CONTROVERSY surrounding struggling national flag carrier
Air Zimbabwe (AirZim) is deepening, while its fate remains uncertain. This
comes against the backdrop of the unexpected exit of AirZim’s chief operating
officer Simba Chikore who had been the main architect in spearheading the
formation of a new company that would have taken over the state airline through
the back door, signalling its demise, it has been established.
AirZim chief executive Ripton Muzenda has been elbowed out
following his fallout with the board and former president Robert Mugabe’s
son-in-law, Chikore who was second in charge. Just last week, Chikore, who is
married to Mugabe’s daughter Bona, threw in the towel at AirZim when the
military pressured the long-time leader out of office.
It is understood that Muzenda was forced out after refusing
to approve a board decision for a retrenchment plan that was meant to reduce
the troubled carrier’s high employment costs, which had reportedly undermined
turnaround efforts.
The AirZim board had decided to cut 300 jobs, including
some of its longest serving executives, as part of efforts to turn around the
struggling airline.
Chikore’s exit comes at a time the airline had been
discretely winding down its operations to pave way for another company with an
opaque shareholding structure.
Sources at AirZim said the airline has in recent months
been on a massive retrenchment exercise. Three AirZim employees, sources
further said, are currently stranded in Malaysia after they had travelled to
the Asian country to collect planes before the deal collapsed with Mugabe’s
downfall.
“The chairperson is currently running the airline and has
been hiring new people to plug gaps left by experienced staff,” a source
familiar with the developments said. Some of the key staff recruited recently
include Gilfern Moyo (human resources), Tafadzwa Mazonde (corporate services),
Adam Siyachamwaika (strategy planning) and Louisa Muparuri (IT).
AirZim chairperson Chipo Dyanda could not be reached for
comment as she was said to be in a meeting. The new managers, sources said, will be earning more than
those retrenched, further piling pressure on the struggling airline.
It is also understood that US$45 million that had been
advanced to purchase two new planes from Brazil had been diverted to the new
Zimbabwe Airlines project.
The project to establish Zimbabwe Airways, whose
relationship with flag carrier Air Zimbabwe (AirZim) is murky, was, until
Chikore’s exit, moving towards finality, amid revelations that Transport
minister Joram Gumbo and Mugabe’s son-in-law were be caught in a massive
conflict of interest storm.
Last month, the Zimbabwe Independent reported that Gumbo
and Chikore had been assisting in the setting up of what is supposed to be a
privately-owned airline at the expense of the flag carrier, AirZim, which fell
under their purview and supervision, raising a serious and damaging conflict of
interest on their part.
Information gathered shows that Zimbabwe Airways is owned
by a local firm, Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company
(ZALC).
The company was formed by an identified group of Zimbabwean
investors, among them lawyers and businesspersons with interests in the
aviation industry. Some of the ZALC shareholders are said to be based in the
diaspora.
An enquiry with the Deeds Office in Harare indicated ZALC
was registered under file number 3015/12. The file was, however, missing from
the office, meaning the directors could not be immediately ascertained.
But information obtained shows that Zim Airways was
initially set to take to the skies on November 9 after acquiring four long-haul
Boeing 777 aircraft from Malaysia Airlines.
There have been widespread reports Mugabe’s family or
Chikore is a stakeholder in Zim Airways. The Independent has established
Chikore assisted in setting up the company, purportedly as a consultant at a
time when he was still serving as AirZim chief operating officer. Zimbabwe
Independent
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