Peoples Trading Centre (PTC) management has asked Press Corporation plc and Tafika Holdings Limited to vary the sale and purchase agreement of the franchise to pave the way for staff contracts termination.
PTC chief executive officer Ferdinand Mchacha has made the proposition in a discussion paper dated July 4 2022 in which he says staff should be given their terminal benefits.
Reads part of the discussion paper: “After termination of the contracts, if Tafika Holdings Limited wants to proceed with the PTC business, it must do fresh recruitments.”
Conglomerate Press Corporation plc early this year disposed of its 100 percent stake in the struggling retail chain store to Tafika Holdings Limited.
As part of the transaction, Press Corporation took over K12.5 billion of the liabilities while Tafika Holdings Limited inherited about K6 billion of the debts in lieu of the purchase price.
But Tafika Holdings Limited chairperson and chief executive officer Arson Malola told The Nation edition on Monday, June 4 2022, that they are unable to invest in the franchise and strategically change the business because they were waiting for a nod from the market regulator.
The development has since led to the closing down of the franchise shops in the country and employees have been pressing PTC management to give them an explanation, aside from holding demonstrations outside PTC headquarters in Blantyre.
But in the discussion paper, Mchacha said Press Corporation plc and Tafika Holdings Limited must not underestimate the pain that the PTC employees are going through.
He said the majority of the 1 000 PTC staff do not have savings that can take them 10 days beyond payday, coupled with the current tough economic challenges.
“The development is, therefore, causing unmeasurable pain on the staff and their dependents. PTC management is of the view that Press Corporation plc and Tafika Holdings must vary the sale and purchase agreement to allow the staff contracts termination and payment of their terminal benefits.”
But in an e-mail response this week, Malola said following the approval of the sale of PTC by the Competition and Fair Trading Commission on May 30 2022, his company began the settling of debts it took over as the purchase price.
He said: “The business itself was and still is management-heavy with a very high salary bill. In its current state, the business is unfortunately not sustainable, especially with the uncaring culture from a section of the workforce.”
Press Corporation plc acting chief executive officer Lyton Chithambo told The Nation on Monday that the conglomerate honoured its part and that the deal was finalised.
In the past 20 years, PTC has been closing down stores from over 135 nationwide to 20 confined in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Zomba.
Of the 20 shops operating under the brand names of Spar, People’s Metro, People’s Express and Food Lovers Market, seven have since had power disconnected by Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi due to non-payment of bills.
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