NRZ revival to take 1 year, says Mpofu

Prosper Ndlovu Senior Reporter—
THE Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Dr Obert Mpofu, yesterday set himself a target of 12 months to turn around operations at the ailing National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), saying the Government was finalising talks with potential investors on the recapitalisation of the  parastatal.
Addressing journalists after a tour of the NRZ mechanical workshops in Bulawayo, Dr Mpofu said he had ordered management to stop further retrenchment of workers and assured them that by this time of the year next year, NRZ would be back on track.

Dr Mpofu also said as things improve, the company will re-engage all the workers who lost their jobs.
“I came here to see what is happening at NRZ as the new minister. I had a meeting in the morning with management, the                         board and the workers and I listened to their concerns. We discussed plans to revive NRZ and put it back on its feet,” he said.

“The company has only 6 000 workers now from a peak of 23 000 and we agreed that there should be no further retrenchment. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has pledged to avail funding for the revival of NRZ.

“Chinese investors have also come on board and we are finalising talks. You can expect action in the few coming months and by this time next year, things will be different,” said Dr Mpofu.

The Minister could however, not be drawn into disclosing the amount of money to be availed by the interested investors but insisted that prospects for a new lease of life for the parastatal, which requires $2 billion recapitalisation, were high.

NRZ is struggling to provide efficient freight service as its wagons and locomotives are in a dilapidated state.
The company is also battling to clear a salary backlog of up to six months.

“We are aware of the plight of workers who have not been paid for several months and we urge them to bear with us while we implement strategies to boost the operations of the company.

“It is sad that about 16 000 workers have been retrenched but we are looking at creating employment now and increasing it beyond the 23 000 workers that used to work here,” said Dr Mpofu.

He said the ministry and NRZ management had identified critical areas and now awaited recommendations from the board to move forward.

Dr Mpofu implored management and the board to embrace modern business practices and adopt modern technology.
The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo, Cde Nomthandazo Eunice Moyo, who was part of the delegation, said the revival of the NRZ was strategic in the development of the Bulawayo economy.

“We want our children here to get jobs and we know that President Mugabe is concerned about Bulawayo. It is sad that only a few workers who used to be employed here are still around. I am aware of the engagements with investors and assure you that come next year things would be different,” she said.

Cde Moyo said despite the fact that the business environment was improving, NRZ was failing to provide efficient service because of limited capacity.

During the tour, the delegation, which also included Ministry of Transport Permanent Secretary Mr Munesu Munodawafa, NRZ board chairman Dr Khotsho Dube, finance and administration manager Retired Brigadier-General Levy Mayihlome and senior management, was shown the obsolete equipment at the parastatal’s engineering workshop.

Several locomotives and wagons are grounded and engineers were observed working on some of them.
Stakeholders have called for the adequate recapitalisation of NRZ, which used to be one of the biggest employers in the                                    country.

The demise of the parastatal in the past few years has not only affected workers and their dependants but the entire industry which depended on NRZ for bulk movement of goods.