Asked about the latest development, Majoko said this was just another lame excuse by Boustead Beef for its failure to revive the CSC.
“I do not report to Boustead Beef. I report to the Master of the High Court,” he said.
“Boustead Beef has failed to revive the CSC. It claimed to have started operations in August and invited the Vice-President to officially open the plant but this was a sham.
“The CSC never stopped slaughtering cattle. It was slaughtering cattle even before Boustead Beef came in. What has not been working and is still not working is the cold chain. First they blamed the former workers for failing to revive the CSC, now they blame me. The simple truth is that they do not have the capacity to revive the CSC.”
Under the agreement it entered into with the government, Boustead Beef was supposed to:
- raise and invest a minimum of US$130 million into CSC over five years, being for both capital expenditures and working capital for the business;
- pay off CSC financial debts totalling US$42 530 597;
- pay rentals of US$100 000 per annum during the first five years of the concession agreement;
- take over and run the management of the following CSC ranches for an initial period of 25 years: Maphaneni; Dubane; Umguza; Chivumbuni; Mushandike; Willsgrove; and Darwendale;
- take over and run the management of the following abattoirs for an initial period of 25 years: Bulawayo; Chinhoyi; Masvingo; Marondera; and Kadoma; and
- take over and manage for an initial period of 25 years, the Harare, Gweru and Mutare distribution centres and residential properties of CSC.
It was supposed to invest US$45 million in the first year.
Nothing has been done to date.
Boustead Beef’s lawyer, Gerald Mlotshwa, was reported recently to have acquired a substantial shareholding in Alpha Media Holdings, publishers of the Independent.
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