The Mozambican government is looking for solutions to reopen Textáfrica do Chimoio, a textile company that has been closed for more than 25 years, leading to more than 3,000 workers losing their jobs, the Mozambican prime minister announced on a visit to Manica province.

Carlos Agostinho do Rosário said he had visited the factory’s premises at the request of the President of the Republic, in order to meet with the provincial government, managers, and others involved in the process. “To understand the situation and take whatever measures seem pertinent with a view to reanimating the sleeping monster, in the sense that it comes to labor and employment,” he said.

The meeting, which included the Institute for State Participation Management (Igepe), “marks the beginning of a process that will allow us to see what is the solution to be adopted to get the factory to resume work,” said the prime minister, cited by Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias.

Textáfrica closed its doors more than 25 years ago and, in order to wind up the company and the pay compensation to the workers, the board used the Millenium bim bank for a US$1.1 million loan, using the houses the company owned in neighbourhoods A and B of the city of Chimoio as collateral.

The bank threatened to evict the workers and sell the houses and other assets of the company as a way to recover the loan. Following this threat, the government decided to intervene in order to find a negotiated solution to ensure that the bank received the money and the company would start operating again. (macauhub)