By Itai Ndongwe
Harare-The Minister of Energy and Power Development, Zhemu Soda, has announced the appointment of five new members to the Petrotrade board of directors, which will be chaired by Mr Michael Dondo.
The new board of directors was appointed in accordance with the Public Enterprises Corporate Governance Act (chapter 10:31).
Ms Edith Jaravani, Mr Eleph Gula Ndebele, Mr Partson Chikudza, and Colonel (Rtd) Morgan Mudzinganyama are the board’s other four members.
Petrotrade is a State-owned oil company in the fuel business. Its main goal is to support government efforts in providing fuel to the public, focusing on areas that the private sector avoids, in keeping with the Second Republic’s mantra of leaving no one behind.
Minister Soda urged the new board to correct the mistakes of the previous board, which failed to complete the process, and he expects the new board to contribute to the country’s economic development in his speech yesterday.
“Lead the growth of the company which as a State Enterprise is expected to contribute to the economic development of the country. Provide strategic direction and advice to ensure that the company develops resilience and earns leadership of the Petroleum Industry in Zimbabwe,” Hon. Soda said.
He added that; “Government in its thrust to restructure state enterprises directed that Petrotrade and Genesis be consolidated then followed by partial privatization. This scope has now changed to end at amalgamation of Petrotrade and Genesis. Your board will be required to pass the necessary resolutions to enable this to happen. Government has engaged the ZB Bank Consortium to see this important process through.”
Dondo, the board chair, assured the minister that his board would deliver on its promises and that the entity would ensure that the government received a return on its investment.
“We will definitely be committed to transparency and accountability and make sure that a dividend is declared as expected. This is not a cost center but a revenue-generating center,” he said.
This will be the 4th Board of Directors since the company’s formation in 2011.
