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Herald Reporter
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has appointed Professor Obert Jiri to the post of chief director responsible for Agricultural Advisory Services and Engineer Edwin Zimunga to the post of chief director responsible for Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Soil and Research Specialist for Natural, Applied and Life Sciences within the Research and Innovation Directorate in the office of the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Zimbabwe.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Lands said the two were bringing a wealth of experience to the sector.
“The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development wishes to advise that in terms of Section 203 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.20) of as read with Section 8 (1) (a) of the Public Service Act (Chapter 16:04) and Section 6 (8) (b1) of the Public Service Regulations 2000, the Public Service Commission with the approval of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Dr E. D Mnangagwa has approved the appointment of the following senior positions.
“Prof Obert Jiri (44) is an accomplished consultant in the field of Agriculture, Climate Change adaptation, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Precision Agriculture.
Prof Obert Jiri brings a wealth of experience spanning more than 20 years and is not new to the Ministry as he once served as a senior research agronomist from 1999 to 2003.
“He has contributed significantly to the academia with over 50 publications to his name, ” read the statement.
Prof Jiri is a member of distinguished Professional Societies namely, The Zimbabwe Young Academy of Sciences, Crop Science Society of Zimbabwe and African Crop Science Society.
The Ministry said Eng Zimunga is a seasoned professional with over 14 years of experience in corporate leadership, policy formulation and strategic management.
“He is a former director of the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC) since 2017. He served in various professional capacities including being a Project Engineer for ADDAX BioEnergy, Process Manager for Green Fuel and Process Engineer at Zimglass.
” He has an impeccable track record in the fields of engineering, energy and heavy industry operations,” said the Ministry.
Eng Zimunga is a member of various professional societies and bodies such as the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers, Engineering Council of Zimbabwe, Association of Cost Engineers and Energy Risk Professionals among several others.
“The Ministry is grateful for the appointment of the two energetic cadres and welcome them to the ZimAgric Team. The appointments have been done at the most opportune time when the sector is taking centre stage in putting solid steps to achieve His Excellency The President Dr E. D. Mnangagwa’s Vision of achieving an empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030,” said the Ministry.
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