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Business Reporter
THE Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Sekai Nzenza has, with the concurrence of President Mnangagwa, appointed Dr Farai Karonga as chief executive officer for Zisco.
Dr Karonga replaces Mr Alois Gowo, who retired from the company early this year.
Once the backbone of Zimbabwe’s industry, Zisco has not been operating since 2008 when it suspended production due to a number of challenges.
Minister Nzenza has also appointed three additional board members and these are Engineer Martin Manhuwa, Mr Demand Gwatinetsa and Mr Edmore Tafirenyika.
The three join the other five board members led by Professor Gift Mugano.
“The resuscitation of ZISCO Steel is of paramount importance considering the parastatal’s pivotal role in the mining and manufacturing sector,” said Dr Nzenza in a statement.
She said she was confident that the board members and the CEO’s technical expertise will help lead the ZISCO Steel strategic direction and revive a vibrant national steel industry.
Minister Nzenza said the appointed team must focus on best practice and good corporate governance hence the inclusion of a diversity of skills to contribute to the strategic direction and transformation of ZISCO into a formidable player in the mining sector.
Dr Karonga is an accomplished mining engineer with vast technical experience in the mining industry having served institutions like RioZim (Pvt) Ltd, Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) where he was once general manager and the University of Zimbabwe. He holds a Masters in Mining Engineering and a Doctorate in Mining Engineering.
Mr Gwatinetsa is an expert in mining engineering and is managing a holding company for the largest gold mining in Zimbabwe with overall strategic, financial and operational responsibility.
He was part of an executive team that was managing the strategic turn-around of the largest coal mine (Hwange Colliery) in Zimbabwe while developing two further large collieries.
Mr Gwatinetsa holds an MSc in Engineering, a Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Geology.
Mr Tafirenyika is at Mimosa Mining Company and has experience in strategic management of mining institutions. He previously served as a finance and administration manager of Zimasco’s smelting division. He holds Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration.
Engineer Manuhwa brings in experience, which spans over 20 years in power engineering protection, distribution as well production and manufacturing engineering consultancy.
He is the managing consultant of Zimbabwe Africa Infrastructure Development Group (ZAIDG), a consortium of consulting firms and a managing director of Industrial Energy Solutions.
Engineer Manuhwa holds Bachelor of Technology in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Honours) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
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