By A Correspondent| Nelson Chamisa seems to be building a SMART team of brilliant young intellectuals around him. This surely dispels all the myth that he is a one man show. Not long ago he brought in Dr Nkululeko Sibanda as his spokesperson. We can also confirm that he has of late roped in the South Africa based Dr Tapiwa Shumba as his Technical Advisor. Word is that there are more to follow.
Dr Tapiwa Shumba specialises in international business transactions, economics law and policy; legal research; regional integration and law in general. He is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and the Founder and Director of a consulting firm Brainlords Business & Legal Consultants with crosscutting knowledge ranging from law, politics and economics.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Cum Laude); Master of laws in international Commercial law from the University of Cape Town (LLM UCT) and a Doctor of laws Degree in Mercantile Law from Stellenbosch University (LLD Stellenbosch).
He has received various awards and has been involved with various organisations. He has published a book, peer-reviewed articles, presented papers at conferences and provided analysis for local and international media on various topics ranging from international economics law, criminal law, politics and other legal matters.
He is also currently a Senior Law Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at University of Fort Hare.
Picking Dr Shumba to join his team, shows a mark of brilliance on Chamisa especially after signing Dr Nkululeko Sibanda.
Dr Shumba is a former spokesperson for the MDC in South Africa which not only grounds him into Zim politics but also means Chamisa is retaining internal MDC talent.
During his undergraduate studies, He was expelled from a government scholarship after he led a protest against the politicisation of government grants.
We understand Chamisa managed to convince him to let go an Associate Professor in Law appointment at a South African university to come and join his team as his Technical Advisor.
Of course Zim is not short of young brilliant minds, but it takes a brilliant leader to take out those in their comfort zones and bring them back to the trenches.
There is no better way of explaining the known special qualities of Dr Tapiwa Shumba except to say he is a special young man with a hawk-eye analysis on issues, a brilliant mind and incredible passion for hard work. Those who have worked with him say he sees issues like a magician.
He was the youngest Doctor of Laws in Zimbabwe when he finished his LLD at 26.
Added to his incredible intellect, his levels of hard work and commitment are something that will certainly lift Chamisa’s team. The fact that Dr, Adv Shumba is always happy to sit behind the scenes and to claim no personal glory is his mark of collegiality. You won’t know he exists unless you look for him.
A leader is as good as the company he keeps. Those who say Chamisa is not an economist or scientist should now know that it is the team he builds that matters more than himself as an individual. But still Chamisa himself is not a pushover. A strong team simply complements him. As they say, iron sharpens iron.
Chamisa is building a SMART Team around him and it appears results are starting to show. Whether he will be able to keep this talent is a waiting game. For now, credit must be given where its due.