The highly anticipated release of Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue plan has been delayed by a month to February 28.

Current CEO of the company, Gavin Hudson, has also resigned and will leave office on the same day.

As ongoing business rescue operations of the sugar giant are being undertaken, the business plan was expected to provide clarity and allay public doubts over the future of the company.

But after a majority of creditors agreed to a request for postponement, the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) have been given another month to figure out “complex work streams” in the process.

“The BRPs confirmed in December 2022 that the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) has advanced post commencement finance to fund the working capital requirements and off-crop maintenance.

“This key step in the business rescue process allows the BRPs to focus on the next phase of the business rescue proceedings aimed at achieving successful business rescues for Tongaat Hulett and its underlying businesses,” said BRP spokesperson, Heidi Geldenhuys.

Hudson has been in charge of the company since 2019, following the discovery of a raft of accounting irregularities which led to the resignation of much of the previous board of directors.

He presided over a debt reduction of R6.5-billion, while “turning around governance and operational processes” within the company.

“Unfortunately, these turnaround efforts were hampered by COVID-19, civil unrest and floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the company commenced business rescue proceedings in October 2022,” said Geldenhuys.

Geldenhuys confirmed that his core team of executives would stay on, while wishing him well on behalf of the BRPs.

The national sugar industry remains in a tenuous position, fighting the sugar tax which industry stakeholders have called a destructive force and facing huge monetary loss potential as loadshedding continues.

Per data collected by the South African Canegrowers Association, the sugar tax could lead to the loss of a further 15 984 jobs, on top of the 16 000 job losses it says the tax has already caused.

Compounding the pinch for farmers, figures released by SA Canegrowers last week estimate a loadshedding cost of R723-million for the South African sugar industry in 2023.

It remains an uncertain future for Tongaat Hulett and its suppliers who will surely be waiting with bated breath for the updated business plan release.

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