Source: Govt commends CMED for successful road rehab initiatives – herald
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
The Government has commended CMED for establishing a Construction Unit, which has to date rehabilitated many roads across the country, creating jobs that have benefited local communities.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona hailed CMED at an event where the State-owned company held its annual general meeting for 2023, aimed at reviewing its performance, financial status, and strategic direction.
“It provides mobility to all government ministries and departments as they implement their various socio-economic development programmes towards the attainment of Vision 2030.
“Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to inform you all that following the government’s policy on the promotion of local contractors, CMED established a Construction Unit which has to date rehabilitated many roads across the country. This initiative has seen a number of jobs being created and has benefitted the local communities in which the road projects are being implemented,” the minister said.
CMED subsidiary, EasyGo Car Hire and Travel, has also been instrumental in spearheading the adoption of new technologies such as electric vehicles and the expansion of a fleet of taxis and shuttle services.
“This is indeed commendable, as this programme dovetails well with government efforts targeted at reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the quest to combat the scourge of climate change,” Minister Mhona said.
The minister said the holding of the AGM demonstrated CMED’s commitment to clear the backlog of producing audited financial statements as per the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31].
The PECOG Act aims to improve corporate governance, accountability, transparency and responsible use of resources by public entities.
“To that end, it is pleasing to note that CMED has turned a corner; where it recorded a loss of ZWL$28,4 billion (in inflation-adjusted terms) in the prior year, the company recorded a profit of ZWL90 billion, equivalent to ZIG36 million during the period under review and went on to declare a dividend of ZWL45 billion, equivalent to the current ZIG18 017 732,00.
“Any shareholder surely wants to earn a return on their investment; hence, as government, we are excited by this development,” Minister Mhona said.
The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including the board chairman, Engineer Tammy Stevenson, managing director Engineer Davison Mhaka, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development’s director of policy and planning, Mr Takura Vengesa, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport chairman, Tawanda Karikoga, and senior government officials.
CMED chairperson Eng. Stevenson said CMED continues to play a key developmental role in infrastructure development as one of the road contractors.
“The board and management appreciate the shareholder’s support, who is the main client. During the period under review, we have responded to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development’s road rehabilitation needs.
“From humble beginnings, we have grown to perfect our workmanship. We managed to leverage the diverse equipment base we operate and venture into housing land development. During the period under review, the group executed works valued at US$1,5 million for WestProp Holdings, the first such client. The scope of works covered land clearance and provision of road infrastructure,” she said.
CMED managing director Mr Mhaka also added that through the Construction Unit, they had ventured into the construction of urban roads.
“You can see the rehabilitation of urban and also rural roads. We did 19 kilometres of asphalt in the urban areas, which included Harare and Bulawayo, and also 60 kilometres for the rural roads. So we are carrying out the mandate of the state accordingly,” he said.
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