Steel company under siege

Sunday Mail Reporter

A local company had to take the extraordinary step of releasing a cache of documents last week showing the step-by-step process of how it was licensed to operate in Harare following a relentless push by some residents to have it shut down.

Steel Brands —which is situated in Ardbennie, Harare — was officially launched in May 2018 by the then Minister of Industry and Commerce, Dr Mike Bimha.

The US$12 million heavy industry operation was only opened after Houghton Park residents unsuccessfully lobbied for the factory to be closed on allegations that it was improperly sited in a light industrial area.

It is believed that there are vested interests that could be pushing for the factory to be relocated. Last week, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry visited the company on a fact-finding mission.

The firm subsequently released the documents, which show how the Harare City Council had applied for change in land use, including supporting letters from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce that sanctioned the project.

A multi-agency committee — made up of EMA (Environmental Management Authority), National Social Security Authority (NSSA), City of Harare, Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) and Ministry of Industry and Commerce officials — was set up in 2017 to assess “the feasibility of the continued operation of the Steel Brands plant,” which had been opened a year earlier.

The project was subsequently given the greenlight when the Environmental Impact Assessment certificate was issued in October 2017.

Government believes that the factory is crucial to the economy as it employs more than 300 workers and also supports downstream small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Steel is considered to be one of the key components in manufacturing, mining and the construction industry.

The local manufacture of steel products has helped substitute expensive imports.

But some residents, however, continue to relentlessly lobby against the project.

In a statement last week, Steel Brands indicated that it followed the elaborate licensing process as spelt out by the country’s laws and further addressed the concerns that had raised by some of the residents.

“As a company, we have done everything above board. The Environmental Management Authority granted Steel Brands an Environmental Impact Assessment certificate after satisfying all the urban council bylaws of the City of Harare. Therefore, NSSA (National Social Security Authority) issued out a factories registration certificates to commence operations,” said the company.