PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed two different acting presidents in a space of only four days when he was out of the country \u2014 a development described by critics as devoid of wisdom.<\/p>\n
When Mnangagwa went to Angola last weekend on a one-day visit, he appointed one of his deputies, Kembo Mohadi as the acting president.<\/p>\n
The ministry of Information posted on its Twitter handle that Mohadi was the interim leader while Mnangagwa was attending the commemoration of Southern African Liberation Day, the Cuito Cuanavale.<\/p>\n
On his return from Luanda after a day, Mnangagwa, who critics have slammed for his \u201cunproductive\u201d globetrotting antics which have led to comparisons to his predecessor former President Robert Mugabe\u2019s foreign jaunts, proceeded to South Africa on another one-day official visit \u2014 this time leaving the other of his two vice presidents, Constantino Chiwenga in charge.
\nThe announcement was made by the Information and Publicity ministry in a tweet on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst His Excellency is in South Africa on official business (25 to 26 March 2019), Hon Gen (Rtd) C G D N Chiwenga will be Acting President,\u201d the ministry said on its Twitter handle.
\nThe opposition MDC wasted no time in twisting the knife into Mnangagwa and his deputies.<\/p>\n
Jacob Mafume, the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC spokesperson told the Daily News yesterday that Mnangagwa\u2019s VPs when in acting capacity as Presidents are in the habit of going into hibernation when faced with crises as they cannot make critical decisions in the president\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a thoughtless merry go round where the individuals concerned see this as an unending sweet to share around,\u201d Mafume said suggesting that Mnangagwa\u2019s deputies are enjoying sharing the benefits that comes with being acting president even for just a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trips seem pointlessly endless and the \u2018acting\u2019 seems to achieve some bizarre ritualistic fairness for the VPs; nothing to benefit the nation at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when disasters happen the appointed VP disappears until the president comes back,\u201d he said further.
\nPresidential spokesperson George Charamba was not available for a comment as his phone was not reachable.<\/p>\n
Government usually comes to a virtual standstill when Mnangagwa is away with even Cabinet not meeting until he is back to chair it. The same applies to critical Zanu PF meetings such as the politburo and central committee that he chairs but does not allow his deputies to take over in his absence.<\/p>\n
This was the same situation when Mugabe was still in charge before he was deposed by Mnangagwa in November 2017 with the help of the military.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed two different acting presidents in a space of only four days when he was out of the country \u2014 a development described by critics as devoid of wisdom. When Mnangagwa went to Angola last weekend on a one-day visit, he appointed one of his deputies, Kembo Mohadi as the acting president. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[38,31,149,445],"class_list":{"0":"post-6411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-zanu-pf","10":"tag-mnangagwa","11":"tag-president","12":"tag-vice-president"},"yoast_head":"\n