By Mary Taruvinga

LAFARGE Cement Zimbabwe has been slapped with a $5,6 million lawsuits by another company, Bak Logistics Pvt Ltd t/a Premier Forklift for failing to pay for forklift services rendered since 2019.

The matter has spilled to the High Court after all efforts by Premier Forklift to get paid hit a brick wall.

According to court papers, parties entered into an agreement in 2019.

Premier Forklift was to provide 2.5 tonne size forklifts at Lafarge’s Manresa warehouse in Harare and a driver at US$11.00 per hour per machine and driver or operator for a period of one year beginning June 2019.

It was agreed that Lafarge would settle the invoice within 10 days, but the cement manufacturer failed to honour the promise.

Read court papers, “Sometime in July 2021, the parties signed a written addendum to the contract in terms of which they extended the duration of the contract to June 30, 2022. The defendant utilised the services between January 2021 and October 2021 and the Plaintiff raised invoices in the total sum of $5 633 551,” read the court papers.

“In breach of the service level agreement, the defendant failed to pay the agreed charges within 10 days of the invoices raised, as agreed between the parties. On November 3, 2021 and as a result of the breach, the plaintiff demanded that the defendant remedy its breach. Defendant failed, refused and or neglected to remedy its breach and therefore stands indebted to plaintiff…the outstanding sum…is incurring interest at the prescribed rate of five percent per annum calculated from date of demand, namely November 3, 2021, to the date of payment in full.”

Bak Logistics wants to be paid the full amount owing as well as the collection commission of $141 014 calculated in terms of the Law Society of Zimbabwe by-laws.

Premier Forklift also wants Lafarge to pay costs on a higher scale.