PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will next week take a 59-member delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, while Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's delegation will comprise 19 people putting a further strain on the country's financial resources.
The conference started on Monday this week with delegates working on a complex draft treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, while environment ministers and heads of state are due to arrive next week when major decisions will await them.
Delegations from the two Zimbabwean leaders will join an advance party which is already at the summit, bringing the country's total representation to more than 80 people.
The two leaders and their delegations are scheduled to travel separately with President Mugabe using the national airline -- Air Zimbabwe -- while Tsvangirai will connect to the Danish capital from Johannesburg and go via Switzerland or Germany.
This comes at a time when Finance minister, Tendai Biti, when presenting the 2010 budget decried the country's total expenditure on foreign trips which was put at US$28 million at the end of November.
This amount was used during the short life -- 10 months as at the end of November -- of the inclusive government giving an average of US$2,8 million per month.
While this figure covers all government officials, it is usually the president and the prime minister who travel with large contingents with the former averaging 60 delegates on the last two foreign trips.
President Mugabe has taken at least seven foreign trips since the inception of the Government of National Unity. Some of the countries he has visited include Italy for the UN World Summit on Food Security, Mozambique for the Sadc Troika meeting and South Africa for the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma.
He has also visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the Sadc summit, Egypt and Libya as well as Switzerland for the International Telecommunications Union Summit.
Apart from the cost government incurs paying for the transport for such large delegations, there are also allowances which are paid out each member of the entourage.
Any delegate travelling on government business is entitled to daily allowances which are based on their level or grade.
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The leadership should treat government as business. Governance should be sustainable. This way of running government is not acceptable by us the tax payers. How can the whole cabinet go for the same meeting like boozers trotting for a she been. The civil servants have not bee earning salaries for years, there is no adequate service delivery at all in this state. Countries with stable economy are not flocking like that. I i i i ! Yabvayave tose dzvamu! 80 aaaaa mavandisa vakomana. This is why the international community may be hesitant to give us financial aid. I want to tell you that the nation is sad to read this.
" Mugabe, PM Set for Costly Foreign Trips"
Mhh. Why not " Mugabe, Tsvangirai Set for Costly Foreign Trips"?
or
"Pres, PM Set for Costly Foreign Trips"?
This is why we never learn...the crux of the matter is not about what name is headlined. The fact that there are some 59 delegates from Zanu-pf and 19 from MDC ot MDC-T is the matter at hand. One would want to conveniently miss the whole point for some partisan buffoonery. why don't you get outraged at the entire Zimbabwe cabinet going to Copenhagen for christmas shopping.
This is some biassed reporting, they are ashamed to name the PM by name and there is no reference to the 8 nation or so trip that MT made, shame on this kind of biass, there is no difference between you and the Herald now.
TD;
Their reporting has always been like that, mate biased or outright falsehoods. Since the creation of the Unity Government (that is, not talking about before that) only the President is at fault while Tsvangirai is always right. Only the President is extravagant while the sellout Tsvangi is presented as considerate. The picture of President Mugabe to the outside world and those gullible Zimbabweans should be that of a leader who does not care for the suffering Zimbabweans.
Tsvangirai went to some illegal trips (not sanctioned by cabinet while he was boycotting same) which had nothing to do with the state but still drew funds from the government and nobody at the Zimbabwe Independent says anything about it. Are we supposed to be surprised by this naked biasness?
NO we shouldnt because we know that those at the Zim Independent, Standard, FinGaz, The Nation and many other western funded or created newspapers, have an agenda against the President, Head of State and Government of Zimbabwe and Commander-In-Chief of Zimbabwe Armed Forces and that agenda is an illegal and imperialist sponsored regime change which of course will NEVER succeed!
In addition to the above, mate; you also fail to understand where some stupid fools are staying. You hear some one saying that the President's delegation members are from Zanu-pf while those that accompany Tsvangirai are from MDC-T. This is stupid as there is no consideration of political affiliation (Zanu-pf, MDC-T or MDC officials) when it comes to government sanctioned trips.
It may be important to tell these idiots that when the President goes on an official trip like the one mentioned in this report he takes with him relevant ministers and official and by relevant is meant they do not necessarily have to be from the revolutionary party. Thus, when the President goes on the said trip he will be accompanied by ministers in the unity government, PERIOD.
Of the so-called 60-member delegation only a small number (two or three) will be ministers while the rest are officials from either the private sector or from relevant govt departments. Remember we are under illegal, ruinous, racist and barbaric sanctions imposed by imperialists and any opportunity of visiting an imperialist country should be taken advantage of so that we attract as much direct foreign investment as possible.
The delegation members will be there to market Zimbabwe and to forge ahead with business partnerships that will be beneficial to Zimbabwe. Therefore, the size of a given delegation, to me, as a patriotic Zimbabwean, is irrelevant as long as the end result is a benefit (however small) to the country of maDzimbahwe. Thus the cost of any trip undertaken by my President is a burden I am prepared to shoulder as a tax payer.
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