Zimbabwe may seize Tongaat farmland
19 November 2012 08:18
Cancel its operating license.
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — Zimbabwe may seize land farmed by Tongaat Hulett Ltd.
and cancel its operating license under a law aimed at empowering black
Africans, the state-run Sunday Mail reported, citing a letter written by
indigenization minister Saviour Kasukuwere.
Kasukuwere’s letter to Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister said South
Africa-based Tongaat’s units in Zimbabwe are “playing with fire” and
“treading on dangerous ground,” the Harare- based newspaper said on its
website. Tongaat owns Zimbabwe- listed Hippo Valley Estates Ltd. and
Triangle Sugar, the Sunday Mail said. The two sugar-cane growers between
them are Zimbabwe’s biggest producers of the sweetener.
Telephone calls to Tongaat Hulett’s headquarters in South Africa weren’t
answered when Bloomberg News sought comment today. Calls to Hippo Valley
Estates in southeastern Zimbabwe also weren’t answered.