Remarks by Hon F.T Mhona on appointment of additional ZINARA and ACZ Board members

REMARKS BY THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT, HONOURABLE F.T. MHONA (MP) AT THE OCCASION OF APPOINTMENT OF ADDITIONAL BOARD MEMBERS FOR ZINARA AND ACZ 30 DECEMBER 2021

Good Morning to you all

Ladies and Gentlemen;

On 1 December 2021 I announced additional appointments to Boards of five Public Entities under my purview. Today, we convene once again to announce more appointments for the ZINARA Board.

As you may be aware, terms of office of Board Members expire at different dates and with nine public entities under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, these appointments are announced regularly. The appointments are in line with obligations flowing from Section 11 of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31].

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Constituting Boards of Public Entities is a very critical component of my corporate governance oversight duties as the Line Minister. Boards are rich fountains for strategic policy guidance and direction to management of the Public Entities in the execution of their mandates with the view to provide goods and services to the people.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Today, I present to you Board appointments for the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) and the Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ). I am pleased to announce that among the appointments, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde. Dr. E.D Mnangagwa has approved the appointment of two (2) women of integrity to the position of Deputy Chairpersons of ZINARA and ACZ Boards respectively.

The appointments and the respective Public Entities to which the appointments are being made are as follows:

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Join me in congratulating the new Board Members I have just appointed. As usual, the Board members go through rigorous and meticulous vetting process, thus their appointment is on the basis of merit, integrity and their knowledge and understanding of, and experience in the strategic leadership of Public Entities they shall serve under.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

As I highlighted at the occasion of previous appointments, the Second Republic, under the able leadership of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa is alive to the need for gender parity in Boards of Public Entities.

The appointment of Ms Gwatidzo and Ms Bunu to the positions of Deputy Chairpersons of Boards is in line with Section 17 (b) (ii) of the Constitution which stipulates that women should constitute at least half the membership of all Commissions and other elective and appointed governmental bodies established by or under it or any Act of Parliament. Therefore, the appointments we are making today are testament of President Mnangagwa’s policies to empower women.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

To our newly appointed Board Members, you should be alive to the need for implementing good corporate governance principles in your practice. I encourage you to be familiar with provisions of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31].

At ZINARA, there is immediate need for providing strategic policy guidance on, among other aspects, the following issues:

• Decongestion of toll gates;
• Working closely with the Ministry for the refurbishment and construction of toll plazas;
• Coordinating and capacity building of road authorities to ensure maximum drawings from the road fund for road maintenance;
• Implementing various Statutory Instruments pertaining to by-passes, prohibition of vendors from toll gates, extended period of blockages by broken down vehicles and resource mobilisation.
• Learning and adopting good practices from other road funds on emerging issues to ensure modern financing models for sustainable logistics solutions;
• Formulating and rolling-out a robust multi-stakeholder driven communication strategy;
• Developing appropriate human capital attitudes leveraged by optimal motivation frameworks in line with the performance of ZINARA.
• Strengthening and broadening the Committee system to work as working group incubators of innovative programming to improve accountability and financial prudence for subsequent approval by the full Board.

At ACZ, it is my fervent hope that the Deputy Chairperson we are appointing today shall work with her colleagues to ensure the following expectations are met:

• Strategically positioning the ACZ with the view to take charge of the airports and aerodromes functions conferred in terms of the Civil Aviation Amendment Act 2018 (No.10 of 2018);
• ACZ brand building and transforming the face of airports and aerodromes in the country to promote tourism and regional integration; and
• Jointly with CAAZ, expediting the assets transfer and engagement of seconded employees through efficient modalities grounded in fair labour practices and public interest ethos to ensure that no employees are left out.

Ladies and Gentlemen;                

As you take up positions as Board Members, you are mandated to practice a high standard of professional ethics. For Public Entities to perform well, the following principles are important to note:

• efficient economical use of resources;
• public administration must be development-oriented;
• services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias;
• people’s needs must be responded to within a reasonable time, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making;
• public administration must be accountable to Parliament and to the people; and
• Recruitment of staff must be made primarily on the basis of merit.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

I want to take this opportunity to express the confidence that Government has in you as Board Members, as you embark on a journey to work with those who were appointed before you to accelerate transformation of Public Entities.

In conclusion, allow me once again to congratulate the new Board Members on your appointment. We wish you success.

I thank You