By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana) —Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joshua Sacco on Wednesday said the holding of Annual General Meetings by Air Zimbabwe marks an important milestone in efforts to strengthen corporate governance and reposition the national airline as a sustainable commercial entity.
Addressing shareholders during a meeting at which Air Zimbabwe audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 were considered, Sacco said the 2024 financial year was significant following the transition of Air Zimbabwe into the oversight of the Mutapa Investment Fund under Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023.
“This reform is consistent with government’s broader policy objective of ensuring that state-owned and strategic entities operate with greater accountability, professionalism, commercial discipline, and clear performance expectations,” he said.
He welcomed progress in strengthening the governance architecture, including appointment of a fully constituted skills-based board and strengthening of executive functions through appointment of a chief finance officer, company scretary and risk officer.
“These provide a stronger institutional foundation for the airline’s recovery,” he said, adding of particular importance was progress in addressing historical financial reporting backlogs.
“The completion and audit of the 2020, 2021 and 2022 financial statements, followed by the restoration of the AGM meeting cycle, demonstrates that Air Zimbabwe is progressively returning to a culture of statutory compliance, transparency and accountability. We had mentioned that we were way behind in the past, but now we are catching up. And this is really commendable. This is the way to go. We expect this momentum to continue,” he said.
Sacco said good corporate governance should translate into prudent financial management, effective risk management, accountability for performance and protection of public and shareholder value.
On financial performance, Sacco said revenue increased by 42.6 percent from US$7.54 million to US$10.74 million, while net loss reduced by 31.7 percent from US$10.4 million to US$7.12 million and the gross loss was also substantially reduced.
“The airline’s balance sheet strengthened due to the revaluation of assets, increasing to US$89.85 million, and the shareholders’ equity increased to US$40.31 million. The government recognizes these improvements while emphasizing that the ultimate objective must be to move beyond loss reduction towards sustainable profitability, positive cash generation and reduced dependence on shareholder support. This requires continued commercial discipline, prudent expenditure, stronger revenue management, and relentless focus on route and fleet economies,” he said.
Sacco said Air Zimbabwe transported 33 676 passengers in 2024 and its role extends beyond financial performance.
“As the national airline, it is an important instrument for national connectivity, tourism development, trade facilitation and Zimbabwe’s integration into regional and international markets. So, VaMakona (Mr Makona) (Edmund, Air Zimbabwe chief executive officer) your role is greater than what is perceived by many. Tourism development, national connectivity, trade facilitation, Zimbabwe’s integration,” he said.
New Ziana
