There is unrest among sugar transporters in the country as rumour is filtering among them that a South African transport company is set to takeover the transportation of sugar from Hippo Valley and Triangle Mills.
By Investigative reporters
Last month, a group of transporters led by Chief Murinye met Tongaat’s newly appointed Chief Operations Officer James Bowmaker to express their dissatification over the matter.
The team alleged that they had information relating to how Tongaat wants to elbow out local transporters and replace them with a South African company called Heyman Kole.
To achieve this, transporters allege that Tongaat has put stingent measures and accusations among some transporters as a way of justifying the incorporation of the new company.
Added to this, local transporters told this publication that senior black managers had their wings clipped by the Sugar company by transferring white employees to the Zimbabwean entity in Chiredzi.
James Bowmaker was appointed the Chief Operations Officer, with 10 Executive officers who previously reported to the Managing Director Iden Mhere now reporting to him.
The Transport and Logistics department, one of the key departments at Tongaat saw Eugene Batista appointed, allegedly to neutralise power over senior black managers who have been there for years.
Tongaat insisted that these are skilled transfers.
Batista had not yet received his work permit.
According to several transporters who spoke to this publication, the move is to curtail decision making from the black managers.
Ironically, the transport company that is alleged to be favoured by the sole sugar giant is headquartered in South Africa, where Tongaat Hulett is also headquartered.
This is also the same country where the two senior white managers were transferred from.
In the new set up, only Bowmaker now reports to Mhere.
“We have information to the fact that Tongaat wants to bring in a new transport company to replace most of our local transporters.This is truly against the Indigenous trade policy and devolution.
We met the Chief Operations Officer and he promised that it will not happen” said Chief Murinye.
“It has come to our attention that the sugar company is preferring flimsy charges against some workers on allegations of receiving bribes from transporters as a way of painting black all the local transporters so as to justify the coming in of a foreign company”, he added.
Heyman Kole is a South African transport company owned by Gert Christian Koch and was founded in 1950. It is part of the GCK group. The company has several branches doted in South Africa with a fleet of 110 in Johanersburg only.
In Zimbabwe, the company has contracts for transporting grain to and from Zimbabwe. It has a shuttle deport in Pamona.
Thuba Beit Beit, the Zimbabwean Agent told this publication that the company has applied for several tenders in the country but was evasive on the Tongaat contract.
“We move cargo from across the globe and where we find opportunity for tenders we present ourselves. However, I can not comment on tenders that have not yet materialised”, he said.
Tongaat Huletts recently opened tenders for transportation of sugar from its factories but with stringent measures. The tenders are set to be opened at the end of this month (July). Among the not so fair conditions, local transporters are given 5% localisation payouts which they say is too little for them.
Tongaat Acting Corporate Affairs and Communications Executive Ushe Chinhuru confirmed that his company flighted an open tender for sugar haulage on 27 May 2021 but the adjudication process has not yet commenced.
“The process (adjudication)is yet to be done, as such tenders will only be known once the process has commenced”, Chinhuru said.
In a veiled admittance that transporters met and aired their concerns with Bowmaker, Chinhuru said;
“Local transporters, like any other business partners to Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe, initiated a meeting to meet our new Chief Operations Officer Mr James Bowmaker for introductions which meeting was held on 10 June 2021. The meeting was also attended by some other THZ Executives”, he added.
