By Admore Marambanyika 

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe chapter has allayed fears of job losses after its parent company filed for liquidation in South Africa.

Tongaat Hulett Limited, the South African parent company applied for provisional liquidation after its business rescue plan collapsed, raising uncertainty over the future of the regional sugar group.

 In 2025, Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe laid off 1,000 workers as part of cost-cutting measures aimed at surviving persistent currency instability and inflationary pressures, citing huge labour and fertiliser costs, and currency losses linked to the previous volatile exchange rate, as major challenges.

In a statement issued by Tongaat Hulett’s head of corporate and industry affairs Dr Dahlia Garwe,  the company said; “We recognise that the news of Tongaat Hulett Limited’s (THL) liquidation in South Africa may cause concern about our operations in Zimbabwe. We want to provide clarity and assurance.”

“The joint  Business Rescue Practioners of Tongaat Hullett Private limited applied to the High Court of South Africa for an order discontinuing the company’s business rescuer proceedings and placing the  THL –South Africa  operations into provisional liquidation. This decision follows the business rescue plan no longer implementable as a result of the lapsing of the sale agreement with Vision Sugar.”   

“The developments in South Africa do not involve our Zimbabwean operations which functions as independent legal entities. With separate management, finance and operations. Tringale Limited and Hippo Valley Estates Limited remain financially robust, operationally sound and fully committed to all the contractual obligations. Production continues normally and we reaffirm our commitment to Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector and communities,” reads the statement.  

Tongaat operates two sugar mills in Zimbabwe with a combined crushing capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of sugar cane annually.

Tongaat Hulett was placed under business rescue on 27 October 2022. A business rescue plan proposed by Vision was approved by the required majority of creditors on 11 January 2024.

The plan envisaged Vision acquiring the historic lender group’s claims and implementing either a debt-to-equity conversion or, failing that, a series of asset sale transactions.

After shareholders did not support the debt-to-equity conversion, the plan shifted to the implementation of sale agreements under which Vision would acquire the company’s operating assets and certain regional investments, while assuming responsibility for stabilising and funding the business.

The BRPs said the sale agreements have now lapsed after Vision declined to grant an extension, rendering the business rescue plan incapable of implementation. “In accordance with section 141(2)(a) of the Companies Act, the BRPs have therefore concluded that there is no longer a reasonable prospect of rescuing the Company. Consequently, on 12 February 2026, the BRPs filed an application in court for the provisional liquidation of the Company,” the company stated.