Zimbabwe: ZITAC Poised for Growth - Official

Source from:  All Africa 11/19/2010

The Zimbabwe Industry Tobacco Auction Centre is a viable business and is poised for growth following success of the land reform programme, a company official has said. He was responding to media reports that Zitac was in a serious financial mess and had failed to produce financial reports since 2004. The reports suggested that Zitac had failed to pay rentals amounting to more than US$2 million to Boka Investments, owners of the Boka Tobacco Floors. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the firm was enjoying brisk business. "A figure of US$2 million has been quoted as outstanding rentals. It's incorrect. "There is nothing outstanding. We have paid up our rentals up to this month following an arbittral award to Boka Investments in April this year," said the official. He said the rentals were paid through a High Court settlement, in which funds were invested in a trust account until the finalisation of the arbitration. "US$300 000 is alleged to have been misappropriated at Zitac, as appeared in the media, yet Absa received and retained the money. It's the norm that during the facilitation of any deal, whether successful or not, an arrangement fee is paid to the financial institution. In this case, Absa got the US$300 000 and retained it. Secondly, there is a US$200 000 that is alleged to be unaccounted for. The situation, according to the report at hand, is that the money was in fact misappropriated by a former employee who has since been fired," the official said. Zitac caters for 99 percent of Zimbabwe's tobacco farmers. Zitac also refuted claims that its former general manager Mr Hillary Ngombe was fired after he offered an office to Camelsa Chartered Accountants at their premises. Camelsa had been appointed to carry out an audit to ascertain the extent of Zitac's exposure to Boka Investments regarding sub-tenants' rentals and tobacco sales commissions. However, it emerged that Mr Ngombe was sacked from the company on allegations of improper conduct. Zitac has been renting the Boka premises for the past nine years. Late businessman Mr Roger Boka built the facility in the late 1990s. Zitac said when it took over the premises, which had been lying idle for four years, construction was incomplete and yet they now stood accused of vandalising the property. Enditem