East African Business Week

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - An investor in a bio-diesel project in Kisarawe district south of Dar es Salaam city, has sent off nearly all of the 600 employees on an indefinite period after suspending the four-year old project.
The investor, company, Sun Biofuels Ltd,  which was allocated some 9,000 hectares of land in Kisarawe district, is said to be facing financial problems.   The UK-based firm that established the bio-fuel project in 2008 is being accused by local people for failing to fulfill his promises to the local area that comprises nine villages.
The chairman of the task force for the eleven villages, Ibrahim Mhaji said that the investor promised a number of things at the time of purchasing their land that included construction of roads, health centres, secondary and primary schools and clean water wells to all eleven villages. However, till the suspension notice early last month, nothing had been done,  said Mhaji.
  Employees and casual workers of Sun Biofuels told the East African Business Week that work at Kisarawe jatropha farm came to a halt when managers informed over 560 of 600 to collect their terminal benefits and leave the area till further notice.
  Some employees of the British firm said they heard reports that the project had been sold, but did not know who bought it.
  "We were called and served with termination letters last week without any reasons being given," said an employee who identified himself as Saidi Mohammed.
  Mohamed said the management promised to rehire some of them once the project gets restarts because apparently financial problems had forced the  management to suspend work at the site.
  When asked to comment, an official who was at the farm when the East African Business Week toured the farm declined to say anything claiming that he wasn't the company spokesman, and referred all clarifications concerning the project the owners of the project.