Harare (New Ziana) – THE Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) is looking for a substantive chief executive officer, who, among other things, is expected to augment current efforts to steer the company back onto sturdy footing.
Everisto Madangwa is currently heading Zupco, but in an acting capacity.
In a notice, Zupco has contracted an independent consultancy firm, IPC, to hunt for a candidate, who will “steer the company to be the leading and preferred market-driven passenger transport operator in the region”.
The required candidate is expected to provide leadership and strategic direction to the organisation, and monitor and stay abreast of industry, national and global developments, trends and events to ensure the company is able to maintain its competitive position.
The candidate is also expected to collaborate with the board on the company’s vision, mission, strategies and plans to ensure achievement of set targets.
Efforts are already underway to revive Zupco, with the help of the Government and private players, who have been roped in to ply routes under a franchising agreement.
The Second Republic has committed to recapitalise Zupco to ensure it provides safe, reliable and affordable transport in both urban and rural areas.
Under the Zupco revival initiative, the Government has been procuring buses for the company at regular intervals and distributing them to both urban and rural areas.
When the rebuilding of Zupco started in 2019, the company had 76 buses, but its fleet has since grown to over 4 000 of both new and franchised buses.
The Government took advantage of the Covid-19 outbreak to ban private commuter omnibuses as it moved to restore sanity in the transport sector, which had become characterised by lawlessness and overcharging.
It invited operators still interested in the business to join the Zupco franchise and follow stipulated health and safety measures.
Zupco has also partnered the National Railways of Zimbabwe in 2021 to introduce commuter trains in Harare and Bulawayo as part of measures to ease transport challenges and provide an affordable service to residents.
New Ziana
