Introduction to Linda Masarira Autobiography coming out soon

In the beginning before the beginning.

"Mwanangu ziva kwaunobva kwaunoenda husiku" is a Shona saying which can be translated to mean, “My child know your roots because where you are going/headed to, darkness looms.” Hence it would be improper for me to start off this journey by talking about the day I was born because the journey begins much earlier, way before my birth.

My name is Linda Tsungirirai Masarira I am of the Rozvi tribe, the Moyo’s a fierce Warrior people whose prowess in battle saw my ancestors rule Zimbabwe/ the Mutapa State, an empire which spread as far as Central Africa. Headquartered at Great Zimbabwe and later Mbire in Zimbabwe, the Munhumutapa ruled over all the land in Southern Africa, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola etc all the way up to Tanzania. As such the Munhumutapa was very powerful, he controlled the gold, cotton trade in the State and would host traders from as far as China and Portugal. This made Great Zimbabwe one of the biggest trading centers in the region if not Africa. It was mostly the gold that drew these traders to Zimbabwe.

To show his might, and ensure that he had the people’s respect, the Munhumutapa commanded his subjects to lie down on their bellies and slither their way up to his throne in order to address him. It did not matter who you were, human beings were accorded the same status regardless of skin color; the Portuguese crawled on their bellies in just the same manner as would other traders like the Moors (who were black)

What most people overlook is the fact that in those days, (precolonial times) women were an integral part of decision making within the Munhumutapa State governance. The problem is that some of these roles women played in the decision making of the running of the Munhumutapa State were not documented. However, a good example of one such woman is Pamhidzai who was daughter to Munhumutapa Chirisamhuru. Pamhidzai was a Munhumutapa Ambassador to other lands throughout Africa and beyond and could speak many different languages as a result. She spoke for the Munhumutapa who was stationed at Guruuswa (the other name for Great Zimbabwe as they came in from Tanzania/Tanganyika where the original Guruuswa was built). The Munhumutapa’s daughter was later married off to Nyashanu, Munhumutapa’s most trusted Warrior. Together they formed the great family that went on to rule over many parts of Zimbabwe, namely Mhondoro, Buhera, Chitungwiza, Mazowe. I have no doubt, regardless of Nyashanu’s might that it was because of this union that he had an upper hand in most dealings and insight to Munhumutapa.

Apart from the above example, we have other women in the Munhumutapa State who helped run the State, these were mostly the Aunts (tete) Sisters to the King himself or Heirs to the King. It is therefore vital and paramount to understand that even the normal family set up or structure of the Shona/African household, the Aunts’ voices were always heard and their advice taken. However due to colonization we have witnessed the woman’s voice become more irrelevant by the day as those values found in her are being questioned today and her role in the governance of our land and inheritance quickly forgotten. As such it is my goal to set the record straight through the documentation of my autobiography.

 It will be a tool that will be used mostly as reference by not just students but people of all races for research purposes when it comes to the African Woman’s importance in society today. I concur that this is due to the distortion of our history and as such in this book we intend to set the record straight and reinstate women to their original position by revealing their age old importance.

In everything they did, our ancestors believed in the laws of opposites, which is why they were successful in their rule and reigned for over 500 years at Great Zimbabwe. The Munhumutapa even had had a team of women advisors in his courts (dare) and before any decision was made final, the Munhumutapa first consulted the women to ask what they thought. How else would such women like the Queen of Sheba, Queen Nzinga, the Pharaoh Queens Hatshepsut and Sobekneferu rule their lands if they were not in the know? In Zimbabwe we had the revolutionist, Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana who led the first Chimurenga war against the Colonialists who had come to settle in the land. She was beheaded after refusing to bow down to the colonialists and their foreign doctrines and religion. Over half a century later, Zimbabweans would regroup to fight for the liberation of Zimbabwe, and in whose name did they fight? Nehanda. Blood was spilt in her name and it is from Nehanda that the late former President Mugabe drew his inspiration from and managed to lead the people to freedom. Her last words before being hung were, “My bones shall rise again” and indeed this was fulfilled when in 1980, Independence came. Today, Nehanda’s statue is being erected in the city of Harare to commemorate and celebrate her gallantry for a free Zimbabwe. Thousands of daughters of Zimbabwe also took up arms to fight for Zimbabwe and as such their voice cannot continue being silenced by individuals who feel threatened by women who know their rights and are ready to fight for them.

I refused to be silenced and as such I formed a political party (LEAD) in order for my voice to reach the four corners of the world and for the people to see that there is indeed a story that needs to be told which is why I am a defender of women’s rights and I believe in gender equality.

LEAD is most probably or arguably the only party formed by a woman in Zimbabwe and maybe Afrika, not that there are no women Leaders but that most parties, for example Joyce Mujuru’s NDP was a breakaway party from ZANU PF, Thokozani Khupe’s MDC was also a breakaway from the original MDC T. LEAD offers a fresh look at Zimbabwe’s landscape and politics and how we can tackle the backwardness of most men who still believe a Woman can’t rule or advocate for her people. LEAD is a 100% homegrown party, driven by a passion of equality, a passion to ensure that every Zimbabwean has access to national resources and that they will be able to have opportunities to create wealth for themselves hinged on Pan-Africanism. Afrikan people liberated themselves from colonial occupation yet they still remain mentally colonized by the colonial mentality we still have, the colonial systems that are still running governments in Afrika, as such we need to thwart all efforts of the new scramble for Afrika by the neo colonialists that are taking us backwards. Thus we (LEAD) are pushing a new political philosophy and political ideology which is called Afrikan social democracy were we are pushing for the advancement of Afrikan people and calling for unity amongst all Afrikans regardless of which tribe you come from.

Afrikans rarely document their stories, and more so women especially in Zimbabwe thus this autobiographical book which will be a first of its kind in Zimbabwe shall and should encourage, inspire and push other women to also document their stories especially those that have been in Politics for a long time.

Life in politics is not as rosy as it seems and just by reflecting throughout our history you can see that there was limited documentation of stories on women regardless of the pivotal roles they played in the governance of our country and this must change. This book can be the first to start this journey as it imposes a mind shift even on some of the most hard headed and stubborn male figures that don’t believe in gender equality.

The only difference between today’s woman and those that fought, counseled and advised in the Mutapa State is that we are from different eras but the same ancient blood flows in all of us. There is nothing new under the sun and as such I believe if one knows where he/she is coming from it is easier to know where you are going. If Zimbabwe can remember where she comes from and give due respect to the fallen giants (regardless of sex) that paved the way for us throughout the birthing of Madzimbahwe I believe we will be reinstated to our rightful position on the world map, women will be given their rightful place in government, our economy will stabilize and many more things will begin to flow positively.

It is this history I draw my strength from as one of the Generals from the ancient world of the Rozvi was actually my great great Grandfather which makes me a Mambokadzi (Queen) His name was Mutinhima.

The fact that my Ancestors possessed and exuded such greatness and that their blood flows in me today is a constant reminder that they (my Ancestors) are with me even right now and that whatever made them powerful and great rulers can also work in my favor today, all I have to do is look within for courage and ability to do those things any ordinary Zimbabwean would not do.

The word Rozvi actually means destroyer; not in an evil sense but rather in the sense of the warrior shrewdness and prowess possessed by the people of this lineage.

Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that even in present day Zimbabwe, the Rozvi continue to play a vital role in national issues. However, I am not justifying tribalism, which, from time to time tends to raise its ugly head repeatedly in present day politics across Africa. I am saying, a man strongly rooted in his beliefs (roots) tends to know what his purpose in life is at an early stage, thus he begins to pursue it sooner than others. One doesn’t have to be the President to show that he is a great Leader but rather by inspiring others to such extents that they consciously or subconsciously begin to follow him, and are willing to fight for him because he represents a set of beliefs they dim fit and worthy to die for, just like they did when they fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe in the name of Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi.

 I believe in Freedom of expression for all, mwana asingachemi anofira mumbereko , yet another Shona saying which can also be translated to say, “Don’t bottle things up, speak out or those things will turn round and kill you.”

It’s better to speak out against the inhumane conditions we’ve been forced to live under due to bad governance and be arrested for it, than to wallow in self pity within the walls of my house fighting off and enduring the foul smell coming from the toilet down the corridor because I haven’t had running water in the house for weeks now and there always seems to be a long winding queue at the borehole.

It’s better to speak out than to remain quiet about the fact that the more we Westernize or Easternize instead of Africanizing governments and returning to what made us who we are today, the further we draw away from who we truly are as a people. Decolonization of the African mind is crucial and vital if we are to make decisions that have our children’s future at heart; and no one understands that more than the woman, who for nine months carries a child in her womb with the hope that one day she will hold him in her arms, nurse him and watch him become a great man.

Zimbabwe needs a mother, a woman who understands the pains of giving birth, and holds the essence of human life close to her heart. For so long we have had to sit aside and watch our nation’s economy deteriorate, the schooling system, hospitals and neighborhoods included. The cost of living is higher than the average woman/man’s income, price inflations rock the nation and inconsistency by government in showing concern has further catapulted the people of Zimbabwe into disbelief and most are suffering from low self esteem.

While the man remains the head of the house (who deserves my respect and honor) most men are failing to even take care of their households leaving the women to hunt for their families. The family structure is at the verge of collapsing and as a mother and woman I really can’t stand aside and just look as such I have taken this initiative to write my own story in a book.

In this autobiography I intend on revealing who the real Linda Masarira is and put to rest some of the controversies that have dogged my life albeit untrue. With a political past that has seen me thrown in jail or prison at one time or another I am quite confident that one day the people will hear my message, a message of hope and unity for Afrika, and gender equality as I believe women are segregated against when it comes to matters of decision making in Zimbabwe.

I am a human rights activist, after seeing that we are going nowhere in as far as raising awareness on workers’ rights, I founded The Zimbabwe Women in Politics Alliance, The Association of Railways Terminated Employees and I was also President of the Trainmen Workers Union, where I voiced for the betterment of the livelihoods of workmen in our nation. My contract of employment with the National Railways of Zimbabwe was terminated because of my verbosity when it came to matters concerning the rights of workers, which the governing body was not ready to ready to follow. I’m also Chairperson of STAR fellowship cohort 3 and Chairperson of the Revolutionary Freedom Fighters.

My message to all women has always been the same, stand up and be counted. In this book I will describe in detail all the campaigns I was successfully involved in such as the “bring back our women from Kuwait” campaign which saw more than 200 women who had fallen victim to human trafficking returned home. The Occupy Africa Unity Square Campaign which was stopped by Police and ended up with the arrest of fellow brother in arms and colleague Itai Dzamara, who was never seen nor heard from ever since. For the same reason I mobilized workers at National Railways of Zimbabwe to stand up for their labor rights I will not rest till freedom is realized in the nation of Zimbabwe and I believe my book will help give insight into how we can free ourselves, upholding freedom of expression which is an issue in Zimbabwe. I’m confident it will awaken the docile spirits in most women, the fighter spirit of the lioness watching over her family.

There is so much yet to be done such that I feel the Awards I have received are worthless if no real change comes to the nation of Zimbabwe. In 2016 I received the Zimrights Female Human Rights Defender of the year Award. I also have the Giraffe Award for Human rights, Phenomenal African Woman October 2017 and Fortune Magazine’s 2016, 5th Most powerful Woman in the world, of which I am humbled but at the same time am aware that my story is yet to be told; how did I get to this stage I am at in this life and what I believe is the way forward.

The book will include my early life growing up in Greencroft, Harare, the bullying I received as a child and how I learnt to stand up for myself and fight back. I endured racist treatment as a child at a school dominated mostly by white people. This did not destroy my self esteem, no, it made me stronger and helped me understand at an early age that we are all different. What might work for my Western white colleagues might not work for me simply because we are different. Africa is yet to define herself as she has prioritized Western and Eastern philosophies, governance, religion and culture over its own, thus there’s an identity crisis amongst its people that needs purging and perhaps we can once again stop lightening our skin for want of being included where we are clearly unwelcome and unwanted.

The book will also highlight my spiritual journey and self realization as I went from a woman of the cloth to discovering that my Ancestors still speak and are willing to direct my path in order to bring harmony and peace to the nation of Zimbabwe by bringing back the ways of our Ancestors to society today, our way of praying and not what we were taught by others. Only then can Afrika trade as equals with the rest of the globe otherwise one could ask; whose table are we as Afrikans guests on? It certainly isn’t an Afrikan table because often times we find ourselves crying out for inclusion in world governance when we should be concentrating on ourselves and what we already have. Afrika is the richest continent on the face of the earth with abundant minerals and raw materials, by allowing and respecting the process of gaining wealth, no matter how time consuming it might be only then can we be counted amongst others that have managed to overcome economic and mental colonization like India.

Certain Demise of the National Railways of Zimbabwe - (Response to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development Permanent Secretary’s utterances in the NewsDay newspaper: August 18, 2022): Linda Masarira

By Linda Tsungirirai Masarira 

The fact of the matter is that the NRZ was designed to move up to eighteen (18) million tons of freight: local, imports, exports and transit traffic and at least two (2) million passengers per year. To date only two (2) million tons of freight and no inter-city passengers (except for a few commuter passengers) are moving. It should be pointed out that inter-city passenger services have been discontinued over three (3) years ago and it would seem that that service may have suffered a natural death as no plans are afoot to resuscitate that service.

Based on studies undertaken on NRZ manpower, the railways of that size and the level of technology at its disposal, the cut-off head-count of employees is some thirteen thousand (13 000) ranging from a few hundred up to twelve thousand (12 000) trains per year. Any reduction in the above should be met by replacing employees by equipment capable of taking over the equivalent work-load of the displaced employees. To date, there are only some three thousand five hundred (3 500) personnel employed by the NRZ and no significant amount of equipment to replace some nine thousand five hundred (9 500) employees that have been sent packing. And all, in the name of restructuring which in reality is wholesale Down-Sizing.

As a matter of course, restructuring is undertaken when an organization wants to increase both efficiency and capacity with a view of increasing profitability and focus of its undertaking. On the other hand Down-Sizing is meant to reduce capacity of the organization as a result of a shrunk market place. In view of the 2030 Government Policy of Zimbabwe being a middle income country with the economy being drive by mining, manufacturing, and agriculture, it would seem that NRZ’s direction is running contrary to the above national policy as it is seeking the downfall of rail transport in the name of restructuring yet the reality is down-right destruction of the only railway entity in the country by way of down-sizing. It should be pointed out that if the NRZ were seriously on a true restructuring agenda in view of the 2030 Government Policy of being a Middle-Income Country, such an undertaking should have been undertaken by Consultants with vast experience in the field rather than by internal personnel that are the cause of its demise. It should be pointed out that in addition to causing the demise of the entity, most if not all the personnel responsible for the restructuring exercise lack both railway academic qualifications and necessary experience for not only undertaking restructuring of the organization but also the downward trend of the railways. Based on current trends, if no serious interventions are undertaken at Government level, the NRZ would be moving no more than a million tons of freight by the end of 2023.

Railway policy is supposed to be the domain of the Railways Board and such policy, just as is that of the 2030 Government for the economy of the country should be finite entailing that the goal to be achieved should be time limited and should spell out such objectives in operational and financial terms in number form and this should be accompanied by intermediate goals that lead to the long term. Such goals should include operational objectives in Net Tons and the expected Return on Investment (ROI) per annum, acquisition of equipment and the values at based year prizes and the market thrust. This is not only meant to provide Management with direction but also Government so that it can factor such plans in the overall economic plan of the nation. One wonders whether a spelt out policy exists on the NRZ. As proof of its non-existence, only three years ago, the talk was about having a Strategic Partner for the NRZ where the NRZ introduced the Transnet and DIDG Consortium as the potential Strategic Partner and in no-time the deal was not signed. The next was the potential investor from Russia, Turkey, Dubai, Indonesia, among many others - and soon after, this went silent and this has continued to date. The talk now is about the acquisition of locomotives and wagons for the NRZ using Government funding. So far, nothing has happened on the ground. As a matter of course, Illegal Sanctions on Zimbabwe have a role in the above but also ignorance on the part of the Board played a bigger role. As a matter of course, Private Sector Investment in long term yields public sector investments came to a grinding halt by 2002 and from thereon, it has been short high returns private sector investments. The other reason for both International Financial Institutions and Private Sector not being forthcoming is the fact that no reputable consultancy study on the role and the financial requirements for the Strategic Partner have been spelt, something a judicious Board would have undertaken before running-off to seek a Strategic Partner. Unfortunately for some time, the NRZ Board has been made up of personnel with zero railway experience, no experience in big organizations and no requisite qualifications for their job. Little wonder that there is no railway policy to talk of but rather Board spending in terms of hotel, accommodation and travel bills.

Closely related to the overall Railway Policy is the Human Resources Policy which should give rise to the restructuring exercise. The railways is a labour-intensive organization with a vast array of skill requirements that are highly sought after by other industries and abroad. Take for example a diesel mechanic, to have an experienced diesel mechanic takes a minimum of four (4) years of training and an additional two (2) years to have him/her gain the requisite experience. All in all, it takes six (6) years for the requisite skills to have an efficient employee. In addition to arriving at the cut-off staff levels based on the overall policy for an extensive railways such as the NRZ, cognisance should be taken of the skills requirements at departmental levels and the time it takes to acquire such skills. Furthermore, extensive studies should have been undertaken regarding the replacement of men with machines. Alas! It would seem the contemporary Railway Boards are oblivious to the necessity of such a Human Resources Policy as is evidenced by the above staff deficit of some nine thousand five hundred (9 500) given the fact no machines are in-sight that should have taken over the work of the above staff. All that is observable is the down-sizing of staff in the name of “RESTRUCTURING” by professionally ill-equipped Management.

However, Human Resources issues at NRZ do not start at the level of the General Manager but the revolution of these issues should start at the Board level where corporate governance of the railway giant are of essence. In terms of previous guidelines of appointments for the Board by the NRZ, the Railways Board of Directors has always been shaped by the industry and other key NRZ stakeholders like the Shareholder (Government). The industry that shaped the policy structure level of the NRZ; which is the Board; included Mining, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Building and Construction, Engineering, among others. The logic behind shaping the NRZ Board with the industry players was to improve its business, monitoring and evaluation specifications for the sole benefit of its growth through the development of sidings and other growth indices of the organisation’s railway system. This conservative approach of shaping the NRZ Board was long ditched at the inception of the new millennium with successive Ministers either ignoring or utterly ignorant of the NRZ Board appointment template. This has caused the NRZ Board to be dominated by ignorant alien professionals like lawyers and soldiers, among others. Right now the NRZ Board is being chaired by an ignorant lawyer in the mould of Advocate Martin Dinha who has neither experience nor knowledge about the Railways and he is the one, together with the so-far limited General Manager, leading the NRZ RESTRUCTURING process. All this is a blueprint of failure wrought in its equally failing system and equipment. Unless the NRZ Board appointment template is revisited then the policy structure wisdom of the NRZ will continue to be eroded by each passing appointment.

As a tradition, the NRZ General Manager has been someone who came through the ranks of the organization and often either from the Traffic Operation or from Mechanical departments and with good reasons. Such personnel would have been exposed to the depth and breadth of the railways and could easily converse on any railway topic. That changed from 2003 onwards except for the period 2014 to 2020 when a Mister Mukwada was appointed as General Manager. Immediately the NRZ’s performance took a nose dive in both its operations and financial performance and the trend has continued with each appointment of an outsider to this very day and with little doubt, this may be the end of the once thriving railways despite the up-turn and the expected growth in the national economy.

As a matter of course, the continued down-turn in the performance of the NRZ for the last eighteen (18) years could be blamed on poor economic performance, which to some extend is true but not all true. Lack of experience at that level of an organization, experience in railway operations and professional qualifications related to transport were the main cause of the sudden tumble in the NRZ performance. Taking the current General Manager as a typical example, though coming from an organization (ZPC) relatively large but was not even a departmental head, a qualified lawyer which is not related to transport, had no knowledge of railway operations by way of being a Board Member (for only 8 months) and some stints as Acting General Manager (for only 8 months) of the NRZ and then the next thing was her appointment as a substantive General Manager. To make things worse, she was saddled with the restructuring of the organization which she hardly knows and hardly knows what restructuring is all about, did not have any policy direction regarding Human Resources from the Board of which she has been a member. The result has been a wholesale down-sizing by way of firing staff and in particular experienced staff including artisans and Management and upgrading non-essential departments and in particular the Railway Security now popularly called “Loss Control”.

There are well laid down procedures on the appointment of staff to higher positions and the firing of staff on the NRZ which have religiously been followed and are in line with the Labour Act. Had the above General Manager risen through the NRZ ranks, the above would have been religiously followed such procedures but the fact that she had never been a department-head anywhere, let alone on the NRZ she had to cut corners both in appointing staff to higher grades without following the laid down procedures resulting in “Kiss Goes by Favour” and on the other hand, dismissal of staff shy of the laid down procedures and this has resulted in the fired staff approaching the highest office on the land His Excellency the President and at the same time approaching the courts for justice. Unfortunately and without the protocol observations, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Transport has come out guns blazing in defence of the General Manager against the allegations. After all, the employer of the General Manager is the Railways Board and it has remained mum on the matter. Based on the comments made by the Permanent Secretary "Permanent Secretary in Defence of the NRZ General Manager” (NewsDay newspaper: August 18, 2022), were full of disdain and lacked even an iota of investigations into the matter having been undertaken either by way of the Railways Board or by his department. This will have the effect of low morale not only for those employees that have been fired through “Kangaroo Procedures” but also those who are still in the employment. Given the fact that many of the staff that are employed by the railways are technical staff they are already leaving in droves for greener pastures as a result of such loose talk from high offices and the already low morale as a result of what is currently pertaining on the NRZ.

Experience and relevant qualifications are a “must have” as far as the General Manager’s position is concerned due to the simple fact that it is departmentally expansive and each department has its own “dos” and “don’ts” and it is extensively spatial. In addition, it is endowed with a variety of expensive equipment such as locomotives, wagons, the rail track, signalling and so forth. Besides, there are certain aspects of the railways that the General Manager should hold dearly if the railways has to be self-sustaining and play its economic role. Such aspects include the Current Capacity and expected Future Capacity, aspects that are a necessity if the railways has to play its proper role in transport as they facilitate capacity planning and capital requirements of the organization especially at this juncture when the national economic trajectory has been set. Little wonder, both the Board and Executive are in a mess in terms of the way forward. Both have no iota of what is to be done to match the 2030 economic policy as evidenced by frequent changes of the goal posts: i.e. whether to have a Strategic Partner or to bolster key assets without having proper studies having been undertaken. The situation has been worsened by the fact that a number of experienced and qualified staff have either been fired or have had their job descriptions changed by the current General Manager for no apparent reason other than to show “Who is the Boss”.

According to the amended Railways Act Chapter 13.09, the NRZ is supposed to be a wholly owned Government Commercialized Company as from 1996 with the relevant Minister’s interventions being limited to the appointment of the Railways Board and Government providing funding only for construction of new lines. As currently things stand, the Ministry has directly been involved in the day-to-day operations of the parastatal as the Railways Board in place has no idea of where the railways is going and the Chief Executive who has been appointed by the Board, with the blessing of the Ministry, has no idea with regard to her job description except personalizing the organization at the expense of its growth in line with the 2030 economic blue-print.

According to the 2030 economic policy that will see Zimbabwe being a Middle Income Country, the major economic drivers are expected to be Agriculture, Mining and Manufacturing and already old mines such as Bindura Nickel mine, Bikita Minerals (Lithium), Kamativi Tin Mine (for both Tin and Lithium) and the new Steel works at Mvuma are already on the roll. With the construction of dams and other sources of water, Agriculture is starting to take shape. What is missing in the whole equation is bulk transport carrier as most of the above require reliable and economic mode of transport (the NRZ). Instead of being a serious player in the new economic thrust, the Railways Board is busy ensuring that their accommodation is “Top of the Range” while the CEO is busy down-sizing the organization and a day hardly goes by without a train having derailed due to poor track infrastructure which has seen the last maintenance five (5) years ago so as to ensure that there will be no railways to talk of in the next three (3) years.

If there were a “Bigger Picture” as the Permanent Secretary said, it is to get rid of the mediocre Railways Board, the Current CEO and her appointed troops without any further delay as the ultimate result would be the irreversible demise of the NRZ. What is required as of now is to obtain the services of qualified and experienced former NRZ Managers to stand in for the Railways Board and at the same time direct the NRZ on a recovery path. On the same token, same will direct the NRZ Management on the way forward. One of the retired, qualified and experienced NRZ Manager should be appointed to the post of General Manager for not more than two (2) years with a mandate to turn-round the fortunes of the organization. All appointed staff by the current CEO to executive positions should have their appointments reviewed with a view to get rid of dead wood. All experienced staff and in particular, the technical staff that have been fired from employment by the current CEO should have their cases reviewed for re-engagement. As a matter of fact, the objective in terms of re-engagement of former railway employees is to ensure that the cut-off employees of thirteen thousand (13 000) is reached unless the cut-off employees can be reduced through the replacement of personnel with machines. The current Security department should be down-sized to its former-self: i.e. excluding “Loss Control” and “General Manager’s Motorcade”. As a matter of course, Government should provide working-capital to the NRZ new Management for the maintenance of locomotives, wagons and track infrastructure and payment of hire-charges for the locomotives for incoming Management.

Had the Government taken-over the NRZ debt at the time of its Commercialization, the parastatal could have been in a better state to fund renewals of the track-network which currently is in a state of disrepair requiring in excess of USD 100 million. Its locomotive fleet which is dominated by the DE 10As, is heavily depleted as its main horse the DE 10A is well over forty (40) years old, more than twelve (12) years above obsolesce require replacement. For now, the NRZ has to make-do with continued hiring locomotives. The fleet of wagons, mainly General Purpose Wagons, some of which were acquired in 1953, have to be replaced with new ones. All the above require injection of capital in excess of two-hundred and fifty (250) million USD. Given the scarcity of funding from the International Funding Institutions due to discontinuation of private sector interest and the illegal Sanctions, Government will have to step in not only to save the NRZ but mainly to ensure that Zimbabwe becomes a Middle Income country by 2030.

In view of the above urgent requirements and the need to get the NRZ on its feet again, it may be necessary to hire the services of Consultants to carry out thorough studies on all of the above. In order to cut-down costs, local Consultants are available with vast international experience on railway feasibility studies.

As a matter of course, the NRZ used to boast of ICT literacy as early as 1962 where Trains Operations could be traced to the last movement and data for decision-making and data generation. To date, all that is in the past, due to successive mediocre Railways Boards and Management from the turn of the century onwards. As a matter of fact, there is no serious railway operations without requisite data. As such, it is another matter the new Management should look into. 

    

 

     

  

  

           Conclusion

The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is a huge industry on its own and cannot have shortcuts in running it. As long as the people at the helm of the organisation continue to have a salient approach on the core and conservative ways of running the NRZ, there is a likelihood that the entity will face its total demise in the next couple of years and the Government’s envisioned vision 2030 will only remain a dream and yet there is real potential for the country’s railway industry to become the hub of the region. It should be put on record that there is no amount of hassling or cutting of corners or nepotism mannerisms that will save NRZ except going back to the drawing board and redraw the actual road map that the NRZ will follow for it to be revived. Since 2007, the NRZ has tried to smuggle investors to revive the entity without success because of its RED bank statement. In the same period, the NRZ has tried to circumvent its obsolete rolling stock with hired equipment and has not got noble deals from that. Again, in the same period, the organisation has tried to tamper with its Human Resources in the name of RESTRUCTURING but this has worsened the organisation’s plight at each RESTRUCTURING attempt. The last feasibility study carried on the rail giant in 1997 revealed that whether NRZ has one locomotive or a thousand locomotives, its lowest human resources should be 13 000 workers. However, the desperate attempt by the NRZ since the inception of the new millennium has been to smuggle successive managers with no Railway experience who have endured successive dismal failures up to now as shown by the smuggled current clueless General Manager in form of Respina Zinyanduko. In the corridors right now, there are attempts to protect this incompetent General Manager by bringing a consultant for her to make her stay long at the helm of NRZ whilst the Board and her Government chain of officials feast on the dying organisation.

Another salient fact that has occurred since the early 2000s has been treating the NRZ as a survival lagoon by successive administrations bearing the chain of Government officials who are also after survival and trying to make sure that their terms are completed when they have amassed huge amount of wealth from Government’s lucrative parastatals. This could also be the case with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development as blatantly shown by the current Permanent Secretary’s penchant to support the current NRZ circus and rot. While NRZ might appear to the public as broke and obsolete, what is very clear is that these successive administrations with their Government chains of officials come specifically to steal from selling of scrap material and benefit from the vast NRZ reserve land which is State land which should not be sold but right now the situation on the ground is totally different with already Lochnivar and Victoria Falls land being sold and very much earmarked by these vultures. The vultures have for long been feasting on the NRZ carcass for too long. And the current Board and management reminisce the “Vulture feasting culture” that is going on at NRZ with scrap being sold to the Chinese companies and NRZ reserve land being parcelled out to these chains of Government officials.

As shown in the past two decades; whatever the NRZ or its Shareholder (the Government) tries to smuggle in from investors, desk strategists, consultants, pretenders, to human resources so-called experts; that will not revive NRZ but drive it to the grave. The NRZ human resources study template is clear and no expert of that sort is needed for now. The NRZ needs to do it according to the book in terms of Railway policy and approach and that way the organisation can see light. If the Government does not do what is expected of it as the Shareholder, the NRZ is facing a barrel of demise and the run-off wagons will continue the organisation’s downhill demise which will prove difficult to stop in the next couple of years. NRZ might face a shame tragedy of development from the all-round leading Railway entity in the 1960s to the Railway dearth in the 21st century to an extent that Rwanda, which is seeking a Railway route right now, will be considered a better prospect than NRZ. As things stand and looking at what is on the ground, NRZ faces a total and certain demise.