adminLIKE in marriages corporate deals are basically nurtured through delicate compromises which must be handled with sober minds from both parties to avoid future squabbles.
However, the compromise must never be taken as some form of weakness which blinds parties to the extent of forgetting where they are coming from and what they intend to achieve.
Corporate culture must never be forsaken even when you are bargaining from a weak end.
Local companies, because of challenges they have been facing over the years, have tended to accept promises of Foreign Direct Investment without protecting their backs.
Of course FDIs can do a lot of good, they can add to an economy’s productive capacity and import not just capital but technology, production skills and better management.
But we take exception to the level of corporate dumbness the board and management of coal mining company Hwange Colliery took when it was pursuing some of the deals to revive the company.
To admit that they have now realised that they could have flushed at least $120 million down the drain through shoddy dealings is among the highest signs of corporate stupidity.
Addressing journalists after a tour of mining operations by the company’s board of directors on Thursday, board chairman, Mr Farai Mutamangira said part of HCCL’s problems were self-inflicted largely due to poor decision making by its board and management.
“We had done a structure with the Chinese on gasification which is really a mess. It was meant to succeed the current challenges we are facing with our battery as it was foreseen that the battery life was coming to an end but we created another problem in terms of the structure and burden.
“Put together I think the company was severely prejudiced of more than $100 million on that Hwange Coal Gasification project. I think it was one of the stupid things we have ever done as Hwange Colliery but anyway we are trying to mitigate that loss,” Mr Mutamangira said.
Government is the majority shareholder in Hwange and Government represents the interests of the whole nation.
This means that the coal miner could have misused the people’s money.
In addition Hwange is a publicly listed company on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and every Zimbabwean can buy into and become a shareholder.
It is worrying that such a strategic company which we assume is and was run by a competent board and management can close its eyes while putting pen to paper to a deal that would bring misery to its operations, its workers and more importantly to the nation.
It is even worse that such corporate mischief comes at a time when the country is in the middle of trying to attract more investors and show that we are not only blessed with the natural resources but also human capital due to our high literacy rate which definitely rivals none across the continent.
It is noble to attract investors from outside the country to come with the much needed capital but we should never forget one thing.
Every investor puts his/her money in a project in order to earn profit. That being the case we must also open our eyes to ensure that at the end of the day we are not clutching at straws when negotiating for such deals.
In the case of Hwange it is worrying because after another much celebrated deal where the company acquired mining equipment from India and Belarus at a combined cost of $31 million early this year it has also come under spotlight.
Management has admitted that about five of the heavy machinery have faults which prompted one of the major shareholders Nick Van Hoogstraten who holds a 30 percent stake in the mine to come out in the public and allege underhand deals over the manner the deals were structured.
Government must quickly investigate some of the happenings at this important company and if it is proven that some people benefited unprocedurally they must be brought to book.
It does not matter whether some have left the company but justice to the people’s money will serve as a reminder and buttress our seriousness in ensuring that we are all committed to take the nation forward.
Such a sour dish must not only be served on Hwange but to all companies especially State linked companies because they belong to the people.
As we celebrate Heroes Day tomorrow, a day to put our hands and minds together to remember our gallant sons and daughters who fought fearlessly during the liberation war, we all need to reflect on what they were fighting for.
Certainly one of their goals was to see a prospering Zimbabwe led by big companies such as Hwange.
It would be a spat on their faces to tolerate maladministration like the one the Hwange board has admitted to.
Online Reporter