President Robert Mugabe left for India yesterday to attend the World Cultural Festival which opens in the capital New Delhi this week.
Vice President Mnangagwa is Acting President.
The President, who is travelling with Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and other senior Government officials, was seen off at Harare International Airport by Vice Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko, Cabinet ministers and service chiefs.
The festival celebrates cultural diversity across the globe and highlights growing unity among humans. Several world leaders are expected to attend, with some scheduled to address thousands from various countries, religions and cultures. Top musical and arts groups will then spice things up with performances that depict cultural diversity.
Last year foreign trips by President Mugabe and his cabinet gobbled up more than US$33 million between January and September 2015 which was more than what has been spent in the same period by key ministries like Industry and Commerce.
Figures from the 2016 budget statement show that much more is being spent funding Mugabe’s foreign trips compared to what is allocated to economic ministries which should be spearheading the country’s economic revival efforts.