials all getting fat travel allowances at the taxpayer’s expense.
According to a ZimLive report, Mnangagwa recently flew a delegation of over 75 people on a hired jet to the UN General Assembly in New York.
Meanwhile, Mnangagwa reminded substantive ministers that deputy ministers are his appointees, therefore, they should not resent them. He said:
I am aware that in the past Cabinet, some ministers did not want deputy ministers. And the decision is mine, not yours.
It is my expectation that the role of deputy ministers will correctly be understood as complementing your own in order to derive maximum benefit from their skill sets…
Mnangagwa appointed his son, Kudakwashe David, as the Deputy Finance Minister as well as his brother’s son, Tongai, as the Deputy Tourism Minister.
More: Pindula News