Marvo Corruption Continues

MARVO A BAD EXAMPLE OF INDIGENIZATION

The Zimbabwe government's adopted black empowerment and indigenization policy have proved to be a curse in this country for ordinary citizens. The policy has taken away people's creativity replacing it with corruption and political patronage as a way of survival in business. We no longer have honest hard working business men and women like Dr Nkosana Moyo and Dr Strive Masiyiwa among others. We now have political connected Mafias masquerading as business men and women. Their sole motivation is stealing and enriching themselves at the expanse of ordinary citizens and innocent workers who toil day and night for nothing, while using black empowerment and indigenization as a tool to steal from foreign investors and ordinary citizens.

The kind of corruption in this country is one of the major reasons why I joined politics, I hate corruption with a passion. And I believe that the 1979 Grand Plan where the ruling ZANU PF party takes its inspiration from must be abolished as soon as possible, ZANU PF itself is a dangerous organisation which only deserves to go to hell and its entire leadership must rot in prison not just a prison but a Maximum prison because they are dangerous to humanity. I am even puzzled why is the International Criminal Court (ICC) not acting against ZANU PF for crimes against humanity?

That party have set a bad system in the country that the only way to make it in life is through patronising its leaders, they believe first that they are super humans this country is theirs alone and they have full rights while everyone else is a second class citizen, they believe that anyone who opposes them is an enemy and must be eliminated a good reason why they eliminated over 20 000 Ndebele people for supporting ZAPU instead of the satanic ZANU PF that has reduced us to be a laughing stock of the World.

Marvo Stationary private limited is one such company with its share holders and management that have immensely benefited from political patronage at the expense of workers and the country at large. Marvo was formed by a Jewish man from Israel leaving in Zimbabwe Bulawayo in particular in 1949 there about from that time till year 2 000 it was running so very well with well over 600 permanent employees and thousands more as contract workers, it used to be one of the best companies in Bulawayo. Unfortunately the owner died and his children who are now based in South Africa refused to come back to persue their father's busines interests because of government interference and political instability in this country coupled with corruption, prompting Marvo to be sold to locally black connected individuals led by Mr M Valela then almost immediately trouble started.

As soon as they come in they frustrated the few people in management who were left by Mr Kates out of Marvo, removed many people while replacing them with their own, later on they made own grand plan to eliminate all workers left by Mr Kates which was impossible yet they took the risk, twice they fired almost the entire company on unfounded allegations raging from refusing to work over time, insabodination etc. Which they went on to loose in courts and workers ended up coming back to work and being paid a lot of money. But still they continued to try and eliminate workers one by one in some cases they corruptly changed workers numbers and gave them new one as a way of tempering with workers pensions.

Marvo new management and share holders have been in the media for wrong reasons countless times ever since they took over the company. As we speak there are less than 90 workers left at Marvo all of whom are locked out for over a year now. Marvo was one of the benefitiery of Demaf in 2011 where they received $758 000 - 00 bank loan to help the company continue to run, but instead immediately after they got it the company collapsed. They opted to importing finished goods from South Africa instead of manufacturing them as intended by the loan. As if that was not enough they further borrowed $189 000 - 00 yet again to use for the same purposes of importing finished goods. Workers never benefited a cent from then till now they used to work and not paid some times they could be given $10-00, 50 or $100-00 maximum after a long period of time and they ended up not knowing what's happening?

We are yet to be paid our back pay, even when the government introduced a policy to ban imported goods in favour of raw materials Marvo/Browns still imported those goods using a mechanism of corruption where they claimed these where unfinished goods which they call semi- finished goods yet those books were more than 95% complete. We have won the case many times and in many ways in court to receive our money but they always have a way out because of political connections and patronage.

Now they have been lying to poor workers since 2012 that they will be soon operational and workers will be paid their money yet it has proven in many ways that they are not telling the truth and workers are dying in numbers most of them are sick, many of them have been thrown out of their lodgings. And I have made it a point that even if I win millions of lotto money i will still persue my few thousands of dollars at Marvo. I will not keep quite until Justice prevailed we can't continue like this we need to reach a point where we say enough is enough. We don't fear anymore, we don't want anymore, and we want our money now. To hell with corruption and corrupt individuals.

Other workers who still listen to Mr Crisphen Mwete the current Marvo Judicial manager's propaganda can continue as for me sengjamukile I want my money. And I want Justice now. They always intimidate workers telling them not to demonstrate or tell media, or even involve politics because if they do they will not get their money, because no investor will come to Marvo if they do that and again they claim they are protected so nothing can happen to them. Yet they them selves have the guts to lie about Marvo in the press unchallenged and they also openly tell workers that they are ZANU PF and are well connected. But I refuse that I am challenging them we want our money or better still I want my money and I will not keep quite. Mahatma Gandhi say and I quote" Death is at any time blessed, but it is twice blessed for a warrior who dies for his cause, that is truth".

Mbonisi Gumbo

Marvo Stationery Manufacturers employee writing in his personal capacity.