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Blessings Chidakwa and John Murwira
The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has dispatched a team to set up structures at Cold Storage Company (CSC)’s head office in Bulawayo, an official said.

This comes barely months after NSSA showed serious commitment in resuscitating CSC, pledging to inject $18 million into the firm.

Government has since approved the transaction, which would see NSSA acquiring 80 percent of CSC shares. While addressing leaders of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Chinhoyi last week, NSSA’s newly appointed head of client services Mr Solomon Nzuwa said the CSC deal was now at an advanced stage.

“Currently, the company has sent one of its managers to go and work permanently at CSC’s head office in Bulawayo,” he said.

“The company has already filled the manager’s prior post at NSSA; this shows you the level of seriousness the firm has in reviving CSC.

“I understand the manager is doing feasibility studies and see how best to set up structures there. The CSC issue is a done deal and there is no going back on that one.”

NSSA general manager Ms Liz Chitiga recently said her organisation was awaiting shareholder agreements by relevant Government ministries before operations resumed at CSC.

CSC’s revival, she said, would empower communal and commercial cattle farmers, while contributing to the resuscitation of the agricultural industry.

CSC at one time was the largest meat processor in Africa, handling up to 150 000 tonnes of beef and associated by-products a year and exporting to the European Union, where it had an annual quota of 9 100 tonnes of beef. In its heyday, CSC used to earn Zimbabwe at least $45 million annually.

As of last year, CSC was saddled with a debt of over $25 million, from $9 million in 2009, mainly from fixed costs such as wages, rates and taxes on land.

The firm is said to be owing employees $3,5 million in salary arrears. CSC, with branches in some cities and towns, is now operating at less than 10 percent of its capacity.