ZIMBABWE’S largest ethanol producer, Green Fuel, retrenched a significant number of employees in July due to a decline in blended fuel sales, the Zimbabwe Independent has learned.
The government recently banned the sale of unleaded fuel, triggering claims that the decision was designed to protect Green Fuel’s operations, which employs approximately 3 000 workers.
This ban has sparked outrage among a group of oil importers — Direct Fuel Import (DFI).
Green Fuel is co-owned by the state-run Agricultural Rural Development Authority (Arda) and businessman Billy Rautenbach.
Before the ban, which was formalised through Statutory Instrument (SI) 150 of 2024, sources had indicated that more job cuts were imminent at Green Fuel.
The company, however, declined to provide details on the number of workers affected by the job cuts.
“Right now, things are really bad for the company,” the source, who spoke before the unleaded fuel ban, said.
We are not sure how it is going to end. A sizeable number of workers were retrenched, and from the look of things, we are probably going to see more workers going home. With the kind of sales, things are going to be bad for the company.
In the first half of 2024, Zimbabwe imported fuels worth US$745,5 million, accounting for 18% of foreign payments, according to data from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.