Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
A VIBRANT local timber treatment company, Eastern Forest, has opened a new branch in Bulawayo where it has brought business opportunities and has created employment for more than 75 people across the country.
Established in 2012 and headquartered in Harare, the company has plantations in Chipinge and a treatment plant in Mount Hamden in Harare, and another plant in Marondera.
Eastern Forest specialises in creosote and tanalith pressure-treated poles and they produce these for electricity transmission, wooden cross arms, mining props, roofing poles, greenhouse poles, trellising poles, fencing poles, rough-sawn timber, and telephone poles.
“Eastern Forest was established in 2012, we have plantations in Chipinge and our head office is in Mt Hampden, Harare where there is a treatment plant, and have also established another plant in Marondera,” company owner, Mr Leander Mutambanengwe, said.
“In terms of staff, in Harare and Marondera we have 70 employees and we have recently opened another branch in Bulawayo where we are selling our products and have six staff members.”
Employment creation is one of the Second Republic’s thrusts, which is meant to improve the standard of living as the nation moves towards an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Mr Mutambanengwe said the company is also into exports, currently focusing on the regional market.
“We do export to Botswana, Mozambique, and Zambia,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s timber industry, once a significant contributor to export earnings, is striving to regain its position as a key player in regional and international markets.
At its peak, the sector exported timber products worth US$137 million in 2001, with recent efforts focused on revitalising production and increasing export revenue.
Over the years, the timber industry has faced challenges such as deforestation and increased mining activities in forest estates.
Illegal miners have cleared large tracts of forest land for their operations without implementing reforestation efforts, causing a significant imbalance in the timber supply.–@SikhulekelaniM1
