The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo Senior Business Reporter
THE country’s struggling beef processor and marketer, Cold Storage Company (CSC) is still to offset its debt of about $90 000 to Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) for the supply of more than 26 000 cattle three years ago. According to the Botswana media, CSC has since the suspension of the deal made empty
promises to pay their remaining debt of P1 million, equivalent to almost US$90 000.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee last week, Botswana Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Boipolelo Khumomatlhare revealed that Zimbabwe has still not yet settled P1million debt of cattle, which were exported by BMC back in 2012.
The initial debt owed by CSC was P55 million equivalent to about $5 million and they are now behind with P1 million.
According to the reports CSC has allegedly been making empty promises to pay up the debt for the over 26 000 cattle that were sold to them from the Okavango and Nguniland farmers whose cattle were banned from the EU market in 2007 since the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.
Contacted for a comment Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister responsible for livestock production Paddy Zhanda acknowledged that CSC owed BMC but said the issue was enshrined and would be dealt with in the company’s restructuring process.
“I am aware that CSC owes BMC and its part of the whole restructuring process of CSC, that debt issue is going to be included there,” said Deputy Minister Zhanda choosing not to reveal any further details.
The Government is struggling to find a partner to revive former meat processing giant CSC as suitors are being turned off by the $22-million debt hanging over the company.
CSC was at one time the largest meat processor in Africa, handling up to 150 000 tonnes of beef and associated by-products a year and exporting beef to the European Union, but management challenges and persistent outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Diseases halted exports in 2001, affecting its viability.
At its peak Zimbabwe export sales were: EU — 9 000 tonnes; Angola — 12 000 tonnes; Indian Ocean Islands — 3 000 tonnes; and Switzerland — 1 500 tonnes.
Most of its activities are confined to Bulawayo. The Marondera and Kadoma abattoirs were allegedly vandalised or cannibalised and will require substantial investment to come back online; while other plants in Chinhoyi, Bulawayo and Masvingo have been mothballed.
From 1983 to 1987, CSC handled an estimated 500 000 cattle a year through the abattoirs and 250 000 cattle through the feedlots and cattle ranches. Private abattoirs have moved in to fill the void. The latest statistics show that the number of cattle slaughtered at CSC has gone down from
50 000 per month a few years ago to just under 1 000. The company’s cattle finance scheme financed about 600 000 herd of cattle on commercial farms. CSC is one of the state enterprises earmarked for privatisation and owes workers $2,1 million in arrears.
