Masiyiwa-Chamisa appointed new Zinara CEO

THE Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) has appointed Engineer Nancy Masiyiwa-Chamisa as the substantive chief executive officer effective September 1, 2016.

Eng Masiyiwa-Chamisa will most likely be unveiled this week. She takes over from Engineer Moses Juma who has been acting since 2014 when then CEO Mr Frank Chitukutuku resigned unceremoniously three months before the lapse of his contract.

Zinara board chairman Mr Albert Mugabe confirmed to The Herald Business last week that Eng Masiyiwa-Chamisa is the new boss at the key parastatal.

"We have already appointed her. The announcement of her appointment will be made soon.

"We were waiting for the Minister (of Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Jorum Gumbo). He was away in Bulawayo and we expect that by Monday (yesterday) he would be back in Harare," said Mr Mugabe.

Eng Masiyiwa-Chamisa becomes the second woman to assume a high stakes post at a parastatal under the Ministry of Transport following the appointment of Professor Chipo Dyanda as Air Zimbabwe board chairperson. She joins Zinara at a time when it has been going through a number of changes including the recent sacking of the entire board bar the chairman Mr Mugabe.

Government also recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 91 of 2016 on the Road Motor Transportation (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, through which Government has directed the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to "collect, for the benefit of the Road Fund, the tolls on vehicles using any port of entry as prescribed in the First Schedule".

Zinara has been collecting the fees. Chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development Honourable Dexter Nduna has welcomed the appointment of Eng Masiyiwa-Chamisa, adding that it is in tandem with national aspirations of promoting women in top positions.

"We note that there is a new board and executive at Zinara; on paper they inspire confidence and we will allow them to assume their positions and monitor how they discharge their duties.

"She (Eng Masiyiwa-Chamisa) comes in at the deep end, aware that the road network requires about $20 billion for rehabilitation, reconstruction and maintenance.

Eng Masiyiwa-Chamisa is a holder of an Msc in Mechanical Engineering (CUJAE, Havana, Cuba), and Msc in Manufacturing Systems and

Operations Management (University of Zimbabwe), and an MBA (Eastern & Southern African Management Institute - ESAMI: Arusha, Tanzania).

She is also a Fellow of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (FZweIE) and director at the Centre for Continuing Engineering Education at the University of Zimbabwe.