Zesa to recruit new engineers, managers

ZESA is looking at recruiting new managers to spearhead the re-bundling of its five companies, a move that should see a sharp reduction in managerial staff once duplicated positions are eliminated.

Chairman Dr Sydney Gata said Zesa was short of senior engineers and managers and did not have a pool for promotion from within.

He said Zesa had lost more than 400 engineers to Eskom of South Africa, 72 to Britain and 65 to Australia.

“We need to advertise and attract those people because one thing that will slow us down is that there are not enough senior executives to lead the process. We have to start by recruiting before proceeding with the re-bundling,” he said.

“I do not want to bring uncertainty among the top management, but certainly there has to be a new beginning. We need to bring in new blood to spearhead the re-bundling exercise. Zesa is dead and it is comprehensively dysfunctional at the moment. The first major task is to get professionals back.”

Dr Gata said that Zesa was looking at completing the process in the shortest possible time.

“We will start the re-bundling shortly. It is not an easy exercise. When we unbundled it took us 18 months of very hard work, but this one won’t take us time,” said Dr Gata.

The exercise will see the re-bundling of Powertel Communications, Zimbabwe

Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, Zimbabwe Power Company, Zesa Enterprises and Zesa Holdings.

This follows indications that the unbundling of the power utility had raised operating costs and affecting its ability to deliver.

Apart from creating the posts of chief executives of all of the companies under it, Zesa Holdings has separate departments such as marketing, human resources, accounts and public relations for each company.

Dr Gata said the re-bundling will result in a leaner and more efficient structure.

The reform of Zesa is in sync with the Public Enterprises Reform Framework for 20182020 under the auspices of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, Government’s economic blueprint expected to drive the country’s vision to become an upper middle income economy by 2030.

Cabinet has already approved the implementation modalities for the re-bundling of all ZESA subsidiaries into a vertically integrated single company.