Citrus packhouse completely gutted by fire
THE Riverside Citrus Services packhouse in Fort Beaufort was torched on Monday morning.
The extent of the damage caused by the fire is not yet known.
Provincial police’s spokesman Captain Khaya Tonjeni yesterday confirmed a case of arson was opened and police were following “strong leads”.
Zulfah Osman, human resources director of Lona, the company which owns the packhouse, said: “The only thing I am prepared to say right now is that the packhouse has been completely destroyed by the fire which was started yesterday. We are currently investigating and are just happy that no one was injured.”
Jaco van Biljon, manager of packhouse, said the incident happened on Monday and police were investigating. “We can confirm the fire that has destroyed this packhouse and the matter is being investigated,” said Biljon.
Pressed more for comment, Biljon said there was a person who is a suspect. “But we are not allowed to say anything for now, the matter is with the police.”
He would not give the Dispatch reporters any information of how many people the packhouse employed or how this will affect them. “I am not allowed to comment more than what I gave you, I can’t tell you that,” he said.
But packhouse workers in the local township, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs, said the packhouse employed 300 people, all of them from Fort Beaufort’s two townships, New Town and Dubu.
“I’ve been working in that company since it opened its doors in 1998. It’s the only company that changes people’s lives in the region and we are happy to have it here,” said a worker.
“What happened this week is not going to only affect the workers but the community as many of us were feeding this community with the salaries we are getting from the company.”
Another employee said they suspect that the fire was started by individuals who were not happy with salary negotiations.
“There were money issues but that was something that was to be resolved by the management. Most of us are breadwinners at our homes and this now, means we are left with empty stomachs.”
Dispatch took a tour around the factory and saw hundreds of citrus fruits destroyed in the storerooms. The entire factory was gutted by fire.
According to the website of its parent company Lona, the award-winning facility processed thousands of tons of citrus for external growers.
The packhouse, which is Fair Trade certified, has in the past received numerous awards from the renowned UK retailer Tesco including for “The Grower of the Year” and “Social Responsibility”.
The company states that in 2006 the Industrial Development Corps (IDC) started a strategic partnership with Riverside to implement rural development projects in the Eastern Cape and the facility has since provided a range of services to previously disadvantaged farmers and to its 12 existing IDC clients.
The services include financial and administration, technical, marketing, packing, joint buying and skills transfers.
“The Fair Trade initiative has also brought a substantial improvement in the socioeconomic environment of the farm. The premium earned on the fruit sold has culminated in the following projects, which are run by the joint body consisting of 11 members of Riverside’s workers: The Babbel & Krabbel Creche in New Town, and the Hillside Sewing & Computer Training Centre.”