Foreign trips by Robert Mugabe and other government officials gobbled up US$28 million from state coffers, Finance Minister Tendai Biti revealed in Parliament during his budget presentation. Biti said this 'disproportionate share of foreign travel' was a detriment to overall service delivery.
Biti has now ordered a review in the way foreign trips are funded, adding that "with effect from January 2010, business travel for individual ministries will have to be managed within the voted amount and the monthly allocations availed for this purpose." At present the country's Treasury manages the resources for foreign trips.
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