The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere in Harare and Cletus Mushanawani in Nyanga
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa last night bade farewell to his Botswana counterpart President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who indicated relations between Harare and Gaborone had scaled new heights following his three-day State visit.
President Masisi, who officially opened this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show on Friday, pledged to further deepen cordial relations between the two countries.
Speaking shortly before his departure at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, where he was seen off by President Mnangagwa and senior Government officials, he described his visit to Zimbabwe as fruitful.
“Truly, the friendship that exists between Botswana and Zimbabwe is cemented further by this visit. What I want to say really is a big thank you. To say thank you enormously to President Mnangagwa and Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa for the invitation. I thank the people of Zimbabwe. Their hospitality is second none; it’s amazing,” said President Masisi. Yesterday morning, he visited Nyanga and was awed by the alluring charm of the attractions.
“Nyanga is spectacular, the place is very high and it’s extremely green,” he said.
“The fish is there, the ambience and the fact that the place is so high you almost touch God’s feet is amazing.
“It’s so refreshing when you go to the countryside and you interact with ordinary Zimbabweans. When you interact with people doing work as part of their daily chores and you get to understand what challenges they face, which is exactly the same challenges our people face. So the commonality of purpose is brought together by these understandings.”
President Masisi also had the opportunity to fish trout, among various activities he partook.
“I tried my hand in fishing, a little slow at the beginning but I got better each time and I caught three trout fish,” he said.
“I also want to go to Chimanimani and trace the steps that President Mnangagwa took when he went to Mozambique during the war.”
During his visit to Nyanga, President Masisi was accompanied by his wife Mrs Neo Jane Masisi; Botswana Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Lemogang Kwape and his Zimbabwean counterpart Ambassador Frederick Shava; Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri; and Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Nokuthula Matsikenyere.
They toured Nyanga National Park, Trout Farm and Hatchery, World View, Troutbeck Inn and Mutarazi Falls.
The Botswanan leader could not hide his excitement soon after visiting the breathtaking Eastern Highlands and singled out the World View near Troutbeck Hotel as a spectacular site.
Minister Shava thanked President Masisi for putting Nyanga on the international tourism map.
“As far as I know, we are the first people to accompany a foreign President to Nyanga and I think from now on, people will be looking to say what does Nyanga have for tourists,” he said.
“We hope more Heads of States will choose Nyanga for their excursions. There are very beautiful places here, we went to the World View, and nothing beats the World View.
“Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has a challenge to improve what the World View can give by putting telescopes so that all those places that they mention that one can view will have better views.”
ZTA chief executive officer Mrs Winnie Muchanyuka, who also accompanied President Masisi during his Nyanga tour, said: “From the feedback we had from President Masisi, he was pleased with what the Eastern Highlands has to offer in terms of tourism. We have been challenged to do more marketing of our tourism.”
Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana are growing from strength to strength.
During his visit, President Masisi held bilateral talks with President Mnangagwa and also attended a State banquet that was hosted for him by the First Family on Thursday.
Botswana’s Head of State also visited the National Heroes Acre.
State Visits are considered the highest level of diplomatic engagements between two nations.
In 2018, President Mnangagwa visited Botswana in what was his first official State Visit after becoming Head of State.
Prior to the Second Republic, relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana were sour, as former President Robert Mugabe had a frosty relationship with then-Botswana President Ian Khama.
