United Refineries loses $2m

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UNITED Refineries, one of Zimbabwe’s fastest growing agro-processing firms, says it lost about $2 million in potential revenue when it was forced to suspend operations for two weeks due to the recent stayaway.
The southern African country, which is facing its worst economic crisis in a decade, was left to count its losses after a successful three-day stayaway immobilised operations. Local advisory firm Equity Axis estimates that the industrial action, which reportedly left at least 12 people dead and more than 170 injured, could have cost the country as much as $250 million.
“We were forced to suspend operations during the recent protests. We had resolved not to close but there were protesters that would come and demand to know why we had not shut down so we had to suspend operations for security reasons,” Busisa Moyo, United Refinery’s chief executive, told The Financial Gazette last week.
“The shutdown has cost the company considerably because we make about $1 million per week, and we have had to shut down for two weeks,” he added.
The Bulawayo-based cooking oil producer operates an 8 000 tonnes per month oil seed crushing and processing plant, which is its main line of business.
The company’s processing capacity makes it the second largest processor in Zimbabwe by production after Surface Wilmar, which recently mothballed its operations.
The Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries (CZI) recently noted that the economic situation and rising labour unrests could be improved through dialogue between government, business and labour.
Sifelani Jabangwe, the CZI president, said there’s an urgent need for relevant parties to engage in a tripartite negotiating forum.
“We feel that such a forum will improve dialogue and ensure that some of the incidences that we witnessed this week are avoided. As CZI we acknowledge the right to peaceful protest as prescribed in the constitution and we denounce violence that leads to loss of lives and property,” he said.
“The property that was destroyed during the protests was actually investment, which the country needs more right now. But for us to increase investment, we need assurances from all parties that investment will be secure,” he said.
The recent protests were incited by a 140 percent increase in fuel prices, which was announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on January 12.
Since November, 2017 when Mnangagwa took over from Robert Mugabe, his administration has implemented a number of rapid “economic reforms”, most of which it claims to have been in consultation with business.
The reforms have however been received poorly by the general public, which seems to have been left out of economic policy direction discussions.
Commentators say the recent protests were the public’s show of discontent with government’s apparent exclusive agendas.