Top civil servant Justin Mupamhanga dies

Zim Now Writer

Former Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Justin Mupamhanga, has died.

The news of his demise was announced by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services secretary Nick Mangwana through his X handle.

The cause of Mupamhanga’s death and funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.

Mupamhanga, who served as a senior civil servant for a total 36 years, retired from Government in 2019 telling the media then:

“While I’ve retired as a civil servant, I’ve not retired from my country. I will continue to root for and love my country just as I loved it when I left university in 1975 to join the liberation war.” He is also a past board chairman on Kuvimba Mining House.

At the end of the liberation struggle in 1980, he had brief stints in the Zanu PF party and Zanla’s commissariat and education departments before joining the civil service in the Economics Division of the President’s Department.

Having risen through the ranks, he was then appointed to head the division in 1992 and was later elevated to the post of Deputy Director (External Intelligence).

In 1994, Mupamhanga was posted to London, England, as Minister Counsellor.

He was recalled home four years later to transform the Economics Division into the Economics Branch it is today. His brief involved creating a nexus between the branch and all the country’s economic stakeholders.

At the time, drought stalked much of Southern Africa, his scope was then expanded to ensuring food security, working with security forces and senior civil servants to import maize and avert hunger. Other task force members were then Air Force Commander Air Marshal Perrance Shiri, Major-General Amoth Chingombe (late) and Mr Ngoni Masoka, Secretary for Agriculture at the time.

He was on a similar assignment in 2001/2002.

Mupamhanga would be appointed Secretary for Energy and Power Development.

His next grand project was restructuring the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe.

He also spearheaded the restructuring of power utility Zesa into self-contained business units.

He also introduced the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority.

In 2012, he was appointed Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, responsible for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Government programmes and projects.

One of his stand out assignments was superintending Command Agriculture under the guidance of Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda.