Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Writer
FORMER Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, has been appointed the new chairman of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) board.
The appointment, according to NRZ sources, is with effect from September 1.
Dr Sibanda takes over from Advocate Mike Madiro and is expected to be officially introduced to the NRZ management in Bulawayo on September 4.
Zimpapers Business Hub understands that prior to that, he was introduced to the board and NRZ directors on August 27 by Mutapa Investment Fund chief executive officer Dr John Mangudya, during a special board meeting held in Harare.
Dr Sibanda has already assumed his new role, having chaired his first full board meeting in Harare yesterday.
Contacted for comment, NRZ public affairs and stakeholder relations manager, Mr Andrew Kunambura, said: “These are matters for the shareholder who makes those decisions and has the sole prerogative to determine when and how to share information.”
NRZ, one of the parastatals under the Mutapa Investment Fund, is key to the country’s economic revival and so far due to the absence of an efficient railway system, concerns have been raised over the extent at which Zimbabwe’s road network was being damaged as bulk goods are transported by haulage trucks.
In line with Vision 2030, NRZ has embarked on stabilising the “ship and preventing it from further sinking”.
The strategies for recapitalisation, re-organisation and transformation are aimed at making NRZ a modern and efficient mode of transporter of choice for both bulk passengers and freight, especially with regards to the attainment of the US$12 billion mining industry.
NRZ has adopted a phased approach to its strategic plan covering the period 2020-2030 aimed at turning around its fortunes and the foregoing initiatives were mainly addressing short-term requirements.
The three phases are intertwined spreading over the strategic horizons namely the short-term, medium-term and long-term.
