KWEKWE — ReNaissance Merchant Bank has been forced to cough up $65 000 to meet an outstanding wages and salaries bill owed to workers by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe mining subsidiary Carslone Enterprises.
It is believed the bank chipped in to safeguard its investment after it had advanced an undisclosed loan to Carslone Enterprises.
Masawi and Partners, the law firm representing the workers, told NewsDay yesterday the bank released the money last week to stop the auctioning of two fairly new tractor dampers attached at Chaka Plant by the workers over a $121 000 wages and salary debt.
The law firm said the bank deposited the money into the lawyers’ trust account.
“We received $65 000 from the bank which was disbursed to the workers over the weekend and negotiations are still ongoing with ReNaissance so that they can secure the release of the dampers,” said the lawyers in a statement.
The 150-strong workforce led by its chairman Kofuta Mutawanga was last year granted a High Court order to attach the property over the outstanding salaries, some dating back to 2009.
The attached properties included motor vehicles, mining machinery and tractor dampers.
Mutawanga told NewsDay while the workers were happy to get the part payment, they were still pressing to get outstanding salaries from Carslone Enterprises.
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“We have not received the entire payout and it’s a struggle until we get our dues. As you can see, this judgment is for salaries up to May 2010. Workers did not receive money last year and we are now in the process of dragging Carslone through another labour process for those dues,” said Mutawanga.
Midkwe, a company owned by Buhera North MP William Mutomba, that purports to have taken over Carslone operations at Chaka Plant has claimed in court papers to have paid the workers as part of their takeover deal with Carslone, but the workers have dismissed the claims as untrue.
