A CONTAINER of imported raw materials has been impounded at a customs registered depot, putting the future of workers at a blanket manufacturing company in Atlantis under threat.
Ahlesa Blankets said the container with raw material that could see the manufacturing of a minimum of 23 000 duvets and/or comforter sets has been detained for more than five weeks.
ANC Member of the Provincial Legislature Cameron Dugmore has tried to intervene and escalated the matter to the leaders of the National Consumer Commission (NCC), the SA Revenue Service (Sars) and the Minister of Trade and Industry.
“They (factory owners) face a crisis … They have urgent orders to meet and their workers face short time because of the decision by the NCC to impound their raw material,” wrote Dugmore.
The factory’s general manager, Anil Senol, said due to the seizure, the business had not been able to accommodate all of its 70 permanent staff and already lost an order from retail customers.
Senol said storage and demurrage costs for the container being held at customs on behalf of the shipping line were also accumulating.
“The value of our container is decreasing with every passing hour. We are also constantly under financial pressure to accommodate day-to-day operational expenses.
“Our general stock has decreased tremendously and has pushed us towards borrowing funds just to maintain our operation and still supply the orders we need to deliver,” said Senol.
The NCC said it was enforcing the law in detaining the container.
The commission’s spokesperson, Phetho Ntaba, said the consignment did not comply with the legal requirements as it did not have a label detailing the country of origin, care labelling and fibre content.
“Where goods do not comply with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, the NCC enforces this requirement by either issuing a compliance notice which requires the importer to either return the goods back to the country of origin or destroy them at their own cost,” she said.
Ntaba said the reasons furnished by the company were not satisfactory.
However, Senol said: “We stand firmly against the NCC’s handling of this matter as the actions they are taking would normally be taken for finished goods that would be sold directly to the market, not raw materials that require to be manufactured into finished goods.“
The company lodged an appeal with the relevant authorities.
“While we wait for feedback on the outcome we can only try to minimise further losses from the current delay in the release of the container,” said Senol.
He said further losses were suffered as the business also supplied the informal wholesale market, a source of its weekly income.
Senol said until the mid-2000s, when demand for acrylic blankets decreased, the business employed more than 200 staff members.
Sars referred enquiries to the Department of Trade and Industry, which did not respond to queries.