Lobel's accused of failing to pay contractors

Published: 29 November 2013

TRUCK owners contracted by Lobel's Bread to deliver bread in Bulawayo are alleging that the firm has gone for two months without paying them for their services.

Some of the contractors who preferred not to be named told Business Chronicle that they last received part payment in September following a breakdown of one of the confectioner's production lines.

Lobel's Bread has two production lines.

"We have not been paid our outstanding monies for the past two months and only in September we received part payment for a month's delivery.

"The situation is getting out of hand, we are afraid that this month we may not get paid again. We have put the matter to their general manager and he says he has since directed his finance department to pay us but when we contact the department, we are told that there has not been communication to that effect," said one of the transporters who has been rendering delivery services to Lobel's for more than five months.

He said more than 40 transporters whose contracts were renewable every month were affected.

"We are more than 40 transporters contracted by Lobel's to offer delivery services locally and outside. Under the contract terms we are paid $55 a day for local deliveries and outside deliveries payment ranges between $80 and $160 a day depending on the distance," said the transporter.

In a separate interview, another transporter said of late getting paid by Lobel's for services rendered had been a challenge.

"The major challenge is that they are not paying us on time and it requires someone to have patience because at times we are paid after three months. At the moment, we have not been paid in the past two months," said the transporter.

Another transporter said: "It's not that we are happy not to get paid. I think this situation has also been worsened by the fact that in September one of their production lines had a breakdown so their cashflow might have been negatively affected resulting in them not being able to pay us."

The bread manufacturer's general manager Mr Mhlanga denied the allegations levelled against his organisation.

"We have been paying our transporters for their services and at the moment we are up to date as far as payment is concerned. Delays in payment by a day or two can be there but we are actually paying them.

"In fact, we have paid them for the past two months. You might be aware that our plant was down in September and obviously that affected our volumes but since October we have been able to pay them all," he said.

"I don't know why anybody would really say such malicious information."

Mr Mhlanga would not be drawn into ascertaining the number of operators his company contracted for the delivery services in Bulawayo and outside the city.
- herald