James Hall
MBABANE - A new joint venture transport company in Swaziland combines local manpower with South African equipment to solve a paper pulp manufacturer's haulage crisis.
Mphumelelo Forest Services, the name given to the venture between the Bhunya, Swaziland based Mphumelelo Transport Company, and South Africa's Imperial Group, will employ 50 people initially. At a signing ceremony to inaugurate the venture, witnessed by employment and enterprise minister Lutfo Dlamini, a deal was recently inked that will give a 35% shareholding in the new company to Mphumelelo and 65% to Imperial Group.
Depending on the performance of the venture, Mpumelelo's share may rise to 50% by next year, said David Sihlongonyane of Mpumelelo Forest Services. The companies have entered into a five year renewable contract for the joint venture.
Eventually, Sihlongonyane said, the Swazi side of the operation hopes to buy out Imperial, after paying back the latter's investment. Imperial brings to the new company eight trucks, six trailers, three loaders, six bakkies, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The venture's client will be Bhunya's Usuthu Pulp Company, which outsourced its haulage business in 1998. The move was then seen as an opportunity for local empowerment, but the Swazi-owned group formed to handle the business encountered logistic difficulties, and was hampered by heavy rains last year that made Bhunya roads impassable.
The new company's chief task will be to transport timber for the Usuthu forest in northwest Swaziland's Hhohho District for processing into paper pulp at the Bhunya mill.
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