NRZ boss Mabena fired Alvord Mabena
Alvord Mabena

Alvord Mabena

Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
THE chairman of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) board of directors, Engineer Alvord Mabena, has been fired with immediate effect.

Mabena has been the NRZ board chairperson for the past 17 months and his term was set to expire in 2017.

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development relieved Mabena of his duties last Friday as part of a restructuring exercise meant to position the ailing parastatal for growth.

NRZ board vice chairperson Brigadier David Chiweza has been appointed acting chairperson.

The rest of the board remains unchanged.

Mabena’s dismissal letter is dated November 5, 2015, and it was signed by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Cde Joram Gumbo.

“As you may be aware, the ministry has been re-aligning its strategic vision with that of parastatals and state institutions. To that end it has become necessary that I terminate your term of office as chairman of NRZ with immediate effect,” reads part of the letter.

Cde Gumbo declined to comment on the matter yesterday.

Mabena expressed regret over his unexpected axing which he described as a bombshell.

“I received a letter from the minister out of the blue informing me that my services have been terminated with immediate effect. It’s not clear why they’ve decided to do so,” said Mabena.

“I’m disappointed because of these stop-start things. Naturally, I’ve been working with a passion and putting a lot of effort in trying to revive the NRZ. I worked hard not only to serve the NRZ but the nation.”

He said it was unfortunate that each time a new minister was appointed, he brought in his own people and the NRZ had suffered because of that.

Mabena said he would continue serving his country where his services were needed.

He said the letter came as a surprise to him as the minister did not mention anything negative when they met soon after his appointment in September.

“I met him on two occasions and he didn’t mention anything along those lines. He actually commended the board for doing well and we discussed the way forward on reviving the NRZ and future programmes before the bombshell was dropped on Friday,” said Mabena.

Sources within the parastatal said the minister was not happy with the process of appointing a new general manager.

Last month, there was confusion over the selection process with the board adamant that it had completed the process and short-listed three candidates while the ministry insisted that the process must be redone.

The NRZ general manager’s position has been vacant since August 2013 following the death of Retired Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai in a car accident. Engineer Lewis Mukwada is the acting general manager.

The NRZ, which owes its workers more than a year’s salaries, has been on its knees for years.

It is faced with many challenges that include obsolete equipment, lack of rail line maintenance and high staff overheads.

Most of its equipment was purchased in the 1960s and the latest around 1989. The ageing infrastructure has outlived its planned lifespan of 25 years, resulting in low production.

At its peak, the NRZ was one of the biggest employers in the country with an 18,000 strong workforce.

Last month, Cde Gumbo said his ministry was looking at improving and rehabilitating the railway system which is now in a deplorable state.

He said they hoped to sign some Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Chinese companies before the end of the year for a number of projects that the Ministry is working on.

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