IN response to Allied Timbers, Kanyekanye head for clash: As workers, it is our view that our current bosses at Allied Timbers are losing the plot by focusing on non-existent historical issues whereupon they are trying to blame everything that could be going wrong in the company today on the previous executives and directors.
PRO-PROGRESS EMPLOYEES
While we hold no brief for those who managed the business previously, we believe that Joseph Kanyekanye and his team had their time at Allied during which they did their very best by growing Allied Timbers from scratch into a consolidated timber business that it is today.
As far as we are concerned, they belong to a rare breed of entrepreneurs, among them Strive Masiyiwa (Econet); Trevor Ncube (Alpha Media Group), Phillip Mataranyika (Nyaradzo); Kwanayi Kashangura (Africom); Adam Molai (Savanna Tobacco) and Divine Ndhlukula (Securico) who should be counted among Zimbabwe’s corporate icons for launching their respective businesses from nothing and developing them into reputable brands.
For our management to continue to fight with their ex-executives when the business is crying out for reinvigoration in the wake of the prevailing economic challenges makes no sense at all. What they are doing can be equated to someone who continuously looks out through the rear view mirror for excuses to issues that have everything to do with challenges unfolding right ahead.
What they must do to save the business is to look into the windshield in order to navigate the business through the prevailing economic challenges as opposed to concerning themselves with smokescreens which are being created to hide certain inadequacies, real or imagined.
As workers, we believe that Kanyekanye left the business in a fairly solid state and what his successor must do is to take it to the next stage.
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It pains us to see the outgoing and current executives engaging in bitter exchanges that do not address the current challenges confronting the business.
Workers are expecting Allied Timbers to grow from strength to strength regardless of the existing economic challenges and to get our salaries on time. It’s a winning proposition that is good for both government, which is the only shareholder in the business, and ourselves, as employees.
For us the workers, it guarantees employment and social security while for government there a wide range of benefits that can arise from this. These include the prospect of a dividend, more jobs in line with the governing party’s election promise and more revenue for the cash-strapped fiscus in the form of taxes.
It is our hope as workers that government will not poke its nose unnecessarily in the running of the business. Government’s track record so far in the 75 or so parastatals that it is involved in does not inspire confidence. It’s actually through, the sterling efforts of the old management that Allied Timbers has been a rare success story within the parastatal community.
There is a whole board to oversee the business on government’s behalf hence politicians must keep their distance. As one author once said, the business of government is to govern. Period!
Honourable Oppah Muchinguri needs to be applauded though for we haven’t heard of anything that seems to suggest political interference on her part ever since she was appointed into the portfolio (as Minister of Environment, Climate and Water) last year.
Our understanding is that the clashes that led to the resignation of the former group chief executive officer had everything to do with political interference which cannot be tolerated by any self-respecting professionals.
Allow me to digress by thanking NewsDay for producing a good paper. Please, keep it up.
