Ingwebu on recovery path, needs $4m for refurbishment

Business Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council owned Ingwebu Breweries needs $4 million for recapitalisation as it works on revamping its operations, Bulawayo Mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo has said.

The troubled firm was forced to shut down several of its beer gardens dotted around the city in the last few years due to low demand for opaque beer amid high production costs.

The company has also been finding it difficult to maintain its ageing equipment resulting in retrenchment of dozens of its workers in a bid to ease operational costs.

“Ingwebu requires $4 million to refurbish the brewery plant and increase distribution vehicles,” said Clr Moyo last week.

He, however, said the appointment of a new board of directors led by the former town clerk Moffat Ndlovu in February last year, has transformed the company’s fortunes.

“The undertaking moved from loss to profit during the course of the year 2014. This was evident from the profit margins achieved as they moved from a negative 7,7 percent to a positive 9,3 percent,” he said.

Persistent economic challenges have forced the local authority to lease out some of its beer halls to private players in a bid to make them more profitable.

Outlets such as Hlanganani Bar Lounge, Woodville Tavern, MaHadebe, Matshobana, Nkulumane, Phekiwe, Pumulani, MaNdlovu, Khongo, Totobisa, Masilela, Sidudla as well as Mondela beer gardens have been targeted for privatisation.

There have been reports that beer halls faced stiff competition from privately-owned bottle stores and sports bars that have sprouted in almost every suburb.

Meanwhile, residents have complained that the local authority has been privatising some of the city’s properties without consulting them. Last year Ingwebu announced plans to set up a plant to produce non-alcoholic sorghum beverages in a bid to diversify but failed to raise the require $500,000 to kick-start the project. At some point last year the company was at loggerheads with its workers who were demanding a pay rise of up to $540 for the lowest paid.

In response management indicated that it was not able to meet workers’ demands citing poor turnover.

Meanwhile, workers have also blamed senior managers for allegedly awarding themselves hefty packages and allowances while ignoring their plight.

Ingwebu has been producing opaque beer as its premier product for nearly a century but its sales have dropped due to competition from other brands.