Zimbabwe's ambassador to Senegal Gertrude Stevenson ditches MDC.
Lottie Gertrude “Trudy” Stevenson is a remarkable political survivor, appointed as Zimbabwean Ambassador to Senegal in 2009 during the GNU as a deployee of the smaller MDC led by Welshman Ncube.
A former national secretary for Policy and Research in the then Morgan Tsvangirai-led, Trudy continued to serve as ambassador to Senegal and the Gambia after the fall of the inclusive government. After the fall of Robert Mugabe, she has continued to serve there as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s envoy. Our news editor Gift Phiri chats to Trudy in this wide-ranging interview.
Q: You attended the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan last week attended by President Mnangagwa. Do you get a sense that Zimbabwe benefitted from that summit?
A: At the Africa CEO Forum, there was excitement and a very positive vibe about Zimbabwe coming back into the fray. Investors were very keen to meet with both HE (His Excellency) and our private sector and ministers. Some were anxious about the safety of their investments, but as a couple of bankers noted, “money is a coward.” It goes where it feels safe, and always need to see an exit window before entering. As HE and others pointed out, the early bird catches the worm — and I think that message was well accepted.
There were serious commitments to invest, come back and rebuild — e.g. Afreximbank formalised their $1,5 billion loan which is partly for investment guarantee. Their (Afreximbank) president (Benedict) Oramah made the point at two events that they have invested $2 billion in the last 20 years in Zimbabwe, and never lost one cent! We are very fortunate that the Jeune Afrique Group took an interest in our new dispensation, and invited HE as their special guest this year, as well as Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo and of course host president Alassane Ouattara.
As the premier French-language magazine in Africa and about Africa, that says a lot! HE made the point several times that this was his first visit to West Africa since he visited Nigeria in 1977, when Obasanjo was President! He was carrying Mao Tse Tung’s Little Red Book, at the time, and Obasanjo advised him to put it away in his pocket — he was not interested in ideologies, only human dignity! Nigeria gave huge support to Zimbabwe during the liberation struggle, in terms of funds, arms and safe passage.
Q: How are Zimbabwe-Senegal relations?
A: Zimbabwe-Senegal relations are very good. Senegal also supported Zimbabwe’s independence struggle, and many senior government officials are well acquainted with Zimbabwe and have a soft spot for us.
Q: There is a sense that President Macky Sall is stifling his political opposition ahead of elections expected next year. A court in Senegal has just sentenced opposition leader Khalifa Sall on Friday to five years in prison for embezzlement and falsifying documents. What is the situation there?
A: Indeed there is concern about the sentence of Khalifa Sall, but I was away in Abidjan when it was handed down so have not had chances to study it yet. I will study the judgment as soon as possible. That said, there is also concern that Karim Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, who was or is also considered a possible challenger to Macky Sall next year, remains in exile in Qatar under conditions that are unclear, that is whether he was released from prison provided he never returns to Senegal, or what?
Q: Have you briefed Harare about the developments in Dakar and what are we doing to diffuse the tension there?
A: I just returned from Abidjan on Thursday evening, before Good Friday/Easter weekend, and have not had a chance to brief Harare about anything, as yet. However, we do not intervene in another country’s internal affairs.
Q: Is there risk of unrest over the arrest of the opposition leader?
A: There could be unrest over Khalifa Sall’s sentence — but there could equally be unrest over any number of other issues, just like Zimbabwe with the doctors’ strike.
Q: How big is the Zimbabwe Diaspora there?
A: There are not many Zimbabweans in Senegal, mostly because of the language issue. Senegal is French-speaking, which is a Zimbabweans working in the different mines, however — but we generally don’t see them, they slip in and out on their 6-week-on-2-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
► Hot news:
https://goo.gl/J7mUhU
► ANC: https://goo.gl/x9xRAu
► Scandal: https://goo.gl/YGe8cw
► Zimbawe updates:
https://goo.gl/2MJUjp
..........................................................................................
If you feel good, please support the author by subscribing to our channel to track the next video.
* SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL: https://goo.gl/cmiueF
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
► See More: https://goo.gl/cmiueF
Zimbabwe 's ambassador to Senegal Gertrude Stevenson ditches MDC | |
| 3 Likes | 3 Dislikes |
| 349 views views | followers |
| News & Politics Creative Commons Attribution licence (reuse allowed) | Upload TimePublished on 5 Apr 2018 |
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét