Online Reporter
Herald Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has conveyed his condolences following the death of former Lands and Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Dr Robbie Mupawose, describing him as a fountain of knowledge and an outstanding corporate leader.
Dr Mupawose died last Sunday after a long illness.
He was 91.
In his condolence message yesterday, President Mnangagwa said Dr Mupawose was a professional who was asked to come back to the country after Independence, in 1980, to take up leadership roles in the emerging civil service.
“A long-time Permanent Secretary in our Lands and Agricultural Ministries, Dr Mupawose belonged to a pioneering crop of experts we summoned back home at Independence to take up leadership positions in the nascent post-independence civil service,” he said.
“Without hesitating, he packed his bags and headed home, where he helped repair and rehabilitate our agricultural sector, which had been broken by a long war.
“In that demanding role, he was part of a team which tackled and developed a blueprint for our land reforms and the resettlement programme, a dual assignment he remained seized with right up to his last days in Government.”
President Mnangagwa added that even after he left the civil service, Dr Mupawose still assisted with various agriculture and economic frameworks.
“Even after leaving Government, we continued to draw on his expertise, including in the context of the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) where agricultural policies were shaped and made to speak to the rest of the sectors of our economy.
“His chairmanship of Agricultural Boards such as TIMB, ARDA, AMA and the Biotechnology Council of Zimbabwe, was salutary and directional.
“Later in his wide-spanning career, he chaired many boards in the private sector, and advised on numerous international bodies, which included the World Bank.”
President Mnangagwa extended condolences to the bereaved family and described Dr Mupawose’s death as a national loss.
“We have lost a fountain of knowledge and expertise,” he said.
“On behalf of the Party, ZANU PF, Government, my Family and my behalf, I wish to express my deepest, heartfelt condolences to the Mupawose Family, especially to Amai Mupawose and the children, on this their saddest loss. I also condole with colleagues of Dr Mupawose, both in the public and private sectors, on this huge loss.
“May they all derive solace from the outstanding and indelible accomplishments of the dear departed, always remembering that our Nation hails him as among its great sons.”
President Mnangagwa also granted Dr Mupawose a State-assisted funeral in recognition of his immense contribution to national development and professional leadership.
