By Francis Mwinde
HWANGE Colliery Company (HCC) workers have bemoaned the never-ending legal tussle for control of the troubled coal miner, saying it has prolonged their suffering as they are yet to get their terminal benefits after almost eight years.
A fortnight ago the High Court dismissed the government’s bid to put HCC under reconstruction using the Reconstruction of State-Indebted Insolvent Companies Act.
In October 2018 Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi had applied for confirmation of the reconstruction order in terms of the controversial legislation.
Ziyambi immediately appointed Bekithemba Moyo, who was assisted by Mutsa Mollie Jean Remba and Munashe Shava.
However, High Court judge Justice David Mangota ruled that the minister had violated the law and the ruling meant that the running of HCC affairs was handed back to the Juliana Muskwe-chaired board.
But the government is said to be preparing an appeal against Mangota’s judgement in the Supreme Court.
HCC workers said if the government went ahead with the appeal, it would spell doom on the future of the company’s workers.
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“While they are busy fighting in the courts, some of us who were forcibly retrenched eight years ago are yet to get our terminal packages.
“To make matters worse, we are now being evicted from the company-owned houses without any form of redress,” said John Mwanza, who claimed to have served the company for close to 30 years.
Mwanza said some of the retrenched workers were now being forced to pay for electricity and rentals for houses owned by HCC despite the fact that they had not received their terminal benefits.
“When the company was placed under reconstruction, most workers were of the opinion that there was going to be some semblance of normalcy in terms of management, but the situation is now even worse,” said a newly-elected member of the workers’ committee.
“The company is currently on autopilot due to the ongoing legal fights among the shareholders and we have nowhere to turn to.”
Another worker from the underground department who also declined to be named appealed to the major shareholders to find common ground to allow for the resuscitation of the company.
“We raised our concerns with (the speaker of Parliament) Jacob Mudenda when he recently visited the mine that we are fed up with both the administrator and his team as well as the current senior management who seem not to take workers and community issues seriously,” he said.
“Mismanagement has reached alarming proportions and most workers have been reduced to destitutes despite most of our products being exported to neighbouring countries.”
Mudenda visited Hwange in January following flash floods that left some families in the town homeless.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Peter Mutasa claimed some government officials who wanted to strip the coal miner of its assets were fuelling the confusion in the running of HCC. .
“A lot of underhand dealings are happening at the mine and some politicians are trying to strip the mine of its assets and later sell them to their cronies for a song to the detriment of the workers and the Hwange community at large,” Mutasa said.
“A forensic audit was done where the current Mines minister with other fellow politicians were implicated and nothing has been done to them.”
HCC employs more than 1 000 workers and also exports to countries such as Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
