4 500 workers risk losing their jobs

OVER 4 500 workers at Green Fuel in Chisumbanje risk losing their jobs after the plant ceased operations when oil companies failed to take up 10 million litres of ethanol it produced.

At least 700 workers have been sent on forced leave since February.

The ethanol plant is a joint venture between Green Fuel, the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, Rating Investments and Macdom Investments.

Ethanol produced by Green Fuel is blended with petrol to produce fuel now known on the market as E10.

The firm last week recalled some of the employees from forced leave for maintenance work, but they will go back home next week.

Green Fuel employs about 4 500 workers, some of whom work in the plant, while others are at sugarcane estates that supply the raw material.

The company's general manager Mr Graeme Smith said the workers were being paid while on leave.

"We basically shut down the plant on February 6 and sent all the 700 employees on leave," said Mr Smith.

"We restarted the plant last week to keep the machine in shape and to keep our staff motivated, but we will be closing again on May 6."

Mr Smith said they asked for more funds from investors for the upkeep of the workers.

He said they were facing challenges with oil companies that were only selling E10 at a few of their filling stations.

Mr Smith said they were lobbying Government to put in place legislation compelling all oil companies to blend their fuel with locally-produced ethanol.

He said the legislation will not only benefit Green Fuel, but any other company that will venture into ethanol production.

Mr Smith said although some Government officials were saying they were free to export ethanol, the move could be costly to the country.

He said if they export, the same product will be blended outside and brought back into the country at a higher price.

Mr Smith said if the Government makes blending mandatory, it could save US$250 million annually.

He said Green Fuel had capacity to produce more ethanol to make E20, which will make fuel cheaper by at least 10 cents and enable Government to save US$500 million annually.

The E20 fuel will be blended at the ratio of 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent petrol.

Mr Smith said they had already invested US$180 million in the project and by 2020 they will have invested US$650 million with a staff complement of 20 000.

Vice chairman of the Workers' Committee Mr Kokanayi Mapungwana urged the Government to speed up the legislative processes for the benefit of workers.

"If there is anything that needs to be done by Government, we are urging them to do that expeditiously," he said.

"We have families to look after and we can only do that if we are employed."

A local traditional leader Mr Matambudziko Machona described the Green Fuel project as a positive initiative.

He said it was unfortunate that Green Fuel was now reneging on some of its promises to the local people.

Mr Machona said Green Fuel had promised to build dams for irrigation, but the only dam built was now used to supply water to their plant.

He said Green Fuel promised to employ local people, but most workers at the plant were not from Chisumbanje.

Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma recently said Green Fuel was free to export its ethanol.

Arda chairman Mr Basil Nyabadza said the ethanol project was done under the principle of the Public Private Partnership as a Build, Operate and Transfer project.

He said discussions were underway to align it with the country's indigenisation laws.

"We now have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which is guiding us in these negotiations.

"Remember that when this project started there was no indigenisation and we are now discussing to make it a joint venture project between Government and the investors, and not a BOT," he said.