Siyachitema, a celebrated consumer rights activist

THE Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has lost its executive director Rosemary Siyachitema, who succumbed to COVID-19 two weeks ago. Her death came a few days after she lost her sister and mother to the pandemic.

Siyachitema had been at the helm of the CCZ since 2004 and was also a board member to several organisations.

Siyachitema was a celebrated consumer activist and executive director of the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe.

She held a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Development Economics from the University of Swansea in the United Kingdom.

Over the years she had amassed a wealth of experience in development in the non-governmental organisation sector spanning 14 years.

Siyachitema was widely travelled, and attended and spoke at high-level international workshops and meetings in Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States and South America.

She served on numerous boards locally and internationally, among them Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre Network, National Pricing and Income Commission, Buy Zimbabwe, Anti-Money-Laundering Advisory Committee, Food Standards Advisory Council, Consumers International, World Urban Network, Young Men’s Christian Association, Marketers Association Zimbabwe Superbrands Adjudicators and Non-State Actors Forum.

Socially, Siyachitema was an avid reader who red widely for both social and academic purposes.

She was a philanthropist who gave a lot of her time and expertise to community work with such institutions as Women Drop in Centre and her church.