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    HomeNewsLiberation stalwart Mupamhanga declared national hero

    Liberation stalwart Mupamhanga declared national hero

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    Harare, (New Ziana) –Former Energy and Power Development permanent secretary and liberation war stalwart, Justin Mupamhanga, who died in Harare on Wednesday, has been declared a national hero.

    Mupamhanga, who is the father of the Deputy Minister for Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Kuda Mupamhanga, succumbed to diabetes and high blood pressure at Arundel Clinic.

    Announcing the hero status in a condolence message, Acting President General (Retired) Constantino Chiwenga urged the Mupamhanga family to take solace from the fact that the whole country joins them in mourning the career civil servant credited with the implementation of government programs as the Deputy Chief Secretary responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the President and Cabinet.

    He supervised numerous strategic and key government programs in agriculture, energy and infrastructure development, and was involved in improving development in Kanyemba, Mbire district, in Mashonaland Central province.

    Mupamhanga abandoned his studies at the University of Rhodesia in 1975 to join the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) in Mozambique.

    He was allowed to complete his studies after completing his military training and later held important positions in the commissariat and education departments of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and ZANLA.

    Acting President Chiwenga described Mupamhanga as a fireball workhorse and go-getter, who continued to drive government programs and projects with conviction, zeal and determination even after suffering a stroke.

    Mupamhanga began his civil service career at independence in the Economics Division of the President’s Department.

    He rose through the ranks, first establishing and heading the Economics Branch before serving as Minister Counsellor at Zimbabwe’s Diplomatic Mission in London, United Kingdom.

    He was later elevated to Deputy Director in the President’s Department under President Emmerson Mnangagwa who was then Minister responsible for State Security.

    In times of the El Nino induced droughts that ravaged the Southern African region from time to time, Mupamhanga became part of a task force charged with importing grain and averting hunger in the country.

    Other members of the task force included then Airforce Commander, Air Marshal Perence Shiri, Major General Amoth Chimombe and Ngoni Masoka who was the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture.

    Mupamhanga was later appointed permanent secretary for Energy and Power Development and played a key role in the liberalisation of the fuel industry, which eliminated fuel shortages and increased participation by indigenous businesses in the sector.

    He also led the restructuring of the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe and power utility the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) into self-contained business units, and also introduced the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority.

    As Deputy Chief Secretary Responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mupamhanga oversaw the implementation of major projects including the construction of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam.

    The highlight of his career was being the chairperson of the Command Agriculture where he laid the framework for agricultural productivity and helping Zimbabwe to reclaim its breadbasket status in the region.

    He retired in 2019 after 36 years of dedicated service to the government and country but continued as chairman of Kuvimba Mining House.

    Mupamhanga valued land, one of the major grievances that drove him and other youth to join the liberation struggle, and carried out successful farming operations in Mashonaland Central province.

    New Ziana

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