Oliver Kazunga, Acting Business Editor
THE Government says the corporate rescue proceedings being implemented on the Cold Storage Company (CSC), among other issues, seeks to examine Boustead Beef operations and capacity to revive operations at CSC.

In January 2019, the Government through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement entered into a joint venture agreement with Boustead Beef, a United Kingdom investor that has committed to inject a minimum of US$130 million over five years for the revival of operations at CSC.

Part of the arrangement was that the investor would use CSC assets and extinguish the parastatal’s liabilities that run into millions of United States dollars.

However, this has been delayed by a myriad of issues that have led to the placing of CSC under corporate rescue in December last year.

The order was granted by the High Court in Bulawayo.

In a statement, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement said the terms of reference of the corporate rescue plan shall among others be to:

“Examine Boustead Beef (Pvt) Ltd’s current operations (investments made and operational initiatives implemented since the signing of the agreement) and establish whether or not it has capacity to revive CSC and advance the Livestock Growth Plan,” reads part of the statement.

Mr Ngoni Kudenga of BDO Zimbabwe Chartered Accountants has been appointed the corporate rescue practitioner with the overall responsibility of ensuring CSC avoids liquidation.

Mr Kudenga is mandated with the overall responsibility of avoiding liquidation of the parastatal while ensuring it remains in a solvent state for the benefit of the company’s stakeholders, creditors including the company’s workers.

“The objective is to avoid liquidation and bring CSC back to profitability and contribute to the Livestock Growth Plan and National Development Strategy,” it said.

The corporate rescue plan was also investigating previous CSC operations and is expected to expose the weaknesses within the firm’s systems and recommend possible solutions.

In addition, the corporate rescue plan also looks at CSC’s adherence to corporate governance principles and recommends aspects that require strengthening.

CSC Bulawayo

Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Dr Anxious Masuka has expressed concern over the alleged rampant corruption and unlawful dissipation of assets by certain CSC executive members, board members and Government officials.

Dr Masuka said more than 10 000 cattle have been misappropriated in the Government cattle heifer breed schemes.

Last year, he said CSC was only in control of an estimated 25 percent of its assets. It is also in this context that the terms of reference of the CSC corporate rescue plan would also be to:

“Investigate claims of asset stripping or any other activities and institute measures to stop the asset stripping immediately; examine the Scheme of Arrangement and recommend appropriate measures as well as investigate the employment and dismissal of employees from the date the Joint Venture was signed.”

Dr Masuka will be guided by the corporate rescue practitioner and thus all parties and stakeholders were being urged to co-operate. — @okazunga.