The President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe is reported by local media to have said that he was surprised by his earlier appointment as a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization to fight non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
The long-term leader of Zimbabwe has said that he was not “formally informed” of his appointment and learnt about it from the media.
Mr. Mugabe lost the Goodwill role on Sunday after his appointment last week was criticized by donors and rights groups.
The Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had announced Mr. Mugabe’s appointment at a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Uruguay on Wednesday.
After the series of criticisms, Mr. Tedros said in a statement that “Over the last few days, I have reflected on my appointment of H.E. President Robert Mugabe as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for NCDs in Africa. As a result I have decided to rescind the appointment.”
“I thank everyone who has voiced their concerns and shared their thoughts. I depend on constructive debate to help and inform the work I have been elected to do,” Tedro further said in his statement.
According to the Herald newspaper, Mr. Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba said his boss would have “rejected the invitation to take up the post as it is not in Zimbabwe’s national interest to do so”.
Charamba said: “The president was quite surprised that he had been appointed a goodwill ambassador by the WHO… The decision, if it was one, to designate the president of Zimbabwe as goodwill ambassador is something that he learnt from the news.
“What it means therefore, is that the WHO cannot take back what it never gave in the first place…” Charamba added.
Source: Africafeeds.com
