Mukudzei Chingwere
Herald Reporter
Zimbuild Property Investment chief executive officer and former president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Dr Tinashe Manzungu has been awarded the prestigious International Business Leader Award by Canadian organisation, Jamie Pajoel International (JPI).
JPI provides competency-based leadership trainings to individuals and organisations across diverse fields of business.
It also provides knowledge-sharing and global experiences that help individuals develop leadership competencies, improve performance and drive strategies to promote organisational growth and profitability.
The award was handed at the end of the fourth edition of the JPI leadership conference in Kigali, Rwanda, where Dr Manzungu also delivered a presentation titled, “Unlocking Africa’s Prosperity Through Investment in Real Estate and Construction”.
The conference, which ran under the theme “Build to Last”, was an international business platform designed to help entrepreneurs and business leaders develop competencies and improve performances.
His presentation dwelt on his experiences in the booming construction industry in Zimbabwe which he said was anchored on the Second Republic’s infrastructure development thrust.
Dr Manzungu said Africa had all it needed to develop and industrialise, but needed to put its act together to achieve its goals.
He reiterated the Zimbabwe Government’s call for private sector participation in development programmes, saying governments needed to listen to the concerns coming from the business sector.
Dr Manzungu welcomed the award which he said was affirmation of the positive developments in Zimbabwe’s construction industry.
“Africa has all it needs to achieve its goals in real estate and construction. All the continent needs to do is to be organised so that we can attract both domestic and foreign direct investment,” he said.
“Governments have the capacity to manage and execute construction and real estate projects. These projects must however, be private sector driven with Governments listening widely to concerns from the private players.
“It is also incumbent upon us as the private sector to come on board, stand up and take the lead in the development of our continent. Politics should actually be following our eagerness.
“The award is validation of the work we are doing in the construction industry and I was happy to represent Zimbabwe and show the world that we are doing something worthy of international acknowledgement.”



