The Sunday News
AN indigenisation deal to empower workers of one of Bulawayo’s iconic companies, PacPrint, is now at the centre of a calculated gross corporate “theft” after it emerged that senior management allegedly dribbled the rest of the workers and took over the company before looting its wallet and assets, Sunday Business can reveal.
The company was supposedly ceded to Bulawayo workers in 2010 after PacPrint Limited which is headquartered in Harare failed to settle more than $3 million salary arrears and decided to convert the money into equity.
However, investigations and documents gathered show that some managers, led by those who were based in Harare, who under the arrangement were not supposed to benefit, allegedly took advantage of the goodwill they were entrusted by shareholders to convey the message to Bulawayo workers and formed a shelf company which then took over the running of PacPrint Bulawayo.
Documents show that in 2010, a meeting was held at the company’s premises in Bulawayo where senior managers from Harare and Bulawayo met the workers to convey the problems the company was facing. According to the minutes, chief executive officer Mr Bryan Hoffman and finance executive Mr Tendai Tapedza among other senior managers from Harare and Bulawayo, met workers’ representatives led by chairman Mr Abeathas Thebe, secretary general Ms Deliwe Whata and four committee members.
According to the minutes of the meeting, management explained that the company was facing problems.
Three options — applying for liquidation, seeking a new investor and ceding the company to workers — were tabled.
Each option was discussed and it was noted in the meeting that liquidation would not raise enough money to meet retrenchment costs while chances of getting a new investor were slim and could take time.
Management explained that the most viable route was to cede the company to workers. The management told the workers that if they agreed to take over the company PacPrint Limited would take over all external debts and liabilities in existence as of 20 September 2010 while Bulawayo would meet workers’ salaries for August and September.
During the meeting workers’ representatives asked about the status of their pension and leave days of which management agreed that the days would continue accruing.
Workers representatives asked for time to consult other workers before a decision was taken.
The next day, 21 September, another meeting was convened where Mr Thebe (Workers Committee chairman) pointed out that workers had agreed (through a voting system) to an employee ownership scheme.
Management also pledged that the Harare branch would cover the salaries bill up to 20 September to allow operations to resume as there were no ready finances.
However, it emerged later that the Harare management failed to meet the promised salary obligations arguing that the money was garnished by NSSA.
In a letter the management said: “PacPrint Ltd hereby acknowledgesd its in-debtness to RCP Belmont employees the amount of $4 961 in full and final settlement of outstanding salaries and wages. This arose when a payment to cover these outstanding salaries was transferred to RCP Belmont bank account in 2011 it was garnished by NSS before any withdrawal could be effected.”
The letter added that from then the company had been facing financial problems making it difficult to pay creditors. While the issue of salary was secondary it emerged that instead of allowing the Bulawayo employees to form a trust to run the company, Mr Tapedza formed a shelf company Master Printers in Harare which assumed control over PacPrint Bulawayo without the knowledge of the workers.
Other senior managers from Bulawayo were clandestinely included as directors of the company.
The directors of the company according to the company structure were a Mr Wabata (who was the Bulawayo administrator) Mrs Mildred Dube (sales manager, Bulawayo) and two others, Mr Dennis Chipomho and Mr Esau Matshazi (both from Bulawayo).
Mr Tapedza went on to craft a Notarial Deed of Donation and Trust on 5 January 2011 before Legal Practitioner and Notary Public James Henry Pennel Black which purportedly show that it was now in charge of PacPrint Bulawayo.
However, all the so-called directors of Master Printers did not sign the deed except Mr Tapedza.
A Ms Pamela Musiyazviriyo whose interests were not known in the whole saga signed on behalf of Mr Chipomho, Mr Matshazi, Mrs Dube and Mr Wabata raising eyebrows on why they could not all sign the document themselves.
According to the deed, the Trust: “shall be administered for the purpose of purchasing and holding shares in Master Printers which company shall purchase certain assets from the Donor ( PacPrint Ltd) and shall become the employers of certain members of staff previously employed by the Donor.”
The deed also added that the Trust shall seek to provide benefits for all permanent employees of Master Printers.
Armed with the deed, Mr Tapedza reportedly convinced Pac Print Ltd that those cited in the document represented all the Bulawayo workers and were now responsible for PacPrint.
PacPrint Pvt Ltd acknowledged in an e-mail written by their lawyers Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans that the Bulawayo branch was donated to Master Printers.
The law firm cited the same Deed of Trust signed by Mr Tapedza as the ‘authentic document’ although it later emerged that workers were not aware of its existence.
Mr Tapedza, as a way of appeasing Bulawayo managers whom he had included in the Deed, promoted some of them.
Mrs Dube who was sales manager was promoted to general manager.
Under the arrangement Mr Tapedza working with Mrs Dube and a few individuals allegedly started running the company and not accounting for money with accusations that some payments for orders were now being deposited into personal accounts.
In one instance, Mrs Dube allegedly wrote to College Press to deposit the money for an order into her husband’s account that was held in South Africa.
When workers queried how the company was being run, it is alleged that management would tell them that they were still trying to steady the ship hence there were no proper salaries that were paid.
Workers, after discovering that they could have been duped, hired a business consultant who helped them unearth all the mismanagement and malpractices by Mr Tapedza, Mrs Ncube and the other managers.
The consultant carried out an audit where it was discovered that there were a lot of irregular issues chief among the uncertainty on how the company was donated to the workers.
The audit done in 2013 also revealed that the management had no evidence of review of debtors, age analysis by management and no reconciliation statements.
Most of the cash that was withdrawn from the company was also not backed by receipts.
“An average of 60 percent of payment vouchers analysed, for individual months had no supporting documentation i.e. receipts of proof of payments,” noted part of the report.
The report also noted that employees were no longer getting regular pays lips to indicate how much they were earning and pay sheets were no longer indicating outstanding salaries.
The management led by Mrs Dube, according to the report, were no longer observing monthly stock takes and there was no updated register in place.
The workers also took their matter to the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and a meeting was held on 6 June 2013 where Government officials, according to the minutes, confronted Mrs Dube and told her that the Deed of Trust they were using was fraudulent and did not represent the workers.
The Government warned Mrs Dube and ordered for the crafting of a new Deed of Trust which clearly indicated the issue of Bulawayo workers owning the company.
Although Mrs Dube was included in the new Deed of Trust which was done with the help of the business consultant she, however, quickly resigned together with four other managers who were cited in the report.
In a letter of resignation, surprisingly to the same Trust she was director, Mrs Dube said the report (audit) was “harassment in which employer continues to show that it no longer desires to be bound by the employment relationship”.
She wrote: “The issues referred to in your letter arose well before I assumed the position of general manager. In any event the disappearances you allege to exist are non-existent as the records which are at your disposal show. In light of the above (allegations in the audit) I find that I cannot continue to work under the conditions that the employer has created and by copy of this letter I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect.”
After thorough inspection with the help of the consultant, the new directors of the new Trust reportedly discovered more shady deals that were fronted by Mrs Dube.
Last year the workers filed a report of fraud at Donnington police, but representatives of the workers told Sunday Business that nothing had happened yet.
“Surprisingly Mrs Dube has taken us to court alleging that we owe her a salary. We have been to court many times over the case but we are surprised that a case that was filed later is now being heard while ours reported more than a year ago is not. We really wonder what is going on,” Mr Thebe told Sunday Business.
Coincidentally Mr Tapedza also left Pac Print in Harare soon after the audit report was out and efforts to locate him for a comment have been fruitless for over two weeks.
Workers also allege that Mrs Dube managed to convince Old Mutual which was holding the workers’ pension to surrender part of the money to Master Printers on the pretext that workers had agreed to use the money for recapitalisation.
Contacted for comment to clarify how the company was donated, Mr Hoffman (PacPrint Ltd CEO) who was the highest ranked employee when the message to give the workers was conveyed said he needed time to locate the documents that spelled out the matter of donation.
“As this issue dates back a few years, it will take some time to locate the relevant documents. I will respond more fully when these have been located,” Mr Hoffman said in an emailed response to questions.
A panicky Mrs Dube said she could not comment on the issue.
Pressed to confirm if she was a director of Master Printers she said: “Yes, yah. That is all what I can say. I cannot comment further.”
