KWEKWE — The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is battling to recover its vehicles attached by the messenger of court at Chaka Plant, a gold mine run by Carslone Enterprises.
The vehicles were attached following a consent arbitration award of $135 115, 70, being payment of salaries and wages of 150 workers employed by the mine.
The mine has been struggling to meet its operating costs and salary and wages bill, resulting in workers seeking a High Court order to recover their money.
Through High Court case no 3382/11, Carslone Enterprises, Kofita Mutawanga and 149 fellow workers got an order executed by the messenger of court to attach and recover the outstanding salaries and wages.
In the process, the Kwekwe deputy sheriff attached three Mazda B2500 pickups at the plant among other property, which cars the RBZ claims belong to it and should not have been attached.
In an affidavit logged in the High Court, RBZ transport manager Jerlson Mwendamberi told the court the vehicles did not belong to Carslone Enterprise, but were property of the central bank.
“I depose this affidavit . . . property attached by the Deputy Sheriff on June 8 at Chaka Plant, Kwekwe, belongs to the RBZ.
The vehicles attached were used by the claimant under the Financial Intelligence Inspectorate Evaluation and Security in evaluating gold processing at Chaka Plant and for the sole purpose of gold mobilisation.
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“In the forgoing I pray that the property be declared as sole property of RBZ and inexecutable with regard to claim against Carslone (Pvt) Ltd,” said Mwendamberi.
However, workers through their lawyer Liberty Mashanyare are challenging the claim by the RBZ, claiming the central bank was part of Carslone and a major financier of the operations of the firm.
“We attached property at the mine because it belonged to owners and partners of the company, who were supposed to ensure that the workers are paid.
“The claim by the RBZ is just a delaying tactic, but we are going to be selling the property very soon,” said Mashanyare.
