Chartered Engineer & Transport Economist, Senior Partner; Transport Infrastructure and Value Chains.
Remigious Makumbe, is a Chartered Engineer, Economist and Transport Economist. He graduated with a B Sc. Engineering (Hons) in Electronics and Power Engineering (UZ), a B. Comm in Economics and Transport Economics (UNISA), a Master of Policy Studies (Fort Hare and UZ) and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration by the Commonwealth University, hosted by the London Graduate School (UK). He is currently a Consultant, operating as an Advisor, Infrastructure, Regional Integration and Cooperation. He started his career with the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) in 1980, rising to the position of Chief Signal Engineer. He left NRZ in February, 1995, and joined the SADC Transport Commission in Maputo, Mozambique, as a SADC Railway Technical Expert. He was deployed to Harare in September, 1998, to establish the Southern African Railways Association (SARA), as Executive Director.
He left SARA in December, 2004 and joined SADC Secretariat in Gaborone, Botswana, as Director Infrastructure and Services in January, 2005. His major SADC highlights included the development and implementation of the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan in the sectors of Transport, ICTs, Energy, Water, Meteorology and Tourism. He provided leadership for the development of the Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), a continental infrastructure blue print for Africa. He spearheaded the convening of the SADC Infrastructure Investment Promotion across the world, and was later roped into promoting investment in the industrial development and food security related areas from 2015 following the adoption of the SADC Industrialisation Programme and Road Map. He also officiated as Chief Director for the SADC Secretariat from January 2006 to February, 2009, during which period he took charge of all the then SADC Programme Directorates, namely, Infrastructure and Services (I&S); Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI); Food Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR); Social, Human Development and Special Programmes (SHD&SP) (PPRM) as well as Policy Planning and Resource Mobilisation (PPRM).
In this capacity, Remigious coordinated the preparation of all reports for the SADC Integrated Committee of Ministers (ICM), SADC Council of Ministers Meetings and SADC Summits as well as coordinating the development of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite framework of cooperation, and chaired the Tripartite Task Force encompassing the three Pillars of Infrastructure; Trade and Customs (leading to the Tripartite FTA) and Free Movement of Persons. He was part of the team of Consultants that developed the “SADC Resource Mobilisation Framework” as well as undertaking the study on “Innovative Ways of Funding the SADC Regional Integration Programme”.
Remigious has undertaken various assignments in infrastructure development, trade, transport facilitation and financing in East and Southern Africa for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), as well as undertaking a Mid-Term Review of the Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked States (2014 – 2024) for the United Nations High Representative for Landlocked States (UNHROLLS). He has undertaken several consulting assignments for SADC, the African Union, NEPAD, SADC River Basin Organisations, Southern Africa Trust, in the area of infrastructure, trade, finance and other areas of regional cooperation. He is a Non-Executive Director and shareholder of the African Leadership Institute in Harare, Zimbabwe that mentor leaders for tomorrow, a Fellow of the Southern Africa Trust, and a Member of the Institute of Business Advisers of Southern Africa. He was also appointed as a member of Ministerial Advisory Councils in two SADC Member States and is a Member of the Presidential Advisory Council for Zimbabwe.
Remigious as an Infrastructure expert and a senior Associate of the Group. He is also a respect facilitator at the African Institute for the Development of Infrastructure (AfIDI) – an initiative of the AI-Group Inc. with a phenomenal experience in cross-cutting infrastructure management and macro-economic strategies.
