Govt looking into CSC — Minister

Dumisani Sibanda Sunday News Correspondent
THE Government has not abandoned the Cold Storage Company (CSC) which has had some of its properties auctioned over workers’ salary arrears as Cabinet is considering a turnaround plan for the parastatal which includes handling the company’s debt, a Deputy Minister has said.

Recently, the Affirmative Action Group, appealed to Government to intervene and stop the auctioning of properties and negotiate the payment of the salaries.

The outcry was sparked by the attachment of a number of properties belonging to the Cold Storage Company including the parastatal’s headquarters at Belmont Industrial Area in Bulawayo and Winterblock Farm in Umguza. The properties have been attached for sale following litigation by the company’s workers who are owed about $500 000 in unpaid salaries.

But in an interview on Friday, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Responsible for Livestock, Cde Paddy Zhanda, said Government was aware of the problems at the parastatal.

“We have a turnaround plan for the company that we submitted to Cabinet and this plan also has details on how we intend to deal with the creditors,” he said.

“We submitted it a year ago but I am not the final authority. But it’s not like nothing was being done on the plan. There are consultations and clarifications. It’s a process.”

According to court papers, apart from Winterblock Farm and the CSC headquarters other properties which have been attached include house number 105 Matopos Road, 20 Mary Burrows Road in Ilanda, Subdivion A of Lots 264, 273, 278, 279, 290, 293, 300, 301, 302, 303, 311, 312, 313, 318 and 319 Napier Road of Hillside, all in Bulawayo and Stand Number 220 Beitbridge.

The order arose from the arbitration award to the workers by the arbitrator a Mr P Chirongama on 27 May 2014.

In the case of Joseph Mafusire and Others versus Cold Storage Company (Pvt) Limited, it was ordered that the immovable property be attached to realise the sum of $453 110 as “attached items were sold but they failed to liquidate the debt”.