A SENIOR United Nations Development Program (UNDP) officer will visit Zimbabwe this week where he will meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his two aides, vice presidents Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga, and find out how the agency can assist Zimbabwe during the elections.
UNDP administrator Achim Steiner will visit Zimbabwe from 15th to 18th March and this will be the first visit by a UN official since the end of Robert Mugabe’s 37 year rule through a coup in November 2017.
Steiner, who is also the vice chair of the United Nations Development Group, will also meet Foreign Affairs, Justice, Lands and Agriculture, Environment, and Health Ministers among others. He will also meet development partners, members of the civil society and the UN country team.
A statement by the local UN office said Steiner will discuss how the UN can support the upcoming elections and what actions it can take to assist in Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.
“He will also meet with a number of Independent Commissions, including the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, and the Gender Commission,” said the statement.
“Steiner will also deliver the keynote address at the launch of National Human Development report on Climate Change on the 6th of March in Harare.
“The Human Development Report aims to inform policy, provide additional evidence for resilience and livelihood building projects and advocacy to address natural disasters that have become recurrent in Zimbabwe due to climate change,” the statement added.
Steiner will also travel to the field to see a variety of projects including a voter registration facility, an agricultural diversification project, and HIV and AIDS programmes in Mbare and Mutoko. – NewZim
