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Mr Nyasha Maravanyika

Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has appointed a new public relations manager, Mr Nyasha Maravanyika, with effect from March 1, 2017.

Following the retirement of Mr Fanuel Masikati who had served NRZ for 33 years, in May 2016, Mr Martin Banda has been the NRZ acting public relations manager.

Mr Maravanyika joins the giant parastatal from the Health Service Board at a time when the NRZ is saddled with a number of operational constraints.

“To me NRZ is a great challenge because in the health sector, I used to serve doctors and nurses when they go on strike among other issues.

“But, when I received the offer after the interview it was a great challenge because management explained to me their vision at NRZ that they are focused on reviving the company,” he told Business Chronicle.

“In as much as it (NRZ) is facing challenges, we are looking at the vision and we see light at the end of the tunnel,”

A former journalist, Mr Maravanyika has over eight years of experience in public relations and has worked for the Sport and Recreation Commission as well as the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre.

He holds a Diploma in Public Relations from the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Relations (ZiPR), Bachelor of Science Degree in Media and Society Studies from the Midlands State University as well as a Masters in Media and Society Studies from the same university.

Mr Maravanyika said there was great vision pointing to the revival of NRZ, a strategic company to Zimbabwe’s economy.

“NRZ is the only player in the rail industry in Zimbabwe and for someone to think that such an organisation would grind to a halt for good or to a complete halt, I think that is a dream.

“Previously, the media has reported that NRZ has secured a financial advisor and those are some of the notifications because when you see an organisation committing to getting an international financial advisor it shows that management wants to revive and change the way things are happening in an organisation,” he said.

Mr Maravanyika believes the challenges facing NRZ are a phase that will come to pass with time.

Commenting on the stories that have been reported by the media regarding the challenges and issues surrounding the ailing parastatal, the NRZ spokesperson said the media was there to bring to the fore societal issues.

Of late, there has been a number of stories written about NRZ with workers embarking on an industrial strike demanding 15 months unpaid salaries. The industrial action lasted close to three months.

“The media is not there to fry or haunt you. The media is there to bring to fore the issues that are happening within our public domain. And it’s up to us as NRZ to be co-operating with the media so that we explain our position or situation,” said Mr Maravanyika.

As a public relations department at NRZ, he said they would soon work towards putting up structures that will ensure the parastatal’s communication was smooth.

He said this would be achieved by coming up with crisis management strategies and clear communication policies.

“It is also important for us to do communication audit reports to try and see where we are getting things wrong or right so that NRZ, which lives in a society, knows how it communicates with the public in the community,” said Mr Maravanyika who is also the ZiPR national vice president.

@okazunga