Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zambia Railways limited CEO Muyenga Atanga fired

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Acting Zambia Railways Managing Director Muyenga Atanga
Zambia Railways Managing Director Muyenga Atanga

The Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) board has terminated the contract for its Chief Executive Officer Muyenga Atanga.

Transport and Communication minister Yamfwa Mukanga confirmed this development.Mr Mukanga said the board terminated Atanga’s contract in a letter dated May 29,2015.He however said he could not comment on the matter and has wished Prof Atanga the best in all his future endeavors.

Professor Atanga took over from Professor Clive Chirwa in 2013 after Prof Chirwa was retired in ‘national interest’.

Meanwhile in a letter dated May 31,2015 Prof Atanga resigned giving the company a 90 days’ termination notice.This was confirmed by Company Corporate Relations Manager Benson Ngula who disclosed that Prof Atanga has resigned pending the elapse of his 90 days that he hoped to be on leave.

Mr Ngula said Prof Atanga has given a notice of termination of his contract under the contract Article 21 in particular which provides for both parties to give notice to either party in order to terminate the contract.

“The 90 days starts from June 1, 2015 and he has also requested to go on leave as we await his 90 days to elapse so that the company could also find someone to act and oversee the transition,” Mr Ngula said.

47 COMMENTS

    • Chirwa has nothing to offer Zambia, he is just a crook. The problem with you folks is that you are too sold out to titles, Chirwa is a charade, he is phony and a consummate lier. Just ask anyone who lives in the UK about Chirwa, try it, I am sure a number of you would know family or friends living in the UK, send them an email, text, etc. It is not that difficult and see what they have to say.

      Speak to say three people – they can’t all be wrong or accused of having the same ulterior motive. The chap is no more useful than this Atanga chap & you are better off finding a zambian based engineer, graduate of unza or indeed any other Zambian engineers working abroad.

    • Kekekekeke these PF awe mwe.
      So anybody who was appointed by Sata will be fired, except Edgar?
      Bridget Atanga FIRED, husband FIRED!
      Who is board chairman of ZR… its PF secretary general, can’t remember his name.

  1. Sins of forefathers extend to the great great grands and sins of spouses affect……….. fill in the blanks.

    • My fellow citizen I am just as perplexed maybe my comprehension skills are deteriorating. Ba LT maybe you can do a part 2 so we grasp whats going on here or maybe the contract specifies that it can only end with BOTH a resignation and being fired.

    • The thief was fired. The rest is a face-saving exercise.
      And how did he get the dubious professor-ship?

  2. Politics aside, this man had this coming. In all honesty, there was no value added to Z.R.L despite all the money that was pumped in. I can’t believe that in the 21st century when other countries are having trains doing more than 200kms/per hour, we are borrowing(heavily) to invest in trains that can hardly exceed 100kms!!

  3. It was just a matter of time considering how his wife Bridget Atanga handled issues after Sata passed on. Bridget Atanga was not in the Edgar Lungu camp and hence was even dismissed after that shoddy convention of theirs where Lungu was fraudulently elected as president of the PF. This is what happens when you join politics in order to eat and not to serve. Time always catches up with you and when it does, you’re discarded like a peace of shi.t. From riches to rugs. God have mercy upon them.

  4. Mr Atanga, as Permanent Secretary, went behind his subordinate, Prof Chirwa and lobbied for the latter’s job. Imagine as a superior, you start eying the job of your junior and ultimately take it up. Only in Zambia. Ridiculous!

  5. It’s only in Zambia where you can have a professor with only a first degree and who has never even taught at a university!1

  6. FIRING HIM HAS BEEN LONG OVERDUE FOR THIS GUY AND HIS DIRECTORS. THERE’S NO WAY HE COULD HAVE LIVED PROF CLIVE CHIRWA’S DREAM IN THE RAILWAY. THEY JUST SET HIM UP BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WANT HIM TO SUCCEED AS NO ENGINEER IN ZAMBIA HAS PIONEERED ANYTHING. NOW, BRING BACK CHIRWA. BUT CHIRWA ALSO MUST LISTEN TO ADVICE. EMPLOY A MIXTURE OF EXPERIENCED ENGINEERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND A FEW ZAMBIANS BUT A LOT OF UNIVERSITY GRADUATES TO TAKEOVER WHEN THEY LEARN FROM HARDCORE ENGINEERS AND GAIN EXPERIENCE. AND ATTACH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO PROJECTS.

  7. Hire, fire, hire, hire fire…… I don’t care! I just want to know what’s happened To the bond money

    • I WAS YESTERDAY TALKING TO A FRIEND OF MINE AND SHE SAID THAT AMA TRAINS NAYACITA IMPROVE AND SHE USED A TRAIN TO GO TO LIVINGSTONE FROM LUSAKA. THEY STARTED OFF FROM LUSAKA AT 11am AND REACHED LIVINGSTONE THE FOLLOWING DAY AT 2am. TO BE HONEST I GOT SCARED THAT THE SO CALLED JUBILEE TRAIN TAKES 15 HOURS TO TRAVEL BETWEEN LUSAKA AND LIVINGSTONE. NOW, CHIRWA WAS PLANNING FOR ELECTRIC TRAINS.

  8. This man never dreamed. At least Chirwa was a big dreamer who saw ZRL grow in the nearest future. Mr Atanga you are too docile, you must at least dream like a modern CEO

  9. This was expected after his wife was fired. Besides do u really think a lozi could have been allowed at ZR for a long time under PF? Watch who will be appointed, either from northern or eastern. Zambia is not going anywhere. Everyone in pf has been stealing Eurobond money not attanga only.

  10. All CEO’s who have issues must be fired. There is one CEO at Mulungushi Village who promoted a girl friend as Operations Manager.

  11. So which is which Atanga letter written on a Sunday (31st) knowing what lay ahead on Monday or the ZRL board’s termination on Monday of this man…anyway that is 2 years down the drain that would have gone to competent fresh the rail industry or business sector to take over from Chriwa if technocrat headhunters and not useless politicians were tasked with this.
    And you wonder why we do not develop!!

  12. One of the most dull CEO’s to ever lead a zambian parastatal !

    In this age no innovation or vision sure?

    I only hope government tries Prof. Clive Chirwa again. The man had a vision let him see it through

  13. Prof Chirwa is too theoretical. His ideas are for the rich countries therefore can’t work here with the little borrowed money we have for projects.

    • Just like you can not have clean streets in Lusaka or council workers emptying your bins from your house every week like in “rich” countries…guess what? Senegal is investing close to a billion in a TGV France style high-speed rail service train…Tanzania is invest a colossal sum in rail as well…because you can not envision it you will so ever remain poor in your mind forever travelling in death traps.
      Wake up!

    • Uli chimbwi sana. 50 years on we should thinking of use modern equipment. Noti kuwyawya fye. The govt should have invested in a train service we won’t retire after firing the CEO.

  14. There is no way one can resign after he has been fired, worse still two days after being fired. Ok, assuming he resigned, can he tell us WHY, since his resignation is in public domain already.NO SECRETE here the board published your firing in the media, you publish your resignation so just of load everything. Maybe this will help us sympathize with you.

  15. this Antanga has been an efective CEO like some of the useless MPs. Let Changwa show maturity now and appoint prof Chirwa back to his role. 2 yrs have been wasted & by this time, we would have had a better ZRL with prof Chirwa as CEO.

  16. It’s sad! Looks like Zambia Railways has now become a poison chalice (especially for so called professors).

    There once used to be a vibrant ZRL under the stewardship of ‘born-managers’, the likes of Anderson Mazoka and Emmanuel Hachipuka, with a lot of young graduates being groomed in the wings ready to take over. The Bruno Ching’andus, Chris Musondas, Bedford Lungus, e.t.c. I wonder what happened along the way.

    Never at any time did I envisage the national railway company reaching such desperately shallow waters of mediocrity…

  17. Muyenga Atanga is a Lozi and Brian Hapunda is a Tonga, these positions are reserved for their Bemba and Ngoni relatives. PF is a tribal political party.

  18. PLEASES MR PRESIDENT JUST BRING BACK CHIRWA OR CHRIS MUSONDA BECAUSE THESE ARE PROFESSIONALS . DON’T PUT ANOTHER CADRE

  19. Corrupt CEO’s, like the ZamPost Postmaster General who only employs friends and relatives, remain untouched. Cry my beloved country!

  20. The answer lies in privatizing ZR let the private sector under competitive bidding! run it period. Look what has happened with Bus services very efficient after FTJ Rubbished UBZ. I do not want to talk about the infamous ZCCM Ltd before its privatization.

    As long as ZR is under political control it will remain a DISASTER disaster. AND a burden to the zambian people

  21. Government should head hunt for Zambians who work in the rail industry abroad to take over at ZRL. I know a few working in Europe who can do a far better job. Rail transport is so important for today’s economies.

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