In its capacity as the carrier's sole shareholder, the Zimbabwean Government has moved to dissolve Air Zimbabwe's board replacing it with Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants who will act as caretaker administrators.
According to NewsDay, Minister for Transport and Infrastructural Development, Joram Gumbo, said the decision was taken after the Ministry of Finance had warned it would not be possible to roll-over the Air Zimbabwe Corporation (Repeal) Act which was repealed on August 1, 2018.
Air Zimbabwe’s acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joseph Makonise had requested the act be extended to 2020 only for the Ministry of Finance to reject it on the grounds that the airline had failed to both restructure its operations and adhere to a turnaround strategy resulting in its progression from technical insolvency to factual insolvency. The carrier's total debt overhang is estimated to stand at around USD320 million.
As it stands, management for Air Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd and Air Zimbabwe Holdings (Pvt) Ltd shall remain in place, but answerable to Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants, who in turn will report to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport.
Air Zimbabwe's sacked board had been comprised of chairwoman Chipo Dyanda, her deputy Pathias Chironga, and members Pascal Changunda, Lyton Shumba, Fulton Mangwanya, and Dacl-Ray Rambanapasi.
The Ministry of Justice had earlier sought to appoint three airline employees to the position of administrator only for the Transport Ministry to move for a more independent, outside option.
As part of his election bid, President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed to fight corruption and privatize Zimbabwe's largely bankrupt state-owned enterprises, among which is Air Zimbabwe.
