Tongaat moots COVID-19 survival plan
SUGAR producer, Tongaat Hulett says it has developed a business continuity plan (BCP) should the COVID-19 lockdown continue into the foreseeable future and hit its operations hard.
Zimbabwe has been under lockdown since May 30 and last week, President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended it indefinitely as the country grapples to contain the spread of the virus, with confirmed cases now at 132.
In its latest special trading update, Tongaat Hulett said it had developed a plan premised on “the worst case scenario that the pandemic may take a turn for the worst and that the lockdown period may be extended for most of the season with highly disruptive consequences for the business.”
The key considerations that have been factored into the BCP include adequacy of critical supplies for the duration of the lockdown; contingency plans to enable certain groups of employees to work from home; infrastructure requirements, including information technology hardware and software required to ensure continuity of operations for critical employees working from home.
The company’s BCP also includes protocols for closing a site, sanitisation and restart of the site in the event of an employee infection; financial planning for resources required to address COVID-19-related interventions; succession and critical skills plans in the event that a significant number of skilled staff are incapacitated by the virus in both the short and long term; ongoing communication with key stakeholders and contributions to protect local communities from the pandemic.
Due to the special dispensation granted to the company as an essential service provider, Tongaat Hulett said the production and marketing of sugar in the local and export markets was progressing as planned.
“The demand for sugar in the local market has remained strong. As a result, the company is adequately funded and is able to meet its working capital requirements,” it said, without giving figures.
The sugar producer said it had not, to date, experienced any major disruptions to its operations with all key activities that include sugarcane maintenance, harvesting, sugar packing and distribution operations progressing satisfactorily.
To date, the company has invested $13 million in COVID-19 mitigation measures at workplace. It has donated 150 000 litres of ethanol worth $4 million to government as well as $6 million to Masvingo province for the procurement of surgical gloves, masks and other essentials.