The Affirmative Action Group (AAG) Zimbabwe was birthed in 1994 with Philip Chiyangwa being its founding President. The other instrumental figure in its birth was Peter Pamire. Before its birth there was widespread discrimination of local black-owned businesses and several minority groups. This created a discomfort that largely made local black Zimbabweans disadvantaged in many facets. The AAG thus was put together to address such pain points. It came in to promote social equality and equal rights, elements that had been taken away by the ravages of colonial rule. The AAG is widely acclaimed for having been the force and catalyst behind the emergence many notable black Zimbabwean businesspersons. Here are some of the prominent members of the Affirmative Action Group Zimbabwe.
Dr Philip Chiyangwa
Philip Chiyangwa was born on the 3rd of February in 1959 in Chegutu. He was the founding President of the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) Zimbabwe. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Leadership from St Luma University. He was elected Member of Parliament for Chinhoyi during the 2000 harmonized elections. During the 2018 harmonized elections he was elected as Member of Parliament for Zvimba South.
He is also the current COSAFA President; having once served as the ZIFA President. He has a prolific business profile spanning from his first disco business years ago in Chitungwiza. Around the 1990s he was the first black Zimbabwean to get a betting license. He is Founder and Chairman of Native Investments Africa Group. The group comprises of a diversified portfolio of companies e.g. Pinnacle Holdings, Tsivo Holdings, and ZECO Holdings, amongst others.
Dr Chamu Chiwanza
Dr Chamu Chiwanza is the Group CEO of Cernic Finance Group. Cernic Finance Group is microfinance and microlending enterprise. He was the President of the Affirmative Action Group before Mike Chimombe took over from him. He studied Business Leadership in Qatar and was appointed Fellow of Professional Managers Institute (UK) Southern Africa in 2011. It is also interesting to add that he is a Class One Aircraft Engineer. The name of his first business was Prime Motors. He has sat or sits on a number of boards such as National Eye Security and Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe (CIFOZ).
Mike Chimombe
He is the Zanu PF Youth League Indigenization and Empowerment Secretary. He is the current AAG President having been sworn in earlier this year. He once served as the President of the AAG Mashonaland West Chapter. He also happens to be related to Philip Chiyangwa who is his uncle. He holds a Law degree from the University of Lesotho. He also holds a Master’s degree in Women’s Law from UZ. He once worked in the Attorney General’s office as a Legal Officer (2007). Prior to that, he had worked as a Public Prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs. He has experience in civil and criminal litigation, and legal research. He is also registered with the High Court of Zimbabwe as a Legal Practitioner. Plus he is a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.
Passion Java
He is currently the Deputy President of the Affirmative Action Group (AAG). He was born on the 28th of October 1988. He is a prophet, senior pastor and founder of Kingdom Embassy Ministries. He is well known for sponsoring Zimbabwean Zim dancehall music artistes. He even went on to start and open his own music recording label called Passion Java Records.
Scott Sakupwanya
He is popularly known as Scott Kupa but his name is Pedzisai Sakupwanya. He is mainly known as a gold dealer. In 2020 he caused a furore on social media when pictures of him with staggering amounts of USD cash emerged. On one of the pictures he was seated on a couch next to US$5 million cash. In other pictures he would be posing with gold pieces or even gold bars. Some of his businesses are Better Brands Mining Company and Better Brands Jewellery. He also the President of Upfumi Kuvadiki which is an advocacy group championing youth empowerment.
Tafadzwa Musarara
He was once the Secretary General of the AAG. He is the Group CEO at Consolidated Industries. He serves as the Chairperson of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ). He is also the Founder and Chairperson of an activist group called Resource Exploitation Watch. He is a board member of the Southern Africa Grain Network. He has a grain milling company called Alpha Grain where he is the CEO. He also the Chief Executive of Drotsky. During the height the pandemic last year he donated ZWL$500 000 to Howard Hospital located in Chiweshe.
Wicknell Chivayo
Popularly known as Sir Wicknell Chivayo, he was born on the 22nd of November 1982. He has had and served in different businesses of his. Some of examples are Managing Director at Trintas Energy, Transport and Logistics Manager at IMC Transport, and Managing Director at Intratek Zimbabwe Private Limited. He has had a fair share of controversial labels during the course of his life. He once highlighted that he reached his first R1 million when he was only aged 19. He then said that he hit his first US$1 million 4 years later at just 23 years of age. Despite concerns about the real source of his wealth, Chivayo has always maintained it is from multimillion dollar tenders he gets.
So these are 7 of some of the prominent or famous members of the AAG. These personalities have had their fair share of controversies but no doubt wield immense influence. They have notable business empires and interests no wonder lavish lifestyles are their forte. They have contributed to the body of affirmative action and philanthropy as well, amongst other areas.
