The Cold Storage Company, once Zimbabwe’s biggest meat producer, is seeking a turnaround specialist to spearhead a high-priority recovery programme to revive the company.
The recruitment follows CSC’s exit from corporate rescue in late 2022, and signals a fresh attempt by the State-owned enterprise to modernise its vast infrastructure, which includes abattoirs, feedlots and cold chains.
The specialist will operate with C-suite (executive level) authority, reporting directly to the CSC board,” a call for expression of interest by Mutapa Investment Fund, which owns the company, says.
The mandate requires the successful candidate to lead a “Rapid Diagnostic” of all assets before rolling out a tiered strategic plan.
The proposed recovery roadmap is strictly defined by three critical performance windows designed to ensure a rapid and sustainable return to profitability.
The specialist will first implement a 100-day plan focused on immediate stabilisation and the execution of “quick-win” interventions to address urgent operational gaps. This will be followed by a 180-day plan dedicated to mid-term operational adjustments and ensuring full alignment with national and international regulatory standards.
The cycle concludes with a 365-day plan aimed at full-scale strategic validation and establishing long-term commercial sustainability for the meat processing giant.
According to the official call for expressions of interest, a primary focus of the role is export-process assurance. This involves upgrading facilities to meet the stringent sanitary standards required to resume large-scale beef exports to international markets.
Beyond traditional processing, the specialist will oversee growth initiatives including product diversification and a “digital transformation” of the company’s legacy management systems.
CSC enjoyed a monopoly since its establishment in 1937. But the Government deregulated the beef industry in 1992, which resulted in serious competition from private players, plunging CSC into a viability crisis following sharp decline in cattle throughput.
A year later, the company had lost 50 percent of its market share to private players.
The Government could have overlooked the implications of liberalising the industry when CSC had not been financially capacitated to stand competition from private players.
Since 1992, CSC largely survived on EU exports and had a US$15 million revolving payment facility with the bloc. The facility was discontinued after the European union suspended imports in 2001 following an outbreak and foot and mouth disease.
CSC had an annual quota of 9 100 tonnes, representing 8 percent of the export market and used to earn at least US$45 million per year from the European union export quota.
Efforts to enter Asian markets did not succeed after some food safety standards concerns were raised.
In May 2019, the Government signed a US$400 million joint venture agreement with Boustead Beef, a United Kingdom-based firm. The deal was structured as a Rehabilitate, Operate and Transfer (ROT) agreement spanning 25 years.
Under the terms, Boustead Beef was expected to clear CSC’s legacy debts, which then totalled approximately US$43 million and refurbish and modernise defunct abattoirs in Bulawayo, Masvingo, Chinhoyi, Marondera, and Kadoma.
By 2020, the partnership began to unravel. Investigations and audits revealed several red flags. Questions arose regarding the investor’s financial capacity, with reports suggesting the UK entity was a “small company” with minimal assets.
In August 2022, a highly publicised reopening of the Bulawayo plant was later alleged to be a “staged” event. Insiders claimed equipment had been borrowed from local private abattoirs and old machinery had simply been repainted to appear new.
Despite promises of hundreds of millions, the Government noted that only a fraction, approximately US$24 million, had actually been injected, much of which was disputed.
The deal was officially terminated by the Cabinet after the investor failed to meet critical performance milestones. In late 2024, the partnership ended in a protracted legal battle, with the government citing a failure to fulfil the Livestock Joint Farming Concession Agreement. Following the failure of the Boustead deal, CSC was placed under corporate rescue to protect it from liquidation by creditors.
