PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe and his family are beneficial
shareholders in an airline that is expected to be handed lucrative long-haul
licences to London and the far East, multiple aviation sources said this week.
Company records for Zimbabwe Airways were not available
from the local registry, but sources said the airline’s holding company has a
Mauritius registration. An online search on the Mauritian registry did not
yield any result, suggesting the company could have been registered under a
name other than Zimbabwe Airways.
Although there is a company registered as Zimbabwe Airways
with the companies’ registry in Harare, its file, 3015/12, could not be
located.
The Mugabes’ son-in-law, Simba Chikore, the current chief
operating officer at Air Zimbabwe (AirZim), has been instrumental in setting
the new airline up and is tipped to become its chief executive officer.
Transport Minister Joram Gumbo has also been heavily
involved with the airline, taking part in negotiations for the lease of
aircraft from Malaysia.
Details around the new airline have been a closely guarded
secret.
In June, images of one of the planes, a Boeing 777-branded
Zimbabwe Airlines, emerged as it completed a two-hour demo flight from Subang
airport in Malaysia. This triggered speculation that loss-making national
carrier Air Zimbabwe would rebrand and lease equipment.
It quickly emerged, however, that both the Air Zimbabwe
board and chief executive Ripton Muzenda, who was recently suspended, had no
involvement in the planned new airline.
Contacted for comment by The Financial Gazette yesterday, Gumbo
denied reports that the Mugabe family owned Zimbabwe Airways. He, however,
refused to disclose the airline’s owners, only saying it belongs to a
consortium of local and non-resident Zimbabweans.
He said the Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company would lease
the planes to Zimbabwe Airways.
Gumbo said speculation that the Mugabes were involved with
Zimbabwe Airways stemmed from his 2016 visit to Malaysia in their company.
“We were on the same flight with the first family, on their
way to Singapore, while I dropped off in Malaysia for the lease negotiations. I
then followed them to Singapore and we returned back together,” Gumbo said.
Asked why he was involved in equipment negotiations for a
private airline, Gumbo said his role was to facilitate such deals for any Zimbabwean
willing to invest in aviation.
“Let there be no confusion over that trip with the first
family,” Gumbo said.
Of late, Gumbo, one of the more accessible officials in
Mugabe’s Cabinet, has taken to giving cryptic answers to queries about Zimbabwe
Airways.
Early this month, Gumbo seemed to suggest to the
state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper that Zimbabwe Airways would replace Air
Zimbabwe as the national carrier.
Asked by the newspaper if, as rumoured, the new airline
would unveil its fleet on November 9, to coincide with the renaming of the
Harare International Airport to Robert Mugabe International, Gumbo said:
“We will talk when the time comes. The project is mine but
what you are talking about is not correct.”
On Tuesday, Gumbo told state television that the promoters
of the new airline were “enterprising private investors.”
Gumbo added that the new airline would operate the
long-haul routes abandoned by Air Zimbabwe. The national carrier has long
ceased servicing international routes due to a combination of debt and lack of
appropriate equipment.
Contacted for comment, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe
(CAAZ) chief executive officer, David Chaota said: “I am sure they did
(complete licencing process) but not from the CAAZ perspective. Airline
licences are obtained from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development. So I don’t know yet if Zimbabwe
Airways has the licence and who owns it because we haven’t received the
papers.”
Last week, Zimbabwe Airways, which has been advertising
executive positions up to chief operating officer in the local press,
contracted Sigma Aviation, a leading airline industry recruitment agency to
scout for B777 captains.
The airline is offering lucrative perks and salaries, which
are significantly higher than those offered by Air Zimbabwe.
“Sigma Aviation is pleased to announce we are accepting
applications for B777 captains for our new client, Zimbabwe Airways,” the
agency said in a statement.
“Zimbabwe Airlines is a new airline, commencing operations
shortly from Harare, Zimbabwe. Successful candidates are expected to take home
approximately US$9 137, based on a net basic salary of US$8 000,” the statement
added. – Financial Gazette
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