‘We are out to mould multi-skilled diplomats’
IN 2020, President Mnangagwa established the Zimbabwe Foreign Service Institute (ZFSI) for Government employees involved in diplomacy, trade and tourism to boost their skill sets. In September this year, the ZFSI enrolled its first batch of students. Our senior reporter RICHARD MUPONDE (RM) spoke to ZFSI director-general Ambassador DR MACHIVENYIKA MAPURANGA (MM) to get more about the institute and its mandate. Below are excerpts of the interview.
RM: Please, start by giving us a background of ZFSI.
MM: This was an idea conceived as far back as 1992 by then-Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Nathan Shamuyarira. The first crop of our diplomats were trained by a hired consultant from Ghana.
From that time onwards, training of our diplomats was set up on an ad hoc basis.
Later, a training department was set up within the ministry. But the ministry then thought it was important to have an institute dedicated to production of ambassadors and other diplomats, like other countries have done. So, in 1992, a consultant was hired.
Over the years, this project was more or less in a state of hibernation, and I understand it was largely because of resources. In fact, when I was Permanent Secretary, my Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Stan Mudenge, tried to resuscitate this project and we even drafted a note for consideration by Cabinet. But again, we were told the same old thing — that resources were not available.
It was only in the Second Republic, when the late Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr Sibusiso Moyo, decided that the time had come to resuscitate this project.
I first received an appointment as special adviser to the minister on establishment of ZFIS and started to chair a committee,
which came up with recommendations for a structure of the institute. RM: Is a fully fledged structure now in place for ZFSI?
MM: In June last year, the Minister (of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Frederick Shava) accepted our recommendations and he appointed a board of governors, as stipulated in the charter.
So, it is the board that gives leadership and direction to the institute. And the board started working immediately.
One of the things the board did was to advertise for the post of director-general. We received quite numerous applications. In the end, they decided that I be appointed the inaugural director-general
of the institute.
And so, I was appointed in November last year. And what I have done so far is to start drafting the charter for the institute for presentation to the board of governors.
Also, we started work on elements of the curriculum, and this was accepted. So, one of the things the steering committee also did was to make recommendations to the minister for eminent personalities who could be on the board of governors. RM: What is the mandate of ZFSI? MM: The charter stipulates that the function of this institute is two-fold. One, to train Zimbabwe’s diplomats and other officers within the Government system. And secondly, that it will do some research in the field of diplomacy and international relations, and advise Government on foreign policy issues. RM: Do you have your own premises?
MM: The ministry thought it would be good for the institute to have its own premises and it, therefore, provided three guest houses for this purpose.
And this is one of them here in Mt Pleasant, where we are based.
The minister chose this to be the core building for what he calls phase one of the institute. Because we have enough land here, he wants to go into phase two — to construct admirable lecture halls, maybe an auditorium, maybe a hostel, and so on. A lot of things will come into phase two of the project.
We are just thinking out loud. The board is seized on the matter; the minister is seized on the matter. So, here we are. RM: Who is eligible to enrol at the institute?
MM: The institute only receives officers within the Government system of Zimbabwe.
RM: Tell us about the inaugural enrolment and course on offer?
MM: As we speak, we are holding the first training programme, which started on the 18th of September. And it’s going to run until December.
So, this is our first training programme that is taking place now.
There are modules in all aspects of diplomacy. First of all, students must know what the foreign policy of their Government is. So, they are being taught how to deal with the foreign policy and how it has evolved over the years.
And secondly, before they are posted, students must know not only the structure and the functions of the sending ministry — that is, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade — but also all other Government ministries and departments; they come here to give lectures to all students. RM: How is ZFSI contributing to the country’s signature foreign policy, the engagement and re-engagement agenda?
MM: The kind of diplomat we are trying to mould is one who is multi-skilled and patriotic, a diplomat who can, when he or she goes out there, defend the country’s national interest and knows what the foreign policy of the country is.
He or she should promote economic diplomacy.
In other words, he or she is a diplomat with skills in trade and commerce, finance, tourism and investment.
That is why we have people from ZIDA (Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency) coming to give lectures here. We also have people from ZimTrade and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
We are producing a multi-skilled Zimbabwean diplomat who will be able to articulate the engagement and re-engagement agenda in an eloquent manner.
It is also important to note that the board of governors produced an organogram with a director-general and three directors. One of them is director for diplomacy, international relations, engagement and re-ngagement.
In the curriculum of the institute, there is a module on this issue, conducted in association with the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
By the time officers are posted abroad, they are well-grounded on Zimbabwe’s foreign policy, whose major planks include engagement and re-engagement. Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none. RM: Is the four-month course the only one available? MM: We have commenced with the inaugural course, from September to December. We give successful candidates academic certificates. I think, in its maturity, the institute will be able to give national diplomas. For that, we have to work with the national quality control agency, ZIMCHE (Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education), which supervises the quality of education in all our universities, teachers’ colleges and polytechnics. RM: Do you have partnerships with other local or international institutions?
MM: The board visited the Zimbabwe National Defence University and we discussed cooperation.
We might come up with an MoU (memorandum of understanding) on cooperation.
We also held a meeting with the Public Service Academy and they came up with a draft memo, which we looked at. We made our comments and we are now waiting for the final product.
We are looking at what other similar institutions are doing in Africa and abroad. The board visited Kenya, where they had meetings with three institutions on benchmarking exercises.
They also visited Nigeria, where they had benchmarking meetings with two institutions. And lastly, they have just come back from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where they had a benchmarking visit to two or three institutions.
We are looking at how we can improve on structure, establishment, conditions of service and, above all, the curriculum.