NEC FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY COMES OF AGE:
The tourism and hospitality industry is one of the four major pillars of the country’s economy.
DAY in and day out many stories have been written about our hodgepodge tourism tapestries and tourist attraction but at no stage have stories been written about the employer in the tourism industry.
It is fact not fiction that Zimbabwe has one of the highly skilled and efficient workforce in the tourism and hospitality industry and that neighbouring countries have benefited from our trained and experienced labour force.
Today, I am breaking ranks am writing about the employer in the tourism and hospitality industry.
What has kept the tourism industry afloat has been a focused employer who has managed to stand the test of time.
I caught up with National Employment Council for Tourism Industry president Mr Clement Mukwasi in Victoria Falls recently and was shocked by his depth of character, his knowledge of the industry and the tactical strategies that the council has used to keep the worker and the employer on the same pedestal.
Very cool, calm but breaking into spontaneous laughter to stress a point, Mr Mukwasi believes worker employee relations has kept the tourism and hospitality industry together even during the financial hiatus.
“We keep cool heads. We look at the larger national interest. We want the businesses to remain afloat while the workers is also happy. Our duty is to strike the crucial balance.
“We are obviously behind the scenes.
“We don’t make a lot of noise but we make things happen for the industry and the country. Even when things are hard, we stand up and say we want to serve and save the industry.
“We say we want to serve the business and the country. We want the worker too to share the vision with us and move forward.
“This is what we have been doing and we wish to continue doing it well,” says Mr Mukwasi.
Mr Mukwasi who is running his second term as president of the council, is a full package himself.
He is one of those rare Zimbabweans who have transformed themselves across the divide of professions.
He started as a policeman about two decades ago then switched to a prosecutor at the magistrates courts in Beitbridge where he never stopped studying and ended up in the legal fraternity.
He then joined Shearwater in Victoria Falls and has had serious impact transforming the company into the grove of what independent Zimbabwe strives to achieve.
Mr Mukawasi has been a vital cog in creating a good relationship between workers and the tourism employers.
He has effectively changed the business and social landscape in the tourism industry.
Those who have gone to Victoria Falls and interacted with him, will tell you of a man with a small stature and a big brain. Do they not say dynamites come in small packages?