State Media
Sekai Nzenza THE Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Sekai Nzenza has, with the concurrence President Mnangagwa, appointed Dr Farai Karonga as chief executive officer for Zisco and three additional board members. Dr Karonga replaces, Mr Alois Gowo, who retired from the organisation early this year.
Once the backbone of Zimbabwe’s industry, Zisco has been on defunct mode since 2008 when it collapsed under hyperinflationary climate.
Engineer Martin Manhuwa, Mr Demand Gwatinetsa and Mr Edmore Tafirenyika add to the existing board led by Professor Gift Mugano. Other members are Mrs C. Zhanje, Ms M. Buzuzi, Mr M. Phiri and Ms S. Sidambe.
“The resuscitation of ZISCO Steel remains of paramount importance considering the parastatal’s pivotal role in the mining and manufacturing sector,” said Dr Nzenza in a statement.
“The minister is confident that 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 for institutions like RioZim (Pvt) Ltd, as acting general manager for the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) 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 currently managing the 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 each.
Mr Gwatinetsa holds an MSc in Engineering, a Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Geology.
Mr Tafirenyika currently serves at Mimosa Mining Company with 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 currently 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).