Times Of Swaziland: MINISTER LEADS TOUR OF BRITANNIA BRANDS AMID RIFT

MINISTER LEADS TOUR OF BRITANNIA BRANDS AMID RIFT
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Sibusiso Zwane on 08/10/2024 08:51:00


MANZINI – The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo and
EIPA management led the ministry’s parliamentary portfolio committee members
on a private tour of Britannia Brands.
The private tour by the stakeholders follows an ongoing rift between Britannia
Brands Managing Director, Mobeen Mehdi and the Eswatini Investment Promotion
Authority (EIPA), which was placed at E20 million investment.The tour was
conducted at the company’s factory shell at Matsapha Industrial Site
yesterday. According to a source close to the matter, the portfolio committee
wanted to see what the investor was talking about.
Investor
The investor told Kwaluseni Member of Parliament (MP) Sifiso Shongwe that he was
unhappy with the treatment he received from EIPA when he sought to acquire a
factory shell in Matsapha. Among the complaints was that EIPA failed to meet
some of the agreements they had signed. On the other hand, the Ministry of
Commerce, Industry and Trade said Britannia Brands did not meet investor
qualities. The ministry denied that the investor was ill-treated and that the
factory provided to it was substandard or did not meet the agreed
specifications.
The ministry alleged that the investor did not adhere to EIPA terms of
agreement. It said the agreement was valid for a specified duration and the
investor was required to take occupation of the factory shell and the agreement
elapsed.
In that regard, it said as a ministry, they were currently in the process of
securing another investor to occupy the factory shell. The Kwaluseni MP who is
also the vice-chairman of the ministry’s parliamentary portfolio committee,
who raised the matter in Parliament, said after their visit yesterday, he found
that there were technicalities, in particular financial capabilities, which the
investor purportedly does not meet. As such, he said as a representative of
emaSwati in Parliament, his advice is that the investor should source funding
with security in order to meet EIPA requirements.
He said according to the ministry and EIPA, if the investor can get funding with
security tomorrow, a lease agreement could be prepared and signed immediately.
He added that as an MP, he has the responsibility to protect emaSwati, in terms
of ensuring that the job opportunities which are created are descent. He said
they cannot allow emaSwati to work for an investor they do not know if he will
be able to pay their wages.On the other hand, Mehdi, who confirmed that he was
aware that the minister, EIPA management and ministry’s parliamentary
portfolio committee visited the factory shell yesterday, said he does not know
why they went there. “I also do not know what transpired,” the investor
added. He said according to his understanding, parliamentarians are not experts
to determine food standards and the required factory shell specifications.