US investor says deal with Boustead Beef is still on but so far there is nothing to show for it

The Independent reported that: “.. the deadlock (between Boustead Beef and Majoko) had jeopardised a recent US$100 million partnership agreement that Boustead struck with United States-based Ethos Asset Management Inc. Of this amount US$20 million was due to come this month (December)”.

“The arrangement,” it said,  “would have seen the American firm providing capital to help the firm return to production.”

It quoted one of its sources as saying:“Management was expecting an injection from the deal signed recently but the investor is worried that CSC Boustead is not in control of properties and premises across Zimbabwe.”

The Independent is now part owned by Gerald Mlotshwa who is one of Boustead Beef’s lawyers.

Asked whether the deal was for US$100 million as reported by the Independent and whether the agreement had been jeopardised as reported by the weekly, Ethos Asset Management simply said: “As previously confirmed to you, other than the statement released by Ethos already on November 1st, 2022, and available on its website, no further comments will be made at this point in time. The press release confirms the actual status and Ethos will not comment on any confidential matters.”

Although CSC Boustead Beef operations were officially re-opened by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga in August last year, the CSC has not resumed full operations.

It is only carrying out service slaughters.

“The CSC is carrying out service slaughters and is charging sick money,” one of the former workers said.

Another former worker said that the main operation of the CSC was not service slaughters but its cold chain and this is not working.

“The CSC never stopped service slaughters even before Boustead Beef took over, so it’s totally misleading to say that the CSC has not been operating for 20 years as is often reported by the State-owned media,” the former worker said.

The Chronicle last week reported that Boustead Beef had reduced slaughter charges from about US$100 a beast to US$25.

Only one cold room is reported to be working but not continuously. It has to be switched on and off every day.

According to the designers of the Bulawayo abattoir, the cold room complex had the following refrigeration and cold storage capacities:

• Quick chill 640 carcasses per day
• De-bone 240 carcase equivalents per day
• Freeze 150 carcasses per day
• Tru Store production 100 carcasses per day
• Chill Hold 1000 carcasses
• Freezer Stacking Clean Products 375 tonnes
• Rough Product 250 tonnes
• Semi-automatic Carton Tunnel Freezers 4 tunnel freezers, one or rough offal (1600 cartons), one for clean offal (1600 cartons) and two for beef from boning room (1900 cartons each)

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