The Eswatini Government has confirmed that King Mswati III has granted Eswatini citizenship and a diplomatic passport to Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo after he pledged to invest R3 billion in a solar power project in the kingdom.
According to a statement issued by the Eswatini Government, Chivayo was hosted at Lozitha Royal Palace last week for talks on investment, infrastructure and renewable energy.
In recognition of what it described as his “philanthropic contributions in Zimbabwe and across the African continent”, the King conferred citizenship on Chivayo and presented him with a diplomatic passport.
During the engagement, facilitated by Prince Lindani, Chivayo thanked the King for the honour and committed, through his Mauritius-headquartered company Intratrek Holdings, to develop a 300MW solar plant as an independent power producer.
The project will be built on 120 hectares of land made available by the King and is expected to boost Eswatini’s energy security and support long-term industrial growth, the government said.
The statement describes Chivayo as a “prominent Zimbabwean businessman, investor, billionaire philanthropist and renewable energy developer” with interests spanning thermal and hydro power, engineering, road construction and infrastructure across Africa.
Eswatini said that over the past year, Chivayo has committed more than US$200 million to humanitarian and philanthropic initiatives in Zimbabwe and elsewhere on the continent.
Chivayo had already disclosed the citizenship grant and diplomatic passport on his Facebook page.
This followed a private audience with the king at the Royal Palace in Ezulwini on 18 June, where he described it as one of the most significant moments of his career and said the king had accepted him as “his young, fellow African son.”
Pindula WhatsApp Channel
Facebook Page
Leave a Reply