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Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor

Ms Respina Zinyanduko, a lawyer, has been appointed substantive general manager of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).

Ms Zinyanduko has been acting (NRZ) general manager since February this year and is the first woman in the 124-year history of the railways to hold such a post.

President Mnangagwa approved the appointment in terms of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act as read with the Railways Act. The appointment is effective from December 1.

Ms Zinyanduko has been acting general manager since February this year following the death of the former boss Joseph Mashika to Covid-19-related complications.

NRZ board chairman Advocate Martin Dinha announced the appointment yesterday.

Ms Zinyanduko is a seasoned lawyer with over 18 years technical and management experience across the entire realm of corporate governance and the public sector and, said Adv Dinha, had distinguished herself as a professional and acute executive. 

“She led the restructuring of the NRZ within a record time to align the structures to business operations. This was a litigation-free process which was implemented within the confines of the applicable laws.

“Ms Zinyanduko has proved to be an agile leader with great skills of communication, negotiation and stakeholder relationship building with both internal and external stakeholders, attributes which are critical in the smooth administration of the NRZ. 

“She is also highly skilled in aligning teams to purpose by ensuring clarity of the bigger picture and where work of individuals fit in, resulting in robust and efficient teams that deliver excellent results timely.”

Ms Zinyanduko has worked for various public entities and her vast experience, characterised by strong geographical mobility, is expected to be of significance to NRZ as the organisation moves towards turning around its fortunes to regain its position as the preferred bulk carrier for Zimbabwe. 

She holds an executive Masters in Business Administration and is pursuing a doctoral degree in Business Leadership.