Presidents can
reassign anyone to anywhere and in fact drop some unlucky folks altogether !
Being moved to
Foreign Affairs is always considered a " promotion " and being moved
from it a " demotion " but in essence all Cabinet deployments are
equally important, members of one body , like the arm , leg , eye , ear or
mouth scenario . There is not one unimportant
or more important than the other.
The only thing making Foreign Affairs prestigious is proximity to the principal
and of course visibility. Often you wear
borrowed robes but they are exactly what
they are
" borrowed
" . If any thought lingers on as a result of conduct that you now want the
robes permanently you are quickly
disabused . January Makamba former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Tanzania , a
young and vibrant fellow in my opinion
fell victim to this " borrowed robe " theory . In his bid for a
multilateral post as African Union Commission
Chair he expressed unauthorised ambition . He was instantly
dropped. Naledi Pandor former Minister of International Relations
could easily have been reappointed too
in South Africa but in my opinion she also had become an authority of sorts in
this much coveted deployment often speaking her mind and perhaps dragging her
principal along in some global escapades . I have Israel and Ukraine in mind .
In the GNU of RSA clearly there was a
recalibration through a deployment. From assertive to quiet diplomacy .
However having said this often Foreign Affairs Ministers
are seen as being a core part of critical decisions of a Country and its
general direction and how it wants to be understood by global polity . The
deployment in this portfolio often signals either a hawkish thrust or a dove
approach to international relations. It
is also in this portfolio where one of the Cardinal 48 laws of power "
thou shall not shine more than the Master
" is most practically tested and often the deployment is the most
" gossiped " about with the
Principal especially if one is shining
. The quickest way out of this portfolio
is to be
" gossiped" about on ambition to succeed the
Principal , a narrative often sponsored
and conspired from all directions
including the very Embassies you supervise and even your Permanent Secretary if
he is political . All Ambassadors report directly to a President so its a
minefield , one slur or slip of the
tongue with any of them and you are
snitched on. Sometimes you don't even need to have done or said anything wrong
, just " shining " will ground
you. I mean performance. Parrots or do nothings last longer in this portfolio.
Often a sudden movement from the portfolio is linked to
loyalty issues perceived or real than
meritocracy . In fact meritocracy threatens loyalty and before you know it , you are out .
But back to Zimbabwe with all ahead of it , including a bid
for readmission to Commonwealth , UN Reforms , SADC Chairmanship & Regional
politics , Domestic Policy ,
International Trade , Geopolitics
& the crucial balancing act required and finally Sanctions ( Global
Magnitsky ) what do our deployment in this portfolio signal? He was writing on
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