President Emmerson Mnangagwa has demoted Energy and Power Development Minister Joram Gumbo amid a growing crisis that has seen the country without enough fuel and experiencing rolling electricity blackouts.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, said Gumbo has been removed from the energy portfolio and becomes Minister of State for Presidential Affairs responsible for Implementation and Monitoring.
Former Infrastructure Development Deputy Minister, Fortune Chasi takes over from Gumbo, Sibanda said.
The appointments were with immediate effect.
The reshuffle comes as Zimbabwe is battling an acute fuel shortage that seen never-ending queues at fuel stations around the country since September 2018.
The energy situation has been worsened by rolling power cuts since the beginning of May, which have been blamed on low dam levels as well as obsolete equipment at the country’s main generation plants.
JN/APA