President Joyce Banda has cancelled an official trip to Brussels, Belgium, in compliance with travel restrictions announced by Minister of Finance Maxwell Mkwezalamba in the week.
This comes in the wake of the current donor aid freeze and the ongoing cash-gate saga that has rocked her administration, resulting in the Ministry of Finance curtailing both internal and external travels for public servants, including the President, except in exceptional circumstances.
Banda is, however, proceeding to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tomorrow to attend the World Economic Forum from where she will travel to Kuwait for the Africa Arab Summit because these trips are fully funded, according to presidential press secretary Steven Nhlane.
Nhlane disclosed that organisers of the Dubai and Kuwait conferences will meet costs of the president’s travel and that of her entourage.
“Yes, I can confirm that she’s cancelled her trip to Brussels because it required government to fund it. However, she’s still going to UAE and Kuwait because the two trips have been fully-funded by the organisers,” he said.
