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George Maponga in Masvingo

Tongaat Huletts Zimbabwe has appointed seasoned sugar technologist Mr Tendai Masawi as chief executive officer and managing director of Hippo Valley Estates Ltd(Hippo) and Triangle Ltd(Triangle) replacing top business executive Mr Aiden Mhere who volunteered to go on early retirement on 31 March this year.

According to a statement jointly made by the chairpersons of the Triangle and Hippo boards, Mr Masawi will replace Mr Mhere with the former having been Chief Technical Officer of the entire Tongaat Hulett group since 2021, working closely with the company’s South African operation where he was the arrowhead of a successful turnaround and improved performance of sugar mills in that country.

Outgoing Hippo and Triangle Chief Executive Mr Aiden Mhere

Prior to that, Mr Masawi had worked as Managing Director of Tongaat Hulett Mozambique where he, together with his team, successfully implemented the turnaround of operations in that country making Xinavane in Mozambique one of the best-performing mills in the industry.

The Triangle and Hippo Boards expressed optimism that Mr Masawi, who holds a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (Sugar Technology), will work closely with them in the implementation of the Fit for Future Strategy.

After his retirement Mr Mhere, who who at one time worked for Anglo American Zimbabwe Corporation starting in 1999, where he was responsible for giving transformational leadership support to the Hippo chief executive at the time will continue as an independent consultant for the two companies for 12 months allowing Tongaat to tap from his expertise.

Mr Mhere is credited for steering the US$40 million Kilimanjaro Sugar Project in the Lowveld where Tongaat partnered with the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa to develop 4 000 hectares of virgin land into cane fields for allocation to indigenous people as part of an empowerment drive.