Fire guts Kutsaga offices | Business Times
BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimbabwe’s research body, Kutsaga Research, was gutted by fire last Friday which damaged the first floor of the administration wing.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and investigations are underway with the assistance of external experts, the company said in a statement.
“On Friday, July 28, 2023, around 12 p.m, Kutsaga Research encountered a fire incident at the main offices along Airport Ring Road in Harare. A portion of the administration wing of the building’s first floor was damaged by fire,” it said, adding that all staff members were evacuated safely and the fire department was responsive, preventing the fire from further damaging the rest of the administration wing.
“Please be advised that operations, provision of products and services remain unaffected,” reads part of the statement. Kutsaga was established in 1950 under the Tobacco Research Act (Chapter 18:21).
Its mandate is to direct, control and carry out tobacco research in Zimbabwe.
Last month, Kutsaga said it was developing alternative crops in response to threats from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to forbid the cultivation of the golden leaf, it has been learnt.
CEO Frank Magama said Zimbabwe takes seriously the WHO threats and has started venturing into alternative crops.
“We are alive to the potential ban of the golden leaf crop. We are not working on tobacco alone but we are working around tobacco and alternatives. We are carrying out a number of projects here which gives us a significant top line and the proceeds from various ventures will go into tobacco research itself or research into alternatives,” Magama said then.
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