On Friday, 27 February, the Business Rescue Practitioners and their lawyers will approach the High Court in Durban to request the provisional liquidation of Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL), the company that is a crucial backbone of the rural economy in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
They will act in the knowledge that their own fees, racked up over 37-months of business rescue, are secure.
In contrast, thousands of direct jobs and a great many more livelihoods – for cane-growers, workers, truckers, suppliers – will be placed at critical risk, notably because of the potential shutdown of THL’s mills, without which the harvest due to begin around April will become virtually worthless.
We are on the brink of this…