ECONOMIC empowerment group, Affirmative Action Group (AAG), has appointed Harare businessman Pedzisai ‘Scott’ Sakupwanya, pictured, as its new president with immediate effect.
Sakupwanya, the founder of Better Brands jewellery, one of the country’s leading gold buyers, took over the presidency from Mike Chimombe, who was at the helm of AAG since April 2021.
Addressing a press conference in Harare yesterday, AAG founding president Philip Chiyangwa said the group had cut loose Chimombe, vice presidents Munyaradzi Kashambe and Mabhuto Moyo.
The three, according to Chiyangwa, had failed to discharge the duties of AAG to empower citizens.
He said Sakupwanya was thrust into the leadership of the empowerment lobby group because of his capacity to sustain it.
“He is one of the largest gold buyers and is able to lead the group without facing financial challenges.
“Chimombe has been struggling to support the group due to lack of adequate funds. We have decided to dismiss him from the presidium because he was no longer capable of supporting the group,” Chiyangwa said.
“AAG is founded on strict adherence to the virtues of empowerment which are and remain, politics, culture and the law.
“AAG is Zimbabwe’s oldest, largest and most popular empowerment group in the post-independence history. It boasts of the richest blacks in the history of independent Zimbabwe.
“It consists of the international offices that houses Worldwide Affiliates in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Emirates, South Africa and several African countries.
“The focal thrust is ensuring that Zimbabweans are knowledgeable, empowered and enriched with business knowledge.”
Apart from the three axed, Chiyangwa said “all other structures in Zimbabwe and world-wide remain intact”.
by
Nyasha Kunyiswa
STAFF WRITER