Air Zimbabwe is almost through with the process of selecting a new chief executive officer who is expected to give the airline new wings, board chairperson Chipo Dyanda has said.
The airline has been operating without a substantive head since 2011 when Peter Chikumba failed to renew his contract.
Edmund Makona has been the acting CEO since 2013. Before him, Innocent Mavhunga had been heading the organisation in an acting capacity since 2011 before he was shipped out in 2013.
“We are almost done with the process,” Dyanda told NewsDay.
She could not say when the post would be filled as the matter was going through various processes.
In June, the Dyanda-led board intensified its search for a substantive head conducting interviews for the four shortlisted candidates. The candidates included among others Makona and former acting CEO Oscar Madombwe.
The interviews were conducted by the board and a human resources consultancy firm, Industrial Psychology Consultants. They were a follow up to the psychometric tests the quartet had earlier participated in.
In April, AirZim gave interested candidates up to May 6 to submit applications. The airline said it was looking for a visionary strategist and leader “who demonstrates a professional and flexible leadership style”.
The candidate, it said, should be able to develop, implement and evaluate turnaround strategies including managing workloads and resources and align organisational strategies, with stakeholder groups which include government and government institutions.
The ideal candidate should exhibit a good understanding of the airline industry, business operations, processes and systems, it said.
Once one of the best airlines in the region, the national carrier has fallen down the pecking order, weighed down by gross mismanagement, with a former minister describing it as a “museum of mismanagement”.
The new CEO was expected to stop financial bleeding of the airline amid revelations it was making monthly losses as it was generating an estimated revenue of $2,65 million against operational expenditure of $5,94 million, according to a report by the
portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development. The report was presented in Parliament last week.
- Newsday