
Sources familiar with the secret plan said this week AirZim
has in recent months been retrenching its staff while its flights have also
been reduced.
This comes at a time a project to establish a new airline,
Zimbabwe Airways (Zim Airways), whose relationship with flag carrier AirZim is
unclear, is moving towards finality amid revelations Transport minister Joram
Gumbo and AirZim chief operating officer Simba Chikore might be caught in a
massive conflict of interest storm.
Gumbo and Chikore have been assisting the privately-owned
airline set up at the expense of AirZim, which falls under their purview and
supervision raising a serious and damaging conflict of interest on their part.
Although the deal is shrouded in secrecy and thus shadowy,
a Twitter user, Jerry Haas, who regularly comments on aviation issues and could
be a pilot, judging by his posts on social media, has been regularly posting on
Zim Airways developments, further deepening the mystery. In July Haas tweeted
that Zim Airways will eventually take over AirZim: “Zimbabwe Airways work plan:
secure the planes, identify the routes, cut current workforce in half, close
Air Zimbabwe and launch Zimbabwe Airways.”
The new airline is expected to fly into major international
destinations which AirZim suspended over a decade ago.
“Air Zimbabwe is moving towards reducing its staff
complement by more than half. Key staff at the airline is likely going to join
Zimbabwe Airways, which is currently on a massive recruitment drive. All this shows
that this could be a deliberate effort to sink Air Zimbabwe to make way for
Zimbabwe Airways,” said an aviation source.
Chikore, President Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law, is expected
to be the new chairman of Zimbabwe Airways, the source added.
“Zimbabwe Airways will have its offices at Robert Gabriel
International Airport (formerly Harare International Airport. Work has already
started to refurbish some office space at the airport for the new airline.’
Information gathered by the Zimbabwe Independent shows that
Zimbabwe Airways is owned by a local firm, Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company
(ZALC). The company was formed by an unidentified 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.
Zim Airways, other sources further said, was a
sanctions-busting project by government after it emerged that AirZim had failed
to secure new investors.
Contacted for comment, AirZim board chairperson Chipo
Dyanda said the airline had last embarked on retrenchments in June, adding that
it had no relationship with Zim Airways.
“It is untrue (that retrenchments are still ongoing). The
retrenchments that we carried out were in June and it has been in the books
since last year when we were carrying out the restructuring exercise which
completed. The intention was to match the productivity levels and the payroll,”
she said.
Chikore could not be reached for comment as his mobile
number was unreachable.
Early this year, AirZim rolled out an ambitious plan to
overhaul the company that will see Treasury expunging the airline’s legacy
debts, estimated at US$330 million, by way of liquidation before acquiring new
planes from Asia.
After failing to court new investors due to the company’s
weak balance sheet, government is now seeking partnerships with international
airlines instead of engaging a strategic partner to turn around AirZim. At
Independence in 1980, the airline had 18 planes in its fleet, but today it is
operating at less than a third of its all-time peak.
Late last year, government engaged five international
carriers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Singapore, Turkey and Malaysia to partner
troubled AirZim with hopes of turning around the fortunes of the ailing and
debt-ridden flag carrier.
In 2013, cabinet approved a proposal by the AirZim board to
raise US$15 million through 180-day commercial paper.
The airline also proposed the issuance of ordinary shares
to raise US$30 million through private placement to local investors and the
issuance of ordinary shares and preference shares to international investors
and partners. To clean its balance sheet and settle legacy issues, the then
AirZim board, led by banker Ozias Bvute, also proposed the restructuring of the
current debt through the issuance of money-market instruments to current
creditors.
The company also planned to issue 10-year corporate bonds
to current creditors and other third-party investors of up to US$200 million to
reduce the debt overhang affecting the entity. Following the approval of the
plan, officials embarked on road shows, canvassing for investors.
During that same year, the Transport ministry commissioned
audit firm Ernst & Young to develop a business plan for AirZim which was
approved by cabinet.
AirZim stopped flying its planes into any of the European
countries in 2011 after one of its planes was impounded in London for failing
to repay debts. Zimbabwe Independent
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