The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
A BULAWAYO-BASED accounting and judicial management services firm, C Mwete and Company Public Accountants has written to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development seeking a reprieve on the exportation of unprocessed timber to enable a Mutare timber company, Applegroove Investment Limited to resume operations so as to pay more than $4 million it owes to at least 2 000 people.
C Mwete and Company Public Accountants Mr Crispen Mwete said there was a need for the Government to consider lifting the ban on unprocessed and semi-processed indigenous hardwood timber to enable Applegroove Investment to start operations and generate revenue to pay over 2 000 people that lost their funds through investing through the company’s credit co-operative society Capital Base.
Over 2 000 people were fleeced of their money in 2013 by Capital Base, which was operating a pyramid scheme when the company filed for bankruptcy, owing over $4 million to investors and the matter has been in courts since then as people seek to recover their investments.
Applegroove Investment, which is the trading company that owned Capital Base owns a timber milling factory in Penhalonga, a commercial property in the light industry area along Simon Mazorodze Road, a house in the low density suburb of Murambi and a stand in Murambi.
“I have done a write-up to Minister (Patrick) Chinamasa in the hope that it will get the attention and have corrective measures taken. We are talking of more than 2 000 people who were cheated of their hard earned cash by Applegroove and in that I was looking forward to the Government to give us a reprieve to export certain type of timber for a period for the company to be able to pay back the money it owes the people.
“Most of the people it owes were over 60 years and their prospects of recovering the money are next to nil. We are looking at a situation whereby we have an export order but the specifications do not qualify for value added exports hence the reason for my application and if we do get it, it will be temporary. We are trying to ensure that people get their money while the company will also be meeting its value addition requirements,” said Mr Mwete.
He said one of the absence in the 2018 National Budget proposals presented by Minister Chinamasa was the relief measures on firms under judiciary management.
“When the minister talked of relief measures and moratorium I thought they should have also looked at companies under judiciary management because these have proved beyond doubt that they are distressed thus these companies should be spared from taxation and have their debts taken over so that they can start afresh.
“As for the moratorium for people to come bring back externalised funds, those companies under judiciary management cannot come up and pay the money by virtue of their situation. It will be much better to have an outright cancellation of the debt. The information on the companies wasn’t properly publicised,as such a lot of people are not aware of the relief,” said Mr Mwete.
In his 2018 National Budget presentation Minister Chinamasa said a three-month moratorium would be given to individuals and corporates that externalised huge sums of money and other assets.
He further said: “In support of initiatives to restructure the balance sheets of these companies, Government will consider, where warranted, a moratorium on tax arrears owed by companies that benefited from debt assumption by the Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation”.
He pointed out that a number of companies on judiciary management are most likely to move out of the woods if an olive branch was to be extended to them.
“Companies like Marvo (Stationery Manufacturers) can get back on their feet because at its peak it used to supply the whole country and the region. Wet Blue (Industries) has potential to export and bring in foreign currency,” said Mr Mwete.-@DNsingo
