LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has been rocked by massive job cuts that has seen termination of contracts for close to hundred workers including senior staff amid fears this could affect operations at the company.
This comes as Parliament is probing TIMB for allegedly perpetuating chaos in the tobacco industry and allowing murky deals that have prejudiced the government of millions of United States dollars.
The legislators are concerned about chaos in the tobacco industry that has so far exposed how companies were engaging in foggy deals including unprocedurally borrowing and abusing loans amounting to millions of dollars from the government that they now are failing to pay back.
In the midst of the chaos, it emerged that TIMB has since terminated 70 contracts of employment in a job cut frenzy that has gripped the tobacco sector regulator ahead of the opening of the 2023 marketing season.
The affected are more than 50 middle managers while others have resigned in the past five months citing poor salaries and tough working conditions.
Well-placed sources said TIMB has also terminated the Zimbabwe dollar salary component which it was paying. Workers are now said to be earning a paltry United States dollar salaries only.
“(The carnage) is massive. We have witnessed massive job cut, resignations in the past five months. It’s a cause for concern. No one is safe at the moment,” one well-placed source at TIMB told Business Times.
Business Times has learnt that the human resources manager has resigned as well.
TIMB had a staff complement of about 300 workers.
A source said: “Things are tough here as even those who should be responsible for terminating people’s contracts and employing workers are also facing the axe.
“It shows how serious the purging of the workers is.”
The termination of contracts come at a time when three top managers are on suspension facing allegations of diverting tobacco input credit scheme funds.
They have since appeared in court.
TIMB spokesperson, Chelesani Tsarwe, referred all questions to the acting CEO, Emmanuel Matsvaire.
Matsvaire said Tsarwe was going to respond to inquiries by Business Times. She had not responded by the time of going to press.
Efforts to get a comment from TIMB chairman, Patrick Devenish, were futile.
TIMB has failed to answer why and how a number of companies such as Central Leaf Tobacco and Bindura Tobacco among others were benefitting from facilities without following due process.
The companies have since been dragged before the Lands, Agriculture, Climate, Water and Fisheries Parliamentary portfolio committee chaired by Gokwe-Nembudziya MP Justice Wadyajena.
Also, Boka Tobacco Floors and three other companies have been suspended by the TIMB for several transgressions with Parliament threatening to come hard on tobacco companies that are failing to pay back millions of dollars they received from the Tobacco Input Credit Scheme facility.
