Displaying items by tag: Kenya

Kenya: The head of sales and marketing at the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Francis Mwalili, has been fired. The EAPCC board accused him of inciting staff unrest and took advantage of his probationary contract to remove him. In addition EAPCC claims it had also received a letter in May 2011 from Mwalili's former employer, the Kenya Meat Commission, accusing him of extorting money from clients and potential customers.

Mwalili has denied the allegations accusing the EAPCC board of having a hidden agenda to sack him. He said his employment was on a five-year contract and he was not on any probation as alluded to in the termination letter. He is now calling on the relevant authorities to step in to avoid further disputes within the company, which have caused massive disruption since the start of 2012.

Kenya: Athi River Mining has posted a 17% rise in first quarter pretax profit to US$4.7m, helped by higher production and growing demand for cement for infrastructure projects.

Kenya's second-largest cement firm, the turnover of which jumped by 61% to US$32m for the quarter ending 31 March 2012, said it would recommend a share split of five for every one ordinary share and a name change to 'ARM Cement Limited' at an annual general meeting scheduled for 24 July 2012. The company also said in March 2012 that it planned to raise US$50m, equivalent to 13.6% of its total equity, through a six-year convertible loan from Africa Finance Corp to finance expansion of its clinker and cement plants later in 2012.

Kenya: Mark ole Karbolo has been reinstated as the Chairman of East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), two months after President Mwai Kibaki appointed Isaac ole Mapenay to replace him.

High Court Judge Mohammed Warsame ruled that the government did not follow procedure in ejecting Karbolo from EAPCC. Karbolo moved to court immediately when he was fired to challenge his sacking by the president in an announcement published on 10 February 2012.

Karbolo argued before Justice Warsame that there had been concerted effort by the government to remove him from the board without following the law. Karbolo had been dogged by allegations of mismanagement and malpractice that saw him and the entire board suspended by acting Industrialisation Minister Amason Kingi.

The directors had challenged their suspension and were reinstated by the courts. The High Court decision now sets the stage for yet another round of court room battles pitting the Judiciary against the Executive.

Kenya: The Maasai Council of Elders (MCE) has assured cement manufacturing companies in Athi River of their willingness to allow them get raw materials from Kajiado county, following disputes over land. MCE spokesman, William Kirrinkai, gave the assurance after a meeting of stakeholders and representatives of the five cement manufacturers at Nkurrunka area in Kitengela.

Kirrinkai is also the treasurer of the recently-formed special council mediator group to negotiate the re-opening of all the mines that had been closed over alleged misunderstandings between the locals and the companies. He was quick to point out that earlier demands made by the MCE still stand.

The elders had given an ultimatum to the companies to look again at their social corporate responsibilities and consider some of the requirements of the Maasai community. Some of the demands were the implementation of employment quota for Maasai young graduates, two directorial positions in all of the companies, building of health centres in all the mining areas, building of tarmac roads in areas leading to the mines and helping members of the community pay school fees for their children.

During a meeting on the matter at Kitengela on 27 February 2012, the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) and Athi River Mining Cement (ARMC) representatives requested to be given time to consider the demands. Kirrinkai, who attended the meeting, agreed with the then EAPCC chairman, Mark Karbolo, and ARMC's representative Peter Danga to meet again on 10 March 2012 to review the matter.

Kirrinkai separately addressed more than 2000 members of the local Maasais and other communities in Kajiado County, saying that local and non-locals living in the region have a right to all the available resources.

Kenya: Profits at Bamburi Cement rose by 12% in 2011 backed by stronger revenues from the domestic market and its newly-expanded Ugandan subsidiary. The company earned a pre-tax profit of US$102m in 2011 compared to US$91m in 2010. The group's turnover increased by 28% to US$433m in 2011 from US$338m in 2010. Given pricing pressure in Kenya, Bamburi's main market, the better than expected revenue growth was mainly supported by increased volume sales from the company's Ugandan subsidiary, which was expanded in the last quarter of 2010.

"2011 was characterised by stable domestic prices and better export prices, due to the appreciation of the US dollar,"said Hussein Mansi, Bamburi's managing director. However, the company, like many others worldwide, suffered from a jump in power costs. For this reason, the company is still cautious regarding the local and global macroeconomic environment for 2012. "The uncertain political environment in Kenya continues to make visibility difficult," said Mansi.

Kenya: All the 1200 permanent employees of the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) have reported to work, formally ending a two-week strike. The move follows reports of strong-arm tactics forcing employees to work.

It is estimated that the company lost US$9m during the strike period after union members demanded the resignation of two directors: board chairman Mark Karbolo and managing director Kephar Tande. The government had suspended the duo alongside six other board members over alleged mismanagement.

The workers went on strike after the government installed the same directors after a landmark court ruling ordering them to return to office. Following the ruling, Tande and Karbolo were instructed to open up the plant and normalise operations. Staff refused to work under the two top officials.

Tande said all the staff had resumed work and that money would not be deducted from their January salaries for the days they were on strike. "At least we have managed to bring all the staff on board and what remains now is the mammoth task of talking to Maasai elders from Kajiado county who had ordered the closure of all mines for gypsum, limestone and pozzolana that are used to manufacture cement," said Tande. The Maasai elders ordered all the mines closed and gave the government an ultimatum to return the suspended directors whom they claimed had been "victimised unnecessarily."

The return occurs after employees complained that armed police officers had forced them to work at gunpoint. Raising their concerns in court, a representative for some 778 employees told Justice Cecilia Githua that General Service Unit officers were forcibly removing them from their homes and taking them to the plant to work, even at night.

Kenya: A court has ordered the government to re-open the East Africa Portland Cement Co plant and provide security to ensure operations at the site. Justice Mohamed Warsame directed Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere, Rift Valley police boss and his Eastern Province counterpart to ensure adequate security.

The judge said the interest of the company must come first by safeguarding the interests of the public and shareholders. The judge warned that any politicians that interfered in the affairs of the company would be cited for contempt of court. He said that if the directors were not ready to reopen the company, he would 'fire' them and appoint an interim board.

"We must look at the bigger picture and how we can move this company forward and save it from being run down. The court cannot let it go on," he said.

The judge dismissed allegations that politicians incited workers and warned that any employee who failed to report to work should be sacked for absconding duty. He said that the ethnic direction the company was taking was wrong adding that, "we cannot address the grievances of the Kamba and Maasai, but the company has to operate."

Kenya: The activism of local Massai groups and environmental NGOs is preventing the National Cement Company from installing its clinker plant south of Nairobi.

Narendra Raval, head of the National Cement Company Ltd (NCC), known as 'Guru', is facing stiff resistance to installing a clinker plant south of Nairobi and operating limestone quarries. His company has acquired land from the local county council to build its second cement plant in the country, but environmental NGOs are opposed to this project. Massai groups are doing likewise, saying in their case, that the land belongs to them. The strongest resistance comes from state-owned Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), which argues that the land should remain a migration corridor for wildlife between the national parks of Amboseli and Nairobi.

A subsidiary of the Devki Group (which is also the parent of DevkiSteel Mills), NCC argues its case by promising to reserve 200 new jobs for Massai youth.

Kenya: Attempts by the suspended East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) managing director, Kephar Tande, to serve the management with court orders re-instating him ended in chaos yesterday when more than 1000 workers blocked him and his police escort as he attempted to leave the plant. One of the protesting workers was shot in the arm by a security officer at the plant who had wrestled a rifle from a nearby police officer. Following this the staff set fire to two vehicles and completely sealed the entries to the company premises.

Riot police used tear gas as workers shouted that they would only allow the police to escort Tande 'over their dead bodies.' The injured employee was given first aid at the company hospital and was later transferred to Mater Hospital in Nairobi.

Youth Affairs Assistant Minister Wavinya Ndeti had earlier addressed the staff at the site and appealed to them to return to work. Ndeti told the workers that she had attended a meeting with the prime minister, Raila Odinga, and three senior ministers on 15 January 2012, which had resolved that the entire board of EAPCC should be fired. "The Prime Minister was in agreement with us that the entire board of directors will have to go home," she said. "From next week you will be hearing good news of new board members," she said.

On 17 January 2012 Kenya's Capital Market Authority (CMA) imposed a 60-day trading ban on the already suspended shares of EAPCC to protect investors from the dispute.

Kenya: Court papers have started to reveal why the Kenyan government may have dismissed the directors of the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) on 22 December 2011. The papers allege that the board spent US$11m on goods without following competitive bidding and in another instance overruled the tender committee to vary the terms of a clinker contract.

"Those purchases were made by direct procurement or restricted tendering," an affidavit by acting Industrialisation Minister Amason Kingi said. "These processes were not authorised by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority."

According to the affidavit, the irregular purchases were made between 15 August 2011 and 30 November 2011. Mr Kingi said that the Kenya National Audit Office had raised a query over the expenditure of US$140,000 that was overpaid to the chairman, Mark ole Karbolo, and the suspended directors.

The affidavit also said that the board changed the terms of a contract to supply 140,000t of clinker after the supplier, Sanghi Industrial, requested to increase the price after supplying only 67,000t. After the company's tender committee rejected the increase, the board granted the variation which ended up costing the company US$850,000.

"The suspended board overruled the tender committee and awarded a price increase for the delivered products as well as for further products to be delivered," said Kingi. The government said that it could not reveal more without jeopardising a forensic audit currently under way.

The ousted directors have previously blamed their removal from office on a multi-million dollar tender that the government wanted swayed in favour of a local supplier. They said that the award of the kiln upgrade contract to South Korean firm, Posco Plantec, in late November 2011 had upset government officials who wanted the tender given to construction firm H Young for US$43m.

EAPCC's directors settled on Posco Plantec on the strength of its financial bid of US$21m. H Young, however, had a superior technical bid. Karbolo and three other directors, Titus Naikuni, Hamish Keith and chief executive Kephar Tande, are seeking to reverse the minister's decision, arguing that EAPCC is not a state-controlled company.