By Costa Nkomo
THE MDC has slammed President Emmerson Mnangagwa for spending time and scarce resources on a trip to Rwanda when the country’s economy was crying out for urgent solutions from his leadership.
Mnangagwa Wednesday left for Kigali for the central and east African country’s 25th liberation commemorations set for this Thursday.
He was in the company of Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo, among other delegates.
However, the MDC saw everything wrong with a leader who was always ready to jump onto the plane to attend events that did not have a direct impact on the country’s myriad problems.
Party secretary for International Relations Gladys Hlatshwayo told NewZimbabwe.com Wednesday that while international engagement was key to the country’s economic development prospects, President Mnangagwa needed to prioritise spending valuable time at home and finding urgent solutions to the country’s worsening economic challenges.
“While it is good from an international perspective to engage with other countries, with the current economic situation it is just bad for him to embark on foreign trips. It’s just unnecessary,” Hlatshwayo said.
“We do have ambassadors in those countries the President is visiting who can play that role in terms of representing the country.
“The domestic problems require his attention through dialoguing with relevant stakeholders to ease the difficulties our people face on a day to day basis.”
Without giving much detail, Minister Moyo told the state media Mnangagwa will stick to the Rwandan commemorations which he was invited for.
“The celebrations are unique because they are celebrated once every five years. This what the President is going there for,” Moyo was quoted as saying.
Mnangagwa took over power 2017 with a promise to dump his predecessor Robert Mugabe’s habits his administration blames for plunging the once prosperous country into its worst economic crisis in 10 years.
Hoever, his own frequent foreign jaunts are seen as a replica of Mugabe’s globe-trotting habits.
