Portland Cement unable to dispose of land
Troubled East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) is unable to sell land meant to raise funds to offset bills, worsening the cement maker’s woes.
Having pegged revival on the sale of part of its Sh45 billion worth of idle 12,000-acre land in Mavoko to keep the company afloat, the restructuring process has halted.
Without funds, the firm’s revival strategy, which started with laying off 800 employees on redundancy, has hit headwinds, as debts pile, worsening the company’s financial position.
The firm banked on re-employing 600 workers in what would cut salaries by 40 per cent, saving on the current Sh200 million monthly salary bill.
As at October 19, some 136 workers had received termination letters.
Secret ballot
On September 27, shareholders, including Lafarge, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the government, converged in an extraordinary meeting and through secret ballot, voted to sell the idle land.
However, to date the voting results are yet to be released, with pundits fearing they might have been doctored.
Earlier, NSSF, which has 27 per cent stake in EAPCC, had opposed the sale of the land and moved to court to bar the transaction.
By selling the land the company would have disposed of more than 25 per cent of its assets.
The announcement on the sale of the land also elicited mixed reactions as hundreds of squatters, who reside on the property, protested that there are preferred buyers comprising known tycoons.
The squatters petitioned the President, in a letter dated September 15, to allow them buy the land.
