Harare (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to attend the 78th United National General Assembly conference set to start on Monday in New York, United States of America, a senior official has said.
Ruling Zanu PF party national spokesman, Christopher Mutsvangwa made the announcement at a post politburo meeting press briefing in Harare on Friday.
President Mnangagwa’s attendance of the world body conference comes soon after the beginning of his second term in office following his victory in the August 23 harmonised elections that he and the ruling party won resoundingly.
He has since hit the ground running, appointing a 26-member cabinet, provincial ministers and a couple of deputy ministers despite feeble protests by the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), alleging irregularities. The CCC has, however, contradicted this position by accepting its National Assembly and local government seats, and gone on to appoint mayors in most urban areas where it won.
“We would also want to announce that the President will be going to the UN General Assembly. You know of course that the President has received the letter of congratulation from the UN Secretary General (Antonio Guterres),” said Mutsvangwa.
“Now you need to understand that the UN Sec-Gen is a civil servant of the UN of which there is the General Assembly but there is also the Security Council members with the veto power, UK, France, America, China and Russia so when the SG issues a statement, it is because all the important stakeholders in the Security Council have agreed to that statement. It means Washington endorsed the position of the SG in congratulating Zimbabwe, it means London endorsed that congratulatory letter; otherwise he would not have issued it.”
Mutsvangwa said unlike the SADC observe mission head, Dr Nevers Mumba of Zambia who went beyond his mandate by taking sides with the opposition CCC, the UN Sec-Gen knows the parameters under which he operates so his congratulatory letter is wholesome.
“It is reflective of the Security Council members of the UN in their entirety. It’s not a solo performance jive by an individual like Mr Nevers Mumba so we are very happy that tacitly this endorsement of the elections is coming from the UN openly from the SG but tacitly from the Security Council members,” Mutsvangwa said. “It’s a building block upon which we will see where we go together with the world community.”
New Ziana