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Zvamaida Murwira

Senior Reporter

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Dr Fredrick Shava, is set to assume his Ministerial duties after all the processes to regularise his appointment were completed on Wednesday.

Dr Shava took oath as Senator for Midlands on Wednesday.

He was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade a fortnight ago.

In an interview yesterday, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said all the legal requirements had been fulfilled for Dr Shava to start his Ministerial duties.

“Yes, he can now sit and participate in Cabinet just as he can sit in Senate. His appointment has been regularised and all legal processes and requirements have been fulfilled and satisfied,” said Minister Ziyambi.

Until his appointment as Foreign Affairs minister, Dr Shava was Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

The Herald understands that Dr Shava is set to leave for New York this week to wind up his work before returning within a few days and assume his official duties.

The process to regularise Dr Shava’s appointed after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission gazetted his name giving notice of his nomination by Zanu-PF as Senator for Midlands province.

The election management body invited objections if there were any and created a window of two weeks within which to get responses as is provided for by the Constitution and the enabling law.

ZEC eventually declared Dr Shava duly nominated as Senator for Midlands.

Previously, he served as Zanu PF’s Director of Administration before being appointed Ambassador to China where he served from 2007 to                                                                         2014.

He was then appointed Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the UN where he was chairman of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on July 28, 2016.