via Mavhaire out of touch with reality July 18, 2014
ENERGY and Power Development minister Dzikamai Mavhaire is “out of touch with reality” regarding improving power generation in the country given his unconvincing responses in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Mavhaire was humiliated by Kuwadzana East MP Nelson Chamisa after he showed that he was completely out of touch with what is happening in his ministry, yet the country is battling incessant blackouts because Zimbabwe cannot generate enough electricity.
Provision of electricity is no laughing matter and Mavhaire should know that. He should be ready to provide answers to the public.
What happened during the debate exposed President Robert Mugabe’s inclination to appointing individuals for political expediency rather that astuteness in problem-solving.
What was clear from Mavhaire’s performance was that there are no measures in place to mitigate power rationing in the short term, as least as far as he knows.
Mavhaire displayed worrying immaturity for a man entrusted with providing power to revive our comatose industry, something that cannot be done without a constant and reliable supply of power.
The electorate will surely chastise Mavhaire for lack of seriousness. From what the minister told Parliament there is no light at the end of tunnel.
Clearly, power rationing will continue for a long time if the strategic business of power generation is left in the hands of clueless individuals such as Mavhaire.
Zimbabweans need solutions; what the minister will do to alleviate their plight, not to play to the gallery.
It goes without saying that Cabinet ministers need technical knowledge to be effective in their portfolios.
It can be understood that Cabinet formation has always been preceded and succeeded by a debate on the criteria for choosing ministers.
It is always argued that those heading finance and commerce, science and technology, health and education should be experts in their respective fields. Yet others point out that ministers only need to be good managers and able leaders with the ability to make and implement the right decisions at the right time.
Zimbabweans expect their ministers to be competent enough to manage important responsibilities. Although competence does not necessarily mean holding a degree, at least leaders should possess the ability to deliver, which in turn depends on the capacity to understand the nature and importance of a challenge and then being able to address it.
It is important that ministers have management skills and leadership qualities.
And at times, in-depth technical knowledge becomes a liability rather than an asset as technical people tend to focus on micro issues whereas ministers need to focus on broad policy issues.
We do not think that ministers are meant to be technical gurus (but) they are meant to be a bridge between political leadership and permanent bureaucracy on the one hand, and between people and the government on the other.
COMMENTS
This article is biased because it supports one of the former ministers who failed in his duties.What did Chamisa achieve during his ministerial duties? He really deserved that funny reply from the minister.He is one of those young guys who think they know everything when they are really dull and with no direction.
The minister was right to warn the nation that it takes time to build viable power stations,however he is also guilty of poor planning and lack of decision making.You can cook sadza within 15 minutes but it takes years to construct power stations.Blackouts and load shedding are the direct results of incompetence within ZESA staff who fail to maintain existing power stations to full generation capacities,You can build as many power stations as you want but still have energy shortages due to poor maintenance and corruption.
At least Mavhaire is telling the truth, it is a breeze of fresh air these days when everything is promised and nothing is delivered. Mavhaire’s openeness shows how clued in he is. Acceptance is the first step to redemption. Every other minister is saying everything is rosy and kosher but we dont see the roses or the manna. What can Mavhaire promise when there is no money.
The argument that we need technocrats as ministers is bogus, we need leaders. The perm secs, under secs, directors and staff need to be the technos. There are very few companies that are being led by technos– you need managers– people who know how to marshall resources.
It takes a year to 2 to put up a power plant— so yes , even if the money was there and all the other resources available, you would go without electricity for a while. All ministers should be like Dzikamai– tell the truth
The writer of this analysis is plain stupity and ‘out of touch with reality’!clearly the honourable Minister outlined projects in progress,what did Mudzure,Mangoma and clueless Chamisa achieve in the 9yrs they were ministers?it takes +-10 to build a power station