Zimbabwe government team locked out of CSC offices, meets in car park

The CSC had access to off-shore facilities which were utilised by the country to import fuel. It also played a key role in developing a regulated and quality driven national beef industry and improved the quantity and quality of the national herd.

The sub-committee was assigned to undertake a fact-finding tour of the CSC facilities which included the CSC Head Office complex, the CSC Canning plant, Wetblue Industries Tannery and the CSC Bulawayo abattoir.

The report says although the sub-committee had informed Boustead Beef of its tour, it found the entrance to the CSC corporate offices locked on the orders of Boustead Beef and had to hold its meeting in the car park.

When it visited the Canning plant, it discovered that some electrical motors had been cannibalised to be fitted as spares for the Bulawayo abattoir refrigeration plant.

Two pumps for the boiler were removed and taken to the CSC abattoir where they were repainted and fitted “as newly imported spares”.

The report said a committee member, Sibusiso Sibanda who was hired to transport the two pumps was willing to testify on this “fraud”.

The report said that the Canning plant could easily be re-opened and resume operations as the corporate rescuer was discussing a partnership with a Spanish investor. Partnerships could also be explored with Colcom and Bull Brand as they had previously expressed interest.

The Wetblue tannery was currently being operated by Signature Crafts owned by Sibusiso Sibanda. Signature Crafts entered into a partnership with Boustead Beef in 2020 but this collapsed due to “issues of mistrust and misrepresentations”.

The committee said that its tour of Wetblue was interrupted by Boustead Beef managing director Nick Havercroft who demanded that Sibanda should be ejected from the premises because this was Boustead Beef property.

The property is, however, owned by Wetblue Industries which is an independent company.

The report says Havercroft name-dropped the President to the sub-committee but recanted when he was asked to clarify his statement.

Havercroft was not the first person to name-drop the President. Helen Sibanda, who was employed as a human resources officer by Boustead Beef told workers when negotiating their retrenchment that Emmerson Mnangagwa was aware of the package so workers had to take it or leave it.

The sub-committee was not able to tour the abattoir after Havercroft insisted that Sibanda and former employees of the CSC who were working with the corporate rescuer should not be part of the tour.

The sub-committee decided that the tour would be pointless if some members were excluded.

(372 VIEWS)