CHIREDZI – The new Tongaat Managing Director (MD)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tendai Masawi is taking over with effect from May 1, 2024.Masawi had an opportunity to address stakeholders at the farewell function for his predecessor Aiden Mhere held at Triangle Country Club last Thursday.
He said he was a man of a few words but hinted that he would be using some techniques from Tongaat Hulett South Africa where he used to work.He said he would be setting aside a day that farmers will come and familiarise with the operations of Tongaat including the sugar milling factory.
Masawi takes over from former CEO, Aiden Mhere who went on early retirement last week.“I am a person of a few words but I know we are going to work well with farmers. I plan to set aside a day for sugarcane farmers to get a feel of the operations at the mill. We will not operate secretively, I saw this in South Africa and it really worked,” said Masawi.
Earlier farmers had complained that they are not conversant with the operations of the mill and at one time small scale sugarcane farmers demanded to be given raw sugar by THZ instead of the miller selling the sugar on their behalf as per their agreement.
Masawi said setting a day to meet farmers will give the sugarcane farmers an appreciation of how the mill works.Masawi joined Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe as Milling Operations Director in September 2012. He holds an M Sc. Chemical Engineering (Sugar Technology) degree and is a seasoned sugar technologist with 35 years of regional industrial and corporate management experience. He has held various roles within the Sugar value chain.
Masawi is no stranger to the Zimbabwean operations, which he joined after fulfilling various roles at ZSR Corporation Limited, where he started his career in the Sugar Industry in 1988 as a Chemist at Harare Refinery. From there, he picked up several roles such as Operations Manager and General Manager at ZSR Bulawayo and Harare Refineries; and later as Chief Operations Officer and Executive Director for Star Africa Corporation until July 2012. He joined Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe as Milling Operations Director in September 2012 to be later appointed as Executive: Milling Operations and Technical Services from 2018.
He then moved to Mozambique as Managing Director for Tongaat Hulett Mozambique. There he and his team successfully implemented the turnaround of the Mozambican operations and today Xinavane is one of the best performing mills within the industry. In 2021 he was promoted to the Chief Technical Officer of Tongaat Hulett group. Working closely with the South African operations, him and his team successfully contributed to the turn around and improved performance and efficiencies of the South African mills. – Masvingo Mirror
