Geo Pomona CEO Nguwaya conferred with honorary doctorate
DEDICATION, persistence and hard work have finally paid off for astute businessman Dr Dilesh Nguwaya whose efforts have been recognised by the International Institute of Philanthropy which conferred him with an honorary doctorate.
Dr Nguwaya was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (DHL) at a ceremony in Harare yesterday where International Institute of Philanthropy country representative Dr Enrico Maverick led the proceedings.
IIP recognises contributions to humanity and philanthropy, having also conferred a doctorate to the late national hero and music icon Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
Speaking during the conferment ceremony, Dr Maverick said the doctorates celebrated those with dedication to making a positive impact on the world.
IIP was a global network of individuals who believed that individuals should be celebrated for their contributions to humanity.
“You do not sit for an exam to get an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters nor do you apply. We find you, hence the criteria we use is the story of your life,” said Dr Maverick.
“Whatever that you do within the community in which you live, the difference that you make is what we recognise and hence come up with how an individual gets conferred with the doctorate.”
The doctorate was a non-academic honour so that the title doctor simply signified a show of respect and appreciation for one’s contributions to humanity.
Dr Nguwaya could not hide his joy at the recognition of his works.
“I deserve this honour because we worked hard at the Pomona dumpsite transforming it from a hazardous place,” he said. “When Geo Pomona took over, we transformed the place to become a liveable place where everyone could come and dine.
“Who would think that a dumpsite could be transformed to have sports facilities. It was hard work, resilience, perseverance to make sure that people who will come now should appreciate what we did when we took over.”
Dr Nguwaya said it was their responsibility to do corporate social responsibility so they were going to use their newly built sporting facilities open to the public as a way of giving back to the community.
“There was no development at the dumpsite, but when we took over from the City of Harare we transformed the place to become an international waste management site,” he said. “From smelly dumpsites to relaxing public parks, this is now the alluring tale of the new-look Pomona Waste Management and former Golden Quarry dumpsite.”