Staff Reporter
Operations at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) are set to improve following the impending appointment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to fill the vacant position left by the retirement of Dr Karikoga Kaseke in August this year.
A source within ZTA told this publication that some of ZTA’s operations were crippled as the acting CEO Givemore Chidzidzi couldn’t make some executive decisions as his powers were limited.
According to the source, over 40 applicants were interested in the ZTA top job, but after interviews, only nine were shortlisted to fill the vacant post.
“The ZTA Board was hunting for a substantive CEO and over 40 people showed interest on the vacant post. However after some interviews, only nine candidates were shortlisted to replace Dr Karikoga Kaseke who retired in August this year on medical grounds,” said the source.
According to the source, the nine shortlisted candidates were George Manyumwa (Deputy Director at Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management), Godfrey Pasipanodya (Chief Operating Officer at Hospitality and Tourism Investments Group), Givemore Chidzidzi (Acting ZTA CEO), David Kanyandu (Head Customer Services at Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe) and Jeffrey Manjengwa (Executive Director at ZTA).
Other candidates were Ndazovepi Winnet Muchanyuka (Acting Regional Manager at Southern African Airways), Tawanda Marufu (Director at Intercontinental Group-Atlanta), Charles Chakanya (Co-owner of Victoria Falls Anytime) and Tesa Chakaponya (Executive Director at ZTA).
The source said the appointment of a substantive CEO will revamp operations at ZTA as the organisation was battling from leadership crisis as Dr Kaseke spent almost two years at the helm of that organisation without attending to some pressing issues due to failing health.
The source added that the CEO who will be appointed would restructure the organisations as it currently has a bloated structure that was weighing heavily on the organization’s coffers.
The appointment of the CEO is a step in the right direction as it is in sync with Government’s National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy which seeks to achieve a US$5 billion tourism industry.
