Ex-headboy punching above his weight
Victor Sibanda
HWANGE-A man emerged from the dusty communal lands of Lubimbi, Binga, where he was a herdboy and a rabbit hunter to become one of the leading lights in construction.
Vikimpi Moyo was born in 1980 in the Lubimbi area and grew up in Hwange.
“I used to stay at the most underrated and despised section of Lwendulu village in Hwange, the A- Section popularly called “esinenini” (where most single mothers lived),” recounted Moyo as he credited his mother, Madeline Ndlovu for raising him single-handedly and seeing him through education during trying times. Moyo is the last born in a family of three. Sadly, his sister Abi died leaving his brother, Mkhululi as the only surviving sibling.
“I studied construction at Bulawayo Polytechnic from 1999 to 2006 before I worked for the now defunct Silverstone Construction College on attachment under Peter Chiza. After completing my construction studies, I taught for five months at Hwange High before I moved to Chilisa Secondary where I taught building from 2002 to 2003,” said Moyo who is now a proud owner Impitech Projects, a construction company.
Moyo went back to college in 2004 where he studied for a diploma in town planning which he successfully completed in 2006. In 2006 he nearly deferred his studies but was rescued by an officer at Hwange Colliery Company who called Moyo back to the company on account of Moyo’s impressive employment file.
” College fees shot up to 35 million dollars from 6 million and I had no option but to defer. However, O. Sithole called me to say the Colliery had been impressed with my previous work. When I stated that I was dropping out of college due to the exorbitant fees, at the insistence of Sithole, the colliery offered to pay for my studies and bonded me for a year,” said the firebrand Engineer who eventually graduated with a diploma in town planning and joined Hwange Colliery in 2007 as an attachee.
“I was the first in the colliery to link the Estates department with engineering. One of the major projects I did was to build the flea market behind Pick and Pay,” said Moyo.
At the tail end of 2007, Moyo joined the great trek to South Africa where he took on some piece jobs. After regularising his stay in South Africa, Moyo secured a permanent job with Bhekanani Building Construction as quality engineer and site manager.
” From 2011 to 2013 I managed the biggest project in Limpopo worth R136 million. The Northam Sewerage plant expansion in Northam was the greatest highlight in my career in managing of projects in SA.
In 2013, Moyo would resign from Bhekanani after getting an offer as a subcontractor and that is when Impitech Project was birthed in Pretoria.
Moyo said: ” I was involved in building one of the largest projects in Pretoria,the Nissan Plant in Rosslyn. I did a lot of civil work and that is what I am doing now. I have a lot of projects running in S.A.”
Impitech Projects has 13 permanent employees among them six Zimbabweans. “I am trying to settle back home and I have established an office in Hwange. We have embarked on various other business ventures such as market gardening and farming. I double up as a contractor and project manager,” revealed Moyo. He promised that once he gets good tenders he would definitely come back home to do what he knows best as a local who is highly experienced in engineering.
“Impitech intends to be recognized as a construction of choice not only in Zimbabwe but throughout SADC. We are a star construction company in S.A. If we get a chance in Hwange, we will show all and sundry our quality work,” said the ambitious Moyo.
The Impitech Projects director intimated that he was inspired by his late uncle, Elliot Ncube who encouraged him to pursue construction as there were plenty of opportunities in Canada where Ncube was based. He also credits Peter Chiza for giving him the much needed experience in the field.
Moyo habours unwavering love for Hwange and is determined to be involved in the development of his hometown that has for long remained marginalised.
