Nico Holdings plc MD Vizenge Kumwenda, 3 others honoured for long service
Nico Holdings plc managing director Vizenge Kumwenda and three other members of staff; Chifundo Chiundira, Germstone Konsekonse and Masugzo Hara, have been awarded for long service and exemplary dedication to the organization’s ideals in serving the public well.
Kumwenda, who heads a Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed financial services firm that has interests in insurance, banking and property management, s
has served the NICO Group for 15 years while Chiundira (Group Operations Executive) has worked for the Group for 25 years and Office Assistant, Germstone Konsekonse, for 15 years.
At the presentation ceremony on Tuesday, special mention was made on Finance Manager, Masugzo Hara’s work ethic, who has served 10 years with the company and she is also retiring.
Chairperson of the Group Appointments and Remuneration Committee of the Board, Doreen Chanje said Hara is one member of staff who inculcated the culture of not wasting the company’s resources in the name of ‘ndizakampane’ (company property).
“She used to recycle used papers for internal communications,” Chanje said. “This is so commendable and this culture of saving the company’s resources and claiming ownership is what all of us should have.”
She commended the four for the time they dedicated to serving the organization, saying members staff are integral in the continued success of the business.
“As a company, we appreciate the commitment of staff for continuously bringing the NICO Group’s vision to reality. Today, we are here to celebrate some of those dedicated members from within the NICO Group,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the awardees, Group Operations Executive Chiundira expressed their gratitude and took cognizance that NICO is a good employer.
“I found my greener pasture at NICO. I would not have thought I’d be here this long, but this is home and has been for 25 years,” Chiundira said.
NICO, has for the last few weeks, been awarding long serving employees from its subsidiaries, including NICO Life, NICO General and NICO Pension who have worked for 10, 15, 20, and 25 years continuously — with the recent event summing up the ceremonies for 2020.
Last month, NICO Life awarded two of its long-serving members of staff, Taonga Jiva (10 years) and Anthony Mpiringidza (20 years), as a motivation for their dedication to work and the company’s mission to retain worthwhile human resource.
NICO Pension also followed suit by rewarding Tione Moyo (working in relationship management department) and Ulemu Mchulu (in claims management) who both served 15 years since 2005 and Rachael Makolija, who joined the Group 10 years ago.
During their presentation ceremony, NICO Life chief executive officer, Eric Chapola said having attained all these years of service is testimony that much as the company has benefitted from their contributions, they too have gained from various services the employer provided.
These include professional trainings, mentoring and exposure the company offered and also shows the staff’s seriousness in developing a long and steady career as ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’.
Chapola added that such dedication — that gets rewarded for at the end of the day — inspires other members of staff to emulate and thus retaining worthwhile human resource.
He gave an example of himself who has served in the insurance industry for 36 years of which 20 was from a company he first worked for that was eventually bought by NICO Group and he has served it for a further 16 years.
Nico boss called upon both awardees and other members of staff to place their invaluable practical and technical experience to the service for others to follow in their footsteps.
While NICO Pension’s General Manager, Gerald Chima took cognizance that members of staff are the back bone of any company and thus they need to be encouraged for their dedication throughout the years they served.
During Tuesday’s presentation ceremony Chanje further said the long service augurs well with the company as it clocks 50 years in 2021, saying NICO remains committed to ensuring that the customers receive premium customer service through its employees.
The NICO Group is the country’s largest financial services provider that comprises NICO General Insurance, NICO Life Insurance, NICO Pension Services, NICO Technologies, NICO Asset Managers, NICO Zambia Insurance Company, ERIS Properties Malawi, NBS Bank and other investment interests including the hospitality industry through Ryalls Hotel.
Kumwenda, also serves Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Board chairperson whose members are Lincoln Bailey, Dharles Thokozani Kuyokwa, Henry Harris Chiwaya, Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary for Trade, Secretary for Industry and RBM Governor.
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