HON. DR. GUMBO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, it is true that Zimbabwe Airways or Air Zimbabwe, when we engaged to buy the aeroplanes on behalf of the Zimbabwe Government we started the negotiations under the name of Air Zimbabwe, but it then so happened with the background information that I gave and unfortunately Hon. Maridadi was not in the House then, the four planes are bought for Air Zimbabwe by the Zimbabwe Government. The shareholder is wholly Government of Zimbabwe and there is no other shareholder. It is the Government of Zimbabwe, so there is no issue. The four planes were bought for Air Zimbabwe by the Zimbabwe Government. The shareholder is wholly Government of Zimbabwe and no other. So, there is no issue about that one.
It is not correct that the debt for Air Zimbabwe has ever risen to $500 million, it is not true. It is only $320 million, so it is not correct what the Hon. Member has said. I do not know where he got that from. It is true that when operations for Air Zimbabwe halted it was because the planes for Air Zimbabwe were under threat of being impounded and stayed in London for a day or so. This is the reason why we could not fly back to London. Government, in its own wisdom, came up with change of a name to operate under Zimbabwe Airways and that I have already explained with the procurement procedures being properly followed according to the laws of the country.
Simba Chikore was employed by Air Zimbabwe. He has very good qualifications which I have stated before and it will not be very fair for me to keep on talking about an individual but as it is and it concerns the Hon. Member, I am stating here again that Simba Chikore was properly trained in aviation in America. He flew in America for over five years and when he came to Zimbabwe he was one of the senior pilots at Air Zimbabwe here in Harare until at such a time when we had problems with our own aircrafts and so, he left to go and join Qatar as senior pilot and instructor at Qatar.
That Simba Chikore, if that is what worries everybody else that he is a son-in-law of Robert Gabriel Mugabe does not stop him to be an individual, to have his own qualifications and also apply for a job. He has got a life and family to live, and I wish as Members of Parliament we can understand that. There is nothing wrong about Simba Chikore. He was properly employed by Air Zimbabwe as COO, properly interviewed, excelled and given the job. He was one of our lead persons appointed by me as the responsible Minister, to lead the team that left Zimbabwe to negotiate for the purchase of these planes because of his knowledge and we left Ripton Muzenda to run Air Zimbabwe when we assigned him that job.
When we realised that there was a threat of again impounding the Zimbabwe aeroplanes that were bought in Malaysia when we flew one of them, that is when we said Simba Chikore and four others must now be assigned and leave the offices of Air Zimbabwe to operate separately. Totally nothing wrong about that, just operative. I wish Members of Parliament like me can just concentrate on the issues surrounding Zimbabwe Airways and not the individual. He has got a life to live and I want us to believe that. Anybody else can be traced to be a relative of everybody here and they cannot be stopped from being given a job. That should not be the issue.
There was an issue about the $41 million. I have stated that Government paid $41 million of the $70 million and there is a balance of $29 million which needs to be paid. Just today, I requested the Minister of Finance to assist us to pay that $29 million so that we can have the other two planes which have not been paid for. The other two of the four planes have already been paid for. The other is going to be delivered in the next two weeks but we have a balance of $29 million which needs to be paid for the other two so that they can be delivered. It is a Government project which is not dirty. It is clean and there were reasons why it was kept under wrap. It was just because we wanted to avoid the issue of them being impounded because if they had been exposed as Government of Zimbabwe planes, they would have been taken by the creditors who were claiming for money; the farmers in Mashonaland Central and some from Manicaland which amount of money was really not easy for the Government of Zimbabwe to pay.
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