Ex-employees to resuscitate G and D Shoes, Belmont Leather

EX-WORKERS of the defunct Bulawayo leather firm, G&D Shoes (Private) Limited and the ailing Belmont Leather, are seeking to resuscitate the companies and the former employees have approached the Government for funding.

In recent years, the two sister companies faced operational constraints that exposed them to huge debt overhang as the entities failed to pay several creditors including workers.

Against this background, G&D Shoes was placed under voluntary liquidation on the 4th of August 2010 while Belmont Leather was placed under liquidation on the 18th of August the same year.

However, the two entities’ liquidator, Stone House Consultants managing director Dr Cecil Madondo before he was booted out of the affairs of the companies, carried out an assessment which showed that the firms were not a case for liquidation.

His removal was instigated by some shareholders of the two entities who opposed his appointment before the subsequent appointment of Phillip Ndlovu of PNA Chartered Accountants, a Bulawayo based company.

Madondo told this paper that on December 15, 2010 the provisional judicial management order was granted for Belmont Leather while G & D Shoes remained under provisional liquidation.

Ndlovu was then appointed as the provisional judicial manager for Belmont Leather.

“Following this development, I then resigned from the position of liquidator for G & D Shoes, in the best interest of the companies.

“Despite the progress we had made in returning the companies back to operations, operations collapsed again and the companies ceased operating.

“The companies employed hundreds of workers who then lost their jobs and were owed monies in unpaid salaries,” he said.

The situation, Madondo said, remained the same to date with the companies being run down due to wear and tear.

“In a recent development, the employees indicated that they had approached the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to intervene with funding to resuscitate the ailing companies.

“According to the employees’ representatives, the Ministry advised them to first seek the placement of the companies under corporate rescue and only after that the Ministry would consider the request working with the appointed corporate rescue practitioner.”

“It was then resolved that an application for corporate rescue proceedings be filed.

“The parties are currently in the processing of gathering information for the application to be filed, at the earliest possible time,” he said.

Madondo said after the employees approached him seeking assistance, they indicated that there was nothing happening at G & D Shoes over the years.

“While at Belmont Leather there were still a few employees, not more than 20, but there are meaningful operations taking place,” he said, adding that the workers also highlighted that most of the productive machinery has been stripped off and only a few were remaining at both companies.

Efforts to get a comment from the workers’ committee chair for the two companies, Stanisilas Chivendera, were not successful as he was inaudible due to bad mobile phone network.

His phone was later not reachable.. Another official who spoke by telephone representing workers for both companies but refused to reveal his full name preferring to be called J. Mufembi confirmed efforts to resuscitate the entities.

“The letter was filed by the judicial manager ( Madondo) on behalf of the workers of both companies to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. He is the one who is privy to the engagement with the ministry.

“First and foremost, Madondo has to be appointed by the Master of the High Court as the corporate rescue practitioner after which considerations will then be made by the Ministry of Finance regarding the bailout that we are seeking to resuscitate operations,” he said.