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Bulawayo Bureau

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is in Bulawayo ahead of today’s official opening of the 61st edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

The President, who was accompanied by Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, landed at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane shortly after 4pm.

He was welcomed by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, Cabinet Ministers who included State Security Minister Owen Ncube, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza, Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube, ZITF Company board chair Mr Busisa Moyo and service chiefs among other senior Government officials.

Upon arrival, the President had a brief interaction with a handful of Zanu PF supporters who had gathered at the airport to welcome him.

President Mnangagwa will today officiate at ZITF before heading to Victoria Falls where he is scheduled to officially open the Southern Africa Chief Justices’ Forum (SACJF) and the Institute for Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe (ICSAZ) 50th anniversary and annual conference tomorrow.

The country’s premier business expo, ZITF is being held under strict Covid-19 guidelines with persons under 18 not allowed to attend as part of efforts to curb the disease from spreading among children.

This year’s edition is running under the theme “Showcasing the New Normal for Business and Industry: Realities and Opportunities”.

A total of 396 local direct exhibitors and 11 countries — Botswana, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Belarus, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria and Tanzania — are participating at the trade fair.

The successful hosting of the multi-sectoral expo is a milestone for Zimbabwe, coming at a time when the country has just re-opened its economy and is gearing towards a post-Covid-19 recovery.

Organisers of the show have also enlisted the help of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and key stakeholders in communicating and enforcing health and safety protocols outside the exhibition centre. The ZITF 2021 was this year postponed twice, in April and August due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Victoria Falls, President Mnangagwa will be the guest of honour for both SACJF and ICSAZ conferences, which will be held at Elephant Hills Resort.

ICSAZ is a division of Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) Global and will be held under the theme: “Reset, Reignite, Refocus”.

The SACJF provides a formal platform, structure and framework through which the Chief Justices of Eastern and Southern Africa and Africa at large are able to collectively reflect on critical issues on justice delivery and adopt action plans to address those issues in a systematic and sustained way in order to strengthen justice delivery in the region.

In recognition and amplification of the important role that judiciaries play within the regions, the SACFJ was established in 2003 to, among other things, uphold the rule of law, democracy and independence of the courts and to promote contact as well as co-operate among the courts in the regions of its operation.