‘Honour AU cattle pledge to President’

LEADERS in the country’s 10 provinces have until the end of the month to hand over cattle they pledged to President Mugabe after he donated 300 cattle to the African Union in February.

Kadoma businessman and farmer Mr Jimayi Muduvuri, who is co-ordinating the collection of the cattle and is looking after the beasts at his farm, over the weekend said provinces should be on the ready with their cattle as transport had been secured to collect the beasts.

“We are reminding all provincial administrators, ministers of state and Zanu-PF provincial chairmen to wind up their mobilisation and hand over the cattle to President Mugabe as a way of thanking him for the work he did at the African Union,” said Mr Muduvuri.

“We will be sending trucks to the provinces to collect all pledges. I will be calling the provinces soon and we want to update the AU on the progress we have made,” he said.

Mr Muduvuri for his own part donated 30 cattle to President Mugabe.

He said, “I am the one who said President, you cannot do that for yourself, being the chairman for AU (by then), it is not his job. He is working for us and that is our duty to support our President.”

President Mugabe had during his tenure as AU chair promised to assist the continental body and in February AU Commission deputy chairperson Mr Erastus Mwencha came to Zimbabwe to receive the gift which is being channelled to the African Union Foundation.

The African Union Foundation is the brainchild of the African Heads of State and Government, and was created for the purposes of collaborating with the private sector, philanthropists, individuals and people in the Diaspora to solicit donations and seek voluntary contributions towards the financing of Africa’s. development priorities in pursuit of Agenda 2063.