adminAbel Zhakata Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT has directed Mutare City Council to shut down loss-making venture, Pungwe Breweries, which is bleeding the local authority millions of dollars in salaries. In approving the municipality’s 2016 budget last week, the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, said a loss making income generating venture like Pungwe Breweries was an oxymoron which must be shut down.
“Pungwe Breweries should be closed down so that the $22 000 monthly wage bill ceases. Residents cannot be required to subsidise unproductive workers,” wrote the ministry. Mayor, Councillor Tatenda Nhamarare, said council would look into the matter and come up with a best remedy.
He said the process of shutting down the brewery could not be done overnight. “We are certainly going to look into the matter and implement directives from Government. However, this cannot be done overnight for there are consequences to actions that we will take. We need to exercise due diligence,” he said.
Acting Town Clerk, Engineer Donald Nyatoti, said council would soon look into finer details on how operations were going on and have an in-depth understanding of how the brewery was operating.
“When we have all the facts at hand we will be in a position to act from an informed point of view,” he said. Sources close to operations at the brewery said in 2014 council closed operations at the plant, but challenges arose as more than 65 workers needed their terminal benefits.
“At that time (2104), the local authority was caught between a rock and a hard surface as there were no funds to pay the workers their benefits. So it was resolved that instead of contracting casual workers, the municipality would absolve the Pungwe workers into their workforce. The matter went before the courts as the brewery workers who were getting slightly higher salaries did not want to be incorporated into the council salary structure.
“So the workers were integrated into council, but getting higher salaries than their new colleagues. However, their salaries have since been slashed down in line with the ministry’s directive that called for the rationalisation of salaries at the local authority,” said the source.
Currently, the brewery is operating with contract workers making up the mainstay of the workforce. Unconfirmed reports indicate that though the brewery is facing hard times it is set to declare its dividend to the Civic Centre anytime soon.
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