Retired Dairibord boss Mandiwanza cherry- picks second wife for chief executive…..accused of turning ZSE listed company into family business

Harare- RETIRED Dairibord chief executive Anthony Mandiwanza is alleged to have influenced the appointment of his second wife Mercy Ndoro as chief executive of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed entity,Express Mail Zim can reveal.

Mandiwanza is also earmarked to be appointed board chair next week ,according to inside sources.

This development would mean that he will have the oversight role hence literally turning the entity to be a ‘family business’.

He has been at the helm of the organisation for 26 years, after joining the organisation one year before the country attained independence- making him one of the longest serving executives in post independence Zimbabwe.

Express Mail Zim gleaned a communique authored by shareholder and former Institute of Directors board member Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi wherein he questioned the complete negation of corporate governance issues and cherry picked his second wife.

” We are the only country where shareholders are taken for fools. How in the world can a board allow the appointment of the former CEO’s second wife?

“Anthony Mandiwanza has appointed his second wife Mercy Ndoro as the CEO for Dairibord Zimbabwe which is an act of nepotism and a misconduct according to corporate rules.

“As a former board member and chairman of Institute of Directors (IODZ), the home of corporate governance, Anthony should know better that these kinds of appointments are illegal. As a shareholder I am requesting a response from the board on why it is allowing such an illegal decision to be made.

“Such decisions are usually taken by a board that is tainted. Dairibord is not a family business. It is a listed institution which should adhere to corporate governance and this kind of action does not reflect respect of the rules.

I am hereby requesting that the Zimbabwe stock Exchange investigate this and charge the board of Dairibord with misconduct. Board members should respect corporate governance and adhere to the rules,”wrote Mutisi.

Express Mail Zim contacted Mutisi and he confirmed authoring the letter of complaint and vowed that he was unperturbed and wanted answers.

“Yes,I can confirm that I did write that and I do not regret.I am a law abiding citizen and need answers from Anthony.
“Where do we go as a nation if we have such violations of corporate governance rules?

“He arm twists the board by providing unlimited fuel to board members, he captures them.

“If he so wishes he can challenge me if he disputes raising children with Ndoro,” said Mutisi who challenged Ndoro and Mandiwanza to prove his claim otherwise.
Mandiwanza allegedly bulldozed to be majority shareholder of Dairibord and maintains great hegemony in the mold of the late James Jonga who also applied the same modus operandi at District Development Fund(DDF).

When Mandiwanza was contacted for comment Thursday, he could neither confirm nor deny his alleged second wife ‘s appointment.

He said he will not respond to allegations that were not channeled to him via board members.

“Young man,I can not respond to issues that did not come through the board and I do not know any Engineer Mutisi that you refer to ,”said Mandiwanza who deliberately evaded to state the nature of his alleged amorous relationship and marital status between himself and Ndoro.
Ndoro holds a Bachelor in Accountancy Degree and an MBA from the University of Zimbabwe.

Founded in 1951, Dairibord owns Lyons Zimbabwe, a food company that manufactures beverages, ice creams, cordials, condiments, sauces and spreads, as well as biscuit and baking company M.E. Charhons, and has a majority stake in Dairibord Malawi jointly owned with the Malawian government.