Mosi Oa Tunya, EMA, ZTA allocated new Boards of Directors

Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu, the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry has announced the Board of the Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company and the substantive Board Chairpersons for the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) and the Environment Management Agency (EMA).

Below, Spiked Online Media reproduces the Minister’s statement on the appointments:

Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company

• As you will all be aware, Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company (Pvt) Ltd, is a State Enterprise under my Ministry which is largely set up as an investment vehicle for the Government in the development of tourism in Victoria Falls. It owns 274.1 hectares of prime land in Masuwe Estate, which is a significant complement of the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone.
• The mandate of the previous Board expired on the 31^st of July 2021, and in keeping with the dictates of the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act, Chapter 10.31 of 2018, I am duty-bound to ensure that we do not let the Mosi Oa Tunya Company sail without Board oversight.
• I wish to thank and pay tribute to the outgoing board of the company which was led by Ms Busi Bango for having steered the company to date and having ensured its strategic operations to date.
• However, as I appoint the new Board, I seek to emphasize that the clarion call for Mosi Oa Tunya to deliver on its mandate for infrastructure development in Victoria Falls has never been this louder.
• Our expectation of the new Board is that they will expedite the current feasibility studies for bulk infrastructure that are being done with the assistance of Old Mutual and also move with speed and appropriate diligence to register the company’s presence in Victoria Falls with a solid brick and mortar project.
• The government expects that the company delivers on its mandate to grow the tourism product base in Victoria Falls and this is a must deliverable in the lifespan of the National Development Strategy NDS1 2021 to 2025.
• In appointing this Board I have undertaken to infuse the experience with new vision and ideas focusing on skills that will be pertinent in the new mandate of the Board whose main focus is Tourism Infrastructure development in Victoria Falls.
• I, therefore, have the pleasure to announce that with the concurrence of His Excellency the President, Dr E.D Mnangagwa the Board of Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company will be constituted as follows:-

Mrs Shiela Sidambe       (Chairperson)

Mr Desmond Matete (Vice Chairperson)

Mrs R. Mukogo (Board Member)

Mr Aron Chingombe (Board Member)

Mr Felix Ngorora (Board Member)

Ms Rugare Dobbie (Board Member)

Mr C. Chinengundu (Board Member)

Eng. Irene Kamutero (Mrs) (Board Member)

Mrs Patience Zenda (Board Member and Ministry Representative)

I also take note that the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) has a 20% shareholding in Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company (Pvt) Ltd, hence one of the nominees for the Board has come from the IDBZ who nominated Eng Irene Kamutero to the Board.

• I wish to emphasise the need for the new Board to provide strategic leadership in the ongoing projects by the company and also to ensure a robust human resources approach to improve the manpower levels of the company in addition to ensuring its profitable operations to support Government Policy Thrust.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority

• In addition, to the above, I wish to also announce the appointment of Mr Ray Mawerera as the substantive Chair of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Board.
• The incoming Board Chairperson is vastly experienced in marketing and business leadership which should prove handy in taking the ZTA forward.
• In doing so I also take a moment to thank the outgoing Board Chairperson, Mrs Precious Sibiya for her guidance of the Authority during the past few months. I wish to also advise that Dr Sibiya now assumes the post of Vice chairperson of the ZTA board.
• Mr Mawerera, your appointment comes at a time when the tourism sector is going through unprecedented challenges. The sector, like many other, has been hard hit by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• It is common knowledge that travel and tourism have almost come to a halt due to the COVID-19 induced travel and other restrictions. That notwithstanding, there are high expectations that the sector should rebound and make a meaningful contribution to national economic recovery.
• In this regard I expect you are to urgently finalise the recruitment of a substantive Chief Executive. The process had commenced and I wish to commend the Board under the able leadership of Dr Sibiya for the progress made so far in that respect.
• You also join the Authority at a time when implementation of the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy is high on the agenda.I therefore wish to underscore the importance of the new Board Chairperson to to ensure that the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority takes up its rightful position and plays a critical role in the marketing of the country.
• Your appointment comes at a time when the country has a huge opportunity to participate in the Dubai 202 Expo. This global expo comes at a time when the country has not had many platforms to market the country and we need to grab this opportunity with both hands.
• I therefore expect a robust marketing campaign run by the ZTA to be put in place and finalised as soon as possible. Going forward, we need to upscale our destination awareness efforts and ensure improved visibility of destination Zimbabwe. As the world begins to open up, we need to position brand Zimbabwe as visibly as possible to benefit from the tourism traffic that will emerge post the pandemic. In doing so, there will be need to amplify our partnership[s with the private sector as we cannot do without them in our efforts to promote the country.

Environment Management Agency (EMA Board Chairperson)

• It is an honour for me to announce the new Environment Management Board Chair Zenzo Nsimbi; in terms of Section 11 of the Environmental Management Agency Chapter 20:27.
• The appointment of the new Chairperson coincides with the global triple crisis of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Climate Change and biodiversity loss which needs a concerted effort by all.
• At a local level, the challenges are manifested through veld fires, land degradation, wetlands destruction, waste management challenges and biodiversity loss
• As the Minister responsible for environment, I have the following expectations

1. Need to fulfil the National Development Strategy 1 Priority areas which include,

• Sustainable wetlands management. Zimbabwe has a variety of wetlands that cover 34.96 % of the total area of the Country which is 13 659 579 ha. Of these; 17.63 % are in a pristine condition, 55.65 % moderately degraded and 26.72% being severely degraded. Therefore there is an urgent need to integrate more ambitious policies to halt and reverse wetlands loss and restore ecosystem services.
• Veld fire management. The country loses an average of a million hectares annually due to veld fires. Currently, we are in the fire season which according to Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 on Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystem Protection Regulations runs from 31 July to 31 October each year. During this period the biomass will be dry, it will be windy and therefore conducive to wild, uncontrolled and runaway fires which are destructive to the environment, life property and agricultural produce. We have set ourselves a 25% reduction in veld fires each year based on the previous year’s hectarage burnt and this must be achieved through a broad-based policy thrust that embraces the whole of government approach.
• Initiating and adoption of recycling initiatives. Waste management is a major challenge in the country.   About 1.65 million tonnes of waste are generated in the country annually and has resulted in littering and mushrooming of illegal waste dumps. Recycling is therefore a solution to the waste management challenges as part of the circular economy drive and it allows for the repurposing of waste and creation of trash to cash as well as helping in keeping the environment clean and at the same time widening livelihood options for communities.

1. Fulfilment of the Agency’s   2021- 2025 strategic plan which has two broad programmes namely Environmental Protection and Management as well as Policy and Governance.

• Upholding the tenants of Corporate Governance through ensuring that EMA comes first before self.

1. Driving the devolution agenda through the construction of office space in Provinces and Districts as well as constructing a Head Office for EMA.
2. Sustenance of the Nation Clean-up programme that was launched by the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe on the 5^th of December 2020.This is meant to ensure a clean Zimbabwe for all.

• As a Board Chairperson, develop a unity of purpose during this Covid-19 Pandemic. Devise innovative and strategic ways of achieving the EMA goals in this new normal. We can work remotely but goals must be met as human eyes do, ‘they do not see each other but they blink together and see together”
• We all have high expectations on your leadership to stir EMA to greater heights and let us be motivated by an African Proverb that states that; if communities get together they can mend a crack in the sky”. This shows the possibilities of anything in life if people work together
• In conclusion, I wish you all well in your tenure and service to the country under the Second Republic and look forward to a cordial working relationship amongst the Board, with Management and my Ministry. Each member appointed today is expected to familiarize with the requirements of the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act, and in consultation with the Secretary we will organize appropriate Board as quickly as possible.