Zvamaida Murwira Harare Bureau
THE National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) will now demand cash upfront for all its services to clients as part of a cocktail of measures aimed at improving revenue and viability, a Cabinet Minister has said. Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo told the Senate yesterday that the NRZ had rationalised salaries for senior management and would vigorously pursue its debtors.
Minister Gumbo said this while responding to a question from Mashonaland Central Senator Damien Mumvuri (Zanu-PF) who wanted an update on an industrial action by NRZ workers and what the government was doing to ameliorate the situation.
“We’ve realised that some of the debtors were State entities and to that end, we’ll be requesting Treasury Bills so that we can pay some of our obligations like salaries.
“Some of our debtors have made some payments like ZPC but we’ll also not render service before we’re paid,” said Minister Gumbo.
He appealed to the workers to return to work to salvage the little of what was at the company.
In a related matter, Parliament’s portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development has urged the government to recapitalise the NRZ either from the fiscus, investment or accessing loans.
“The committee observed that the NRZ has become a liability to the government and noted the need for the shareholder to recapitalise it,’’ said committee chairperson Cde Dexter Nduna (Zanu PF).
He urged government to ensure that the NRZ exploited mineral rights owned by the parastatal outside the country.
Cde Nduna was making reference to what was said by the then Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Obert Mpofu when he gave evidence before the committee.
Mpofu said the NRZ has several properties worth millions of dollars outside the country and Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa jointly owned vast mineral rights across the Limpopo but the NRZ had no money to exploit them.
“The then Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development also informed the Committee that the NRZ has mining claims in South Africa running into millions if not billions of dollars under the Pan African Minerals Development Company,” said Cde Nduna.
The committee also noted that NRZ acting general manager Engineer Lewis Mukwada sat on the board of Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway Limited despite the fact that both entities were competitors.
“Workers felt that this was bad ethics for corporate governance,” said Cde Nduna.