Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi has revealed that her ministry did not fire Winnie Muchanyuka from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), but that she chose to resign as she allegedly could not wait for the forensic audit.
Muchanyuka, who was the Chief Executive Officer at ZTA, resigned unexpectedly in December of last year (2023), having been appointed in June of 2022.
The sudden resignation resulted in speculation that she had been forced to resign by Minister Rwodzi.
However, Minister Rwodzi took the opportunity during her engagement with the media to explain that Muchanyuka was not fired but chose to resign of her own accord.
“I did not fire the CEO (Winnie Muchanyuka) nor did I do anything to make her leave, except to ask for a forensic examination, and she said she wasn’t comfortable stepping aside for six months waiting for the results, so she opted to resign.
“That’s the truth, that’s what happened. We didn’t have any conversation with her about it. We gave the chairman the instruction, and the chairman came back saying the CEO said she would not wait. That’s what happened,” she said.
Minister Rwodzi added that one board member also expressed that they could not wait for the forensic audit, and they chose to resign and leave.
“Regarding our board (ZTA board), there is also one board member who said they could not wait and resigned. The forensic audit is almost done as we speak.
“They called us last week, and they are in the field now, which is the last part. We are expecting to get the final results by the end of July, and then we will know. If there are issues that indicate the board did something wrong, then, yes, the board can go, but if there are no issues, then they can return,” she said.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority is currently under scrutiny amid allegations of misappropriation of funds, including the Zimbabwe Tourism Fund, which is financed through the 2% tourism levy.
The levy is charged on all transactions that occur in the tourism industry, including restaurants.
Tourism, along with mining and agriculture, is one of the key pillars of economic revival in the Second Republic.
