Minister Gumbo puts CMED board to task
GOVERNMENT appointed a new Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) board on Tuesday and tasked it to provide adequate vehicles for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) during the forthcoming harmonised elections.
Announcing the new board members in the capital, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo also directed the appointees to produce a report within the next 45 days on the First Oil fuel saga, where Government was prejudiced of millions of dollars.
Professor Sheunesu Mpepereki, who was appointed to the board in 2016, was retained as board chair since his term had not expired.
Other board members include Engineer Theodius Chinyanga, Mr Simplius Chihambakwe, Ms Tinotenda Nhewede, Ms Dorothy Mavalwane, Mr Bothwell Kunaka and Mr Jerry Gotora.
An additional board member will be announced soon.
“There is still an outstanding issue which the previous board did not finalise and this relates to the First Oil fuel saga in which the organisation was prejudiced of a considerable amount of money,” said Dr Gumbo
“The provision of vehicles to VIPs and Government ministries is one of your key mandates. As we get closer to the 2018 general elections, you should be prepared to provide adequate vehicles to cater for the needs of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
“You should ensure that ministries pay for hired vehicles. The current situation whereby you are owed as much as $22 million is unhealthy and affects your capacity to deliver on your mandate. As the parent ministry, we will engage our counterparts, urging them to pay what is due to you.
“On your part, you should come up with strategies to stop further ballooning of the debt situation.”
Dr Gumbo indicated that not only does CMED service stations need a major facelift, but their network needed to be expanded as well by developing new sites that were strategically located in central business districts and along major highways.
“I would like to urge you to consider embarking on a massive refurbishment programme of your service stations to enable you to compete with other players on the market,” he said.
“You will be aware that other players in the sector have invested in re-branding their outlets so as to lure customers.
“Currently, most of the service stations are in industrial areas. It is embarrassing that CMED can sell fuel coupons, but when you drive from here to Mutare, Masvingo or Bulawayo, you rarely find any CMED service station on the way.
“If you compare Puma Service Station to CMED Service station, you will become embarrassed; so we want to see change. You should realise that you are now a commercial entity and this should be reflected by the outlook of your depots.
“Upgrading of your service stations is also a compliance issue and failure to act could result in you being penalised by regulatory authorities.”
Prof Mupepereki promised Government that the board would be as professional as possible in reconfiguring the State-owned entity.