THE Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development is working on bringing regional balance and striking 50:50 gender parity on the boards of parastatals it administers, a Cabinet minister has said.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
Transport and Infrastructure Development minister Joram Gumbo said the ministry would ensure boards of parastatals reflect the regional diversity in the country by having suitably qualified personnel from the country’s different regions.
Senior ministry officials also told NewsDay this week that the process of identifying suitable female candidates was already underway, and stakeholders such as the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers would be consulted to forward names.
“We have meetings with the minister as well as management of different parastatals as we seek to identify suitable candidates to ensure that the composition of our parastatal boards is reflective of gender as well as regional diversity,” a source said.
Gumbo said there were boards which do not have women representation and the ministry would wait for the end of that board’s tenure to bring in more women onto the boards.
“We are going to introduce 50-50 gender parity on the boards in the parastatals falling under this ministry. We want to ensure that women are equally represented and so we are going to ensure that this will be done where the terms of those currently serving expire. We will also ensure that there is a regional balance on the boards by bringing in people from the country’s different regions,” he said.
Gumbo’s remarks come at a time he was accused of appointing his “regional homeboy” Larry Mavima as board chairperson of the National Railways of Zimbabwe. The vacancy was created following the unceremonious axing of Alvord Mabena in December.
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Section 17 of the Constitution compels the State to ensure the full participation of women in all spheres of society on the basis of equality with men. It states that women should constitute at least half the membership of all Commissions and other elective and appointed governmental bodies established by or under this Constitution or any Act of Parliament.
Section 18 compels the State to ensure that there is fair regional representation of all of Zimbabwe’s regions in all institutional and agencies of government at all levels.
Gumbo said the ministry was also working towards splitting the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe into Zimbabwe Civil Aviation Authority (ZIMCAA) and Airports Management Company.
“ZIMCAA will take charge of regulatory services while AMC will be in charge of commercial aviation operations. Unbundling will also ensure that Zimbabwe complies with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards which require regulatory and operational functions to be separated from each other,” he said.
Gumbo said the ministry has also approached 12 airlines and was working on bilateral relations with other airlines.
