NSSA to acquire 80% of CSC

Published: 07 December 2017

THE National Social Security Authority (NSSA) will take up 80 percent equity in the Cold Storage Company, injecting a reported $20 million, as it embarks on the resuscitation of the stricken meat processor.

In a quarterly update issued last week, NSSA chairman Robert Vela said the cash-rich statutory fund had started conducting a due diligence probe into CSC, which would lead to the capital injection.

Although Vela's statement did not mention any figures, a former deputy agriculture minister, Paddy Zhanda told State media in September that Cabinet had approved the injection of between $18 million and $20 million into CSC by NSSA.

"Following the commitment by NSSA to participate in the resuscitation of CSC in Q3 2017, the authority has begun the due diligence process guided by an investment plan as CSC embarks the turnaround journey," Vela said in the quarterly update.

"NSSA's investment will be implemented, as approved by the Cabinet of the Government of Zimbabwe, through a Share Subscription and Shareholders Agreement that will see NSSA acquire 80 percent of CSC, while the Government of Zimbabwe retains 20 percent."

CSC, once a major meat processor on the continent, processing 150 000 tonnes of beef products annually and exporting about 9 000 tonnes of beef into the lucrative European market, has been moribund for years.

The company owes creditors close to $30 million, with 400 of its former workers being owed an estimated $4 million.

CSC's revival would be yet another critical intervention by NSSA, which has also played a leading role in the resuscitation of sugar processor starafricacorporation.

- Fin Gaz

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