by Shongedzai Mugwagwa

Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Biggie Joel Matiza is set to announce the new Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) board after the newly appointed Minister had dissolved the Wilfred Ramwi led board.

Sources close to the corridors of power in the Ministry have confided in this reporter that former Transport and Infrastructural Development Deputy Minister Engineer Michael Madanha is earmarked for landing the top job as Zinara Board Chairperson.

Government gazetted Statutory Instrument 91 of 2016 on the Road Motor Transportation (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, through which Government has directed the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to "collect, for the benefit of the Road Fund, the tolls on vehicles using any port of entry as prescribed in the First Schedule".   Zinara has been collecting the fees.

Over the past few years, Zinara has been under fire from various stakeholders over its failure to upgrade roads in several parts of the country despite the fact that the entity collects toll fees from the motoring public daily.

Minister Eng Matiza promised to breathe new life into the Zinara board that will see a new modus operandi in the road administrator. Deputy Minister Fortune Chasi was tasked to deal with corruption at Zinara, a key parastatal under his portfolio.

“I have assigned my Deputy Minister to investigate the entity including issues of abuse of office. The Deputy Minister will oversee the establishment and maintenance of corporate governance at Zinara and its alignment to statutory requirements,” he said.

Minister Matiza said his Ministry has put in place measures aimed at restructuring Zinara to ensure that it is more effective.