A black female-owned company is suing the country’s wealthiest man, Johann Rupert’s firm for R29-million over an abrupt termination of a business contract.
Zandile Chiwanza’s company, Zaza Gas, hauled Remgro’s subsidiary Air Products, which manufactures, supplies and distributes various industrial and speciality gas products to the Southern African region, to court after it terminated its contract.
Largest gas producer in southern Africa
Air Products, the largest producer of industrial gases in southern Africa, contributes R476-million towards Remgro’s headline earnings, according to the company’s 2023 annual financial results.
The gas behemoth is worth about R10-billion.
Sunday World understands that Air Products terminated the Zaza Gas contract following allegations of theft.
However, Chiwanza has hit back, saying the allegations are unfounded.
Chiwanza in September 2018 scored the lucrative seven-year contract to start distributing and selling gas at a price set by Air Products from October 1, 2018.
Chiwanza is demanding R29-million for the loss of profits her company would have earned had the principal agreement run its course to October 2025.
She said R5-million would be for reputational damage.
On March 18, Air Products lawyers wrote to Zaza Gas’s legal representatives accusing Zaza Gas of stealing from them, saying the conduct constituted a repudiation of the principal agreement.
But Chiwanza denied both the theft and repudiating the principal agreement.
“The attempt at termination by the defendant … unequivocally shows that the defendant doesn’t deem itself bound to the distributor agreement and that it will no longer perform under the distributor agreement,” Zaza Gas’s lawyers wrote in response.
Distributing falsehoods
Chiwanza accused Air Products of defaming her company by distributing falsehoods by
advising clients of Zaza Gas and the gas community at large that the relationship between both companies has been terminated.
She said it was defamatory for Air Products to attribute the termination to fraud and theft allegedly committed by Zaza Gas.
“[Air Products] knows the allegations of theft/fraud to be false … notwithstanding the falseness of the allegation, continued to distribute the falsehoods about [Zaza Gas] with the intent to damage its reputation,” Chiwanza’s lawyers wrote.
Chiwanza told Sunday World that it took eight months for Air Products to identify the alleged stolen material.
“Why were Air Products dispatchers, security guards and our driver not arrested if they were involved in the theft? Why were we not consulted at the time of the incident?”
Chiwanza said the legal costs to fight the firm of Herculean proportions have taken a great financial toll on her family, pleading for lawyers to assist pro-bono.
Zaza had 5 000 customers
Zaza Gas, which employed 40 people, generated revenue of between R4.5-million and R6-million a month and had over 5 000 customers.
According to court documents, the contract between Zaza Gas and Air Products was supposed to remain in force for the initial seven-year term and “continue thereafter until terminated by one party giving the other 12 months’ notice in writing, which notice will commence on the … anniversary of the commencement date”.
Responding to our query, Air Products told Sunday World that: “The matter you refer to is currently the subject of ongoing litigation between Air Products and Zaza Gas.
“Air Products is confident that it will be successful with this litigation, but it does limit our ability to respond to your query in any degree of detail.
“That said, we wish to place on record that Air Products respects and values its contractual relationships with all partners and stakeholders and is committed to the lawful and ethical enforcement of its rights in this regard.
“We do not practise or tolerate any form of unfair discrimination. We deny that our conduct and policies are in any way contradictory to these values in any of our dealings, including those with Zaza Gas,” said Air Products.
Dishonesty is a disease it doesn’t go it grows. In all honesty having lost with dishonest practices means its over. The guilty party now looking for money for being dishonest. Sad reality in this day and age.
I am sure they have done their investigation already. There is no obligation towards the other party to inform them about it.
Breach of contract terms allow the affected party to cancel the contract with immediate effect.
Sorry Yumna, my reply was meant for Ismael
From what I have seen and heard from tiktok , this lady was selling her business to Rupert’s company.
The allegations are against her driver and not herself as the sole director.
Why would you punish other employees, for the action of one employee.
Again Sanette a black woman is guilty until proven innocent. Just for a second imagine if she was a different skin colour.
For a company contributing 6mil a month to you,you can’t make a call to hear the other side of the story, unless you have already concluded on getting rid of your only black female distributor.
Why not provide the investigation report, if it’s not fabricated?
From tiktok acc zaza_gaspro, there is a case of racial discrimination against the Rupert’s company amongst other things
Imagine this not being a racial issue…
Simply someone stealing from someone else who then decides “I don’t want to deal with your company anymore”…Now that stealing someone could be an employee of the company, hell it could be a group of employees from both companies. The fact remains – nobody wants to deal with thieves…I simple truth that alludes Africa – whether it is in Zimbabwe, the EFF or this simple matter. Nobody wants to deal with thieves and therefor terminates relationships and deals….
So, nobody is guilty until proven innocent….nobody is accusing her of anything. She is responsible for what her employees are doing while on the job, now she has to deal with the consequences of them stealing something, somewhere from someone… Now chances are close to zero that a big company won’t have the systems, paperwork and even CCTV in place to proof the crime…
Storm in a tea cup – simply someone learning that honesty is the best policy.
1. You have mentioned an important piece called evidence.
2. If you believe you have been wronged do you then also go and violate rules and laws. I believe it is your right to want to supply someone or not, but for you to go and use your dominant position to circumvent a woman, feels like rape and uncompetitive behavior. Refusal to supply is your right but to falsely accuse someone of theft in order to avoid paying for a customer list submitted in good faith does feel like rape.
Just asking, what happens if the employee is found not guilty? What happens if there is no evidence of theft? What if the contract is clear on a notice period of termination. What if the contract is clear on time-frame for the manufacture to approach a distributors customers and the manufacture did not follow its on contract guidelines.What if this lady was indeed targeted because of her race and gender. What if there is more to this story than meets the eye. What if there was a plot by the lady’s driver to cause problems for the employer. What if there was a plot by Rupert’s staff to humiliate Rupert in public.
Just asking. Someone somewhere is not being smart. It is never smart to underestimate your opponent. Goliath underestimated David and Goliath fell face down at the end smitten by a round stone.
I dint know the facts of this case but it’s always sad that workers , not all them ,are usually I cahoots with dispatchers of the service provider and receivers. . They commit the crime without thinking of the affect on both the companies they work for as well as the other workers not involved in the dishonesty. No one wins.
Less details about merits and theft happened, there will more in court. And the 12 months notice conditions? Workers not involved in dishonesty indeed are caught in the fishing net- reputation damage?
The agreement should be terminated only when a through investigation has been carried out. The stealing maybe from unscrupulous staff from both sides.
I am sure they have done their investigation already. There is no obligation towards the other party to inform them about it.
Breach of contract terms allow the affected party to cancel the contract with immediate effect.
I agree with you Danette …Johann Rupert and his companies are too big and massive to allow them to get into a scandal or gossip scenario…they would have done their investigations for sure before going public with allegations
I agree with Ismael
Yet we expect politicians to step down until cleared…
Politicians don’t run a business, they precide over the affairs and concerns of citizens at large. Don’t be narrow minded, politics are not a profit generating organization. Unless u need to enlighten us otherwise.
SUE him properly if you have all your facts straight, contact me on 0832795943, we can find a way to assist in the conclusion of the law suit subject to you fulfilling your end of the bargain.
So, the article is more about the fact that she’s a black female, rather than an entrepreneur…
I saw the tiktok video, she was the only black female distributor for air products amongst over 150 white male distributors. So It is important to note her skin color.
The important question is that, are there no other white distributors’ employees who were dishonest and what happened to their master’s businesses.
I also understand that, before canceling her contract, they went to her customers advising them to buy from their subsidiary. The tiktok acc has more information. Zaza_gaspro
My verdict is that clearly Black run businesses or Black employees are not above board and there to line their pockets. Sad in this 🌈 nation. I worked in several large corporates i know all this.