BUSINESS REPORTER
Government is focusing on the bigger picture of reviving the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and believes the future looks bright for the parastatal once it procures equipment, Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Felix Mhona has said.
The rail parastatal has been in the eye of a storm after former employees wrote to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for him to fire NRZ general manager Respina Zinyanduko on alleged corporate governance deficit.
The NRZ board has put in place a sub committee to investigate the allegations.
Mhona told journalists last week that NRZ was on the cusp of a revival.
“NRZ is on the brink of its revival in terms of what we are going to procure. We are talking of five, six locomotives, close to 350 wagons, DMUs close to 6,7. We are in the procurement process as we speak. We are finalising that structure. So you will see NRZ back. Amid this very important development, you hear about these social media issues. Our focus is not on the personalities. But those who are found on the wrong side, we will definitely see them leaving. Our focus is now on the bigger picture of reviving NRZ. You will see NRZ back,” Mhona said.
NRZ is currently moving 2m tonnes annually from a peak of 12m and Mhona said it will add about 4m tonnes by the end of the year.
He said there were counter accusations at NRZ which have seen the board chair and GM on the firing line from former workers.
“In the ministry, we cannot run on social media. We need to do fact finding and at law there is what we call presumption of innocence. One would want to say why are you protecting the GM? Why are you protecting the board chair? You must fire the GM. But if you look at the Corporate Governance Act, the board hires executives, they can decide to fire that and advise the minister. So at times you get those leading questions from the media: why are you keeping the GM, why are you not firing the GM?”
The former employees want Zinyanduko suspended to pave way for investigations by an independent team as they felt the board subcommittee is compromised.
