Government Moves To Re-merger Air Zimbabwe And The National Handling Services

The government has enlisted the services of a consultant to oversee the re-merger of the national airline, Air Zimbabwe, and the National Handling Services (NHS) in a bid to enhance efficiency at the country’s airports.

According to ZBC News, the move is aimed at ensuring the sustainability of service provision in a competitive industry. The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Mike Madiro, has revealed that discussions on the re-merger have been ongoing, and the policy position is now work in progress. He said:

Issues to do with a re-merger between NHS and Air Zimbabwe have been topical and the fact that sustainability of service provision has to be guaranteed given the competitive nature of the industry. This is a policy position which is now work in progress.

NHS, a state enterprise that offers aviation ground services at the country’s airports, held its annual general meeting in Harare on Tuesday, where the need for retooling and capacitation of the parastatal was highlighted in line with the government’s thrust of revamping the country’s aviation facilities. The government has recently completed the expansion of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, which is expected to increase the airport’s handling capacity of passenger and cargo volumes.

The NHS CEO, Mr Godknows Marawanyika, has revealed that the parastatal is focusing on recapitalisation in its five-year plan, which involves bringing new state-of-the-art equipment to complement the government’s efforts in refurbishing and building new aviation facilities. He said:

We are focusing on recapitalisation on our five-year plan where we are concentrating on bringing new state-of-the-art equipment to complement what the government is doing in refurbishing and building new aviation facilities.

The general manager of Zimbabwe Dryport, Mr Theodore Chinyanga, reported the facility is not operating at full capacity due to a lack of equipment, which requires about US$2 million. He said they have handled 385 cars and 1,553 bond entries since they started operations in 2019. The facility needs equipment such as a reach stacker, side loader, refrigerated facilities, and a warehouse to operate at full capacity. The dry port facility enables the country to increase its business and trade opportunities by importing and exporting directly to Europe and West Africa using ocean cargo services.

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