The Zimbabwean government has dissolved the Air Zimbabwe management board, and appointed Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants as caretaker of the airline.

This was done to safeguard the airline’s assets, says Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Joram Gumbo. Management of the airline and Air Zimbabwe Holdings will remain in place, but be answerable to Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants.

In May this year, Air Zimbabwe Acting CEO, Joseph Makonise, had requested an extension of the protection granted on the parastatal’s assets from July this year to 2020. However, Gumbo said that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, by their letter dated July 25, 2018, had notified his office that it was not feasible to extend the protection under the Finance Act due to the airline’s failure to restructure, its non-adherence to a turnaround strategy, and its progression from technical insolvency to factual insolvency. “Instead, the Ministry of Finance recommended to the Office of the President and Cabinet that Air Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd and Air Zimbabwe Holdings (Pvt) Ltd should be placed under the reconstruction of State Indebted Insolvent Companies Act Chapter (24:27).The recommendation was approved and forwarded to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.”

On July 27, government appointed three Air Zimbabwe officials as interim administrators, but following this, the Ministry of Transport sought the services of Grant Thornton through the approval of the Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe.

The board comprised Chairperson Chipo Dyanda, deputised by Pathias Chironga, and members Pascal Changunda, Lyton Shumba, Fulton Mangwanya and Dacl-Ray Rambanapasi.