PPC Zimbabwe boss steps down
BUSINESS REPORTER
Cement maker, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) Zimbabwe Limited’s managing director (MD), Kelibone Masiyane, will step down from his position at the end of December after serving in that capacity for seven years, Business Times can report.
Albert Sigei will take his place beginning on January 1, 2024.
In 1994, Masiyane began working for the organization as a trainee electrical engineer at the Colleen Bawn Plant. In 2016, he was named the MD of PPC Zimbabwe Limited.
In 2009, he was promoted to general manager of the Bulawayo Factory and Colleen Bawn Plant before being appointed PPC Zimbabwe MD.
“After 29 years of service at PPC Zimbabwe Limited, seven years of which were spent at the helm of the company, (Kelibone) Masiyane informed the board of the company of his intention to step down as managing director of the company, PPC said in a statement this week.
It continued: “ (Kelibone) Masiyane will be available to manage transitional arrangements until December 31, 2023.”
He leaves behind a business that is on a growth trajectory.
Since then, Masiyane has received praise from the company for his efforts.
The business claimed that despite the difficult economic climate, PPC Zimbabwe, led by Masiyane, steadily improved its financial performance, leading to higher returns for shareholders.
PPC added that significant progress had been made in fulfilling the business’s commitments to safety and the environment.
PPC Zimbabwe is a subsidiary of a larger empire with its headquarters in South Africa. It runs a clinker plant at Colleen Bawn in West Nicholson and milling plants in Bulawayo and Harare.
Masiyane’s departure occurs at a time when PPC South Africa, the parent company, has increased its ownership stake in the Zimbabwean unit to 90% through the repurchase of shares held by various indigenization parties.
The shares were subsequently repurchased at US$0,01 each and cancelled, according to PPC’s operating update for the five months to August 31, 2023.
About 19% of the 29.6% of PPC Zimbabwe shares were held by various indigenisation parties .
The repurchase of such shares was approved at an extraordinary general meeting of PPC Zimbabwe’s shareholders on August 29, 2023 and all such shares were subsequently re-purchased at US$0,01 each and cancelled.
Consequently, PPC now holds 90% of PPC Zimbabwe.
Apart from South Africa and Zimbabwe, PPC also has a footprint in Botswana, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
In 2020, the government barred shares of PPC, Old Mutual Zimbabwe, and Seed Co. from trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange after alleging that the three were responsible for the swift depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar.
Seed Co International migrated to the foreign currency only bourse, the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
But, efforts to resolve the dispute between PPC and Old Mutual and the government over the trading of their shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) are yet to bear fruit.
