Mill shuts down and agrees to pay severance package
08 Apr '08
1 min read
Ramatex Berhad, a Textile Company owned by Ma family of Malaysia, manufacturing apparel for companies like Adidas, Nike etc, has closed down its textile unit it had started in Namibia in 2002.
The government had provided for land and a built up factory building. The company had also managed to get subsidized power and water and a 99-year tax exemption on land use from the government.
It was an effort by the government to attract foreign investors willing to take advantage of the United State's African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) of 2000, which offers African countries easier access to US as well as other benefits and in turn benefit local economy.
The company had set up operations to take advantage of the AGOA, but with passage of time AGOA and other similar policies have been reviewed or expired.
The company attributes closing down of operations to financial losses. Ramatex has agreed to pay retrenched workers two months wages in addition to medical aid and outstanding leave.