By Fanuel Viriri
For most rural people in the Midland Province there is only one aircraft they recognize.
When it drones low over their fields as they till the land, they do not ask whose it is. They already know. It belongs to none other than JR Goddard. That, in their eyes, is the measure of his wealth.
For those living around Shangani, the measure is different.
It’s in his prime beef cattle — big, glossy, well-fed herds that put to shame the hardy little Mashona cattle scratching in the bush. And it’s in his grandiose mansion, rising above the landscape like a statement.
That is JR Goddard to them, and he is the standard of success. A name spoken with a mix of awe, envy, and familiarity.
JR Goddard known to locals as Nkosana Khumalo is an unassuming dollar billionaire. He swims in cash but does not show it. He associates with the locals and speaks fluent isiNdebele and has deeply ingrained himself in the community. A dedicated philanthropist and third-generation Zimbabwean with roots in Pezulu, Insiza District, he is often hailed as the “Prince of Matabeleland.”
At his sprawling Pezulu farm, his vision of “quality of life working together in peace, prosperity, and unity” is on full display. He has 18,000 pecan nut trees with each mature tree generating about US$100 when fully developed.
He also rears cattle, with between 2,400 and 2,500 head on the farm. He slaughters up to 1,000 cattle a year directly, but has the capacity to process 5,000 annually. He buys cattle from neighbouring communities for US$400 to US$450, pen-feeds them for 100 days, and then sells them for around US$900 including the hide.
The farm also includes poultry, sheep, and a wildlife sanctuary with warthogs and eland that contributes to the tourism corridor.
He employs over 2,000 people across agriculture, mining, construction and transport, with a monthly payroll of US$1.1 million and daily fuel use of about 30,000 litres. He has interests in mining, road works, construction and real estate. Workers are considered part of his extended family, and he knows most by name.
As part of his social responsibility, he has built modern three-bedroom houses with solar geysers for staff, provides transport for children to the on-farm primary school, and constructed the Nyabu Bridge to ease travel between Insiza District and the Midlands.
Beyond farming, Goddard founded J.R. Goddard Contracting in 1982. The company has since completed more than 200 major projects, including over 100 dams such as Bembezaan and Risitu. His work has been instrumental in strengthening Zimbabwe’s water security and infrastructure resilience. His business interests also span mining, with Ngezi Platinum Mine among his key ventures.
In recognition of this legacy, the National University of Science and Technology conferred on him a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Civil and Water Engineering Honoris Causa in 2005. NUST cited his exceptional contribution to engineering and his lifelong dedication to advancing Zimbabwe’s development through innovation, enterprise, and leadership.
To the nation he is Dr. James Ross Goddard. To Pezulu he is Nkosana. To the Midlands he is the man whose plane flies over the fields. A billionaire by any measure — but to rural Zimbabweans, his wealth is counted in cattle, in bridges, in jobs, and in the sound of an aircraft they know by heart
