HCAZ implores government to cut licence fees
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Tue 13 Dec. 2011, 11:59 CAT
HOTEL and Catering Association of Zambia Copperbelt region chairperson Kenneth Mulalami has appealed to local government and environmental protection minister Professor Nkandu Luo to reduce business licence fees for hotels and guesthouses.
The Rupiah Banda government in July this year instructed all councils to increase business licence fees for hotels and guesthouses from K750,000 to K5 million. In an interview, Mulalami said the increment was not fair.
He said it was not in order for big hotels and small guesthouses to be paying the same amount of money in licence fees.
Mulalami said the new licence fee had disturbed many businesses as many guesthouses had stopped operating.
He asked Prof Luo to consider reducing the fee to a reasonable amount that everyone would be able to afford.
"Hotel and guesthouses are not supposed to pay the same amount. Guesthouses should pay a less amount, but for starters, the minister should give us a general reduction. This issue should be resolved before many guesthouses stop running," said Mulalami.
Labels: CATERING, LICENSES, NKANDU LUO, TOURISM
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Southern Sun workers accuse manager of racism
By Joseph Mwenda
Fri 28 Oct. 2011, 08:40 CAT
EMPLOYEES and hotel guests at Southern Sun Ridgway Hotel in Lusaka have complained of alleged racial harassment and intimidation from the general manager Adrian Penny. But workers union representative Jacob Ngulube encouraged workers to follow the right procedure for airing grievances.
Impeccable sources within the hotel told The Post that the said senior manager had been harassing employees and some black guests at the hotel. But Penny dispelled the accusation, saying the workers hate him because he pushes them to work according to internationally accepted standards.
Meanwhile, a former guest confirmed being ill-treated during his stay at the four-star hotel.
A source at the hotel revealed that a senior chef was recently harassed in full view of other hotel staff and guests for preparing a wrong menu for one of the white guests.
"The guest ordered some food through the waiter and when her order was brought, she complained that it was not what she ordered. At that point the general manager heard her complain and he came, grabbed the plate with the food and went to splash it on the face of the chef after shouting at her," said the source.
"He always issues derogatory remarks at us, telling us that as Zambians we are very dull and docile people who need somebody to think for us."
But Penny said he pushes the workers to work according to internationally accepted standards.
"Our clientele coming into this hotel is about 40 per cent Zambian and 60 per cent international. I am a strict manager when it comes to the standards of the hotel. The only people who are complaining about me are the people who are not doing their job and I am pushing them to come to standard," Penny said.
[If they're not doing their job, why aren't they fired, Adrian? - MrK]
He said he socialises with all the guests as the general manager of the hotel.
"I greet all the guests, I speak to everybody without discrimination. But when it comes to staff, we have to provide an international standard. What is acceptable to the average Zambian is not acceptable to an average international traveller. We can't say here is a guest who says 'can I have a beer' and you ‘snoop' around. It's got to be snappy and it's got to be quick. So in that circumstance, yes I will say we go to provide an international standard because the Zambian standard is not sufficient," he said.
"It's like in the army; you can't complain about the sergeant because that training will one day save your life. I would rather dress somebody down than put something in writing to them and have the whole disciplinary procedure that can result into them losing their job."
Penny said he had worked in eight African countries and had no record of being a racist.
But a former guest at the hotel who was visiting from the Copperbelt said he was victimised once.
"I was invited for a game of squash at a venue just next to the hotel. I got a bathing towel and cleared the linen with the reception but as I was leaving the building, the general manager stopped me and accused me of stealing the towel. He shouted at me from outside and everybody was watching. It was so embarrassing," the victim narrated.
But Penny said he would have treated any other guest the same way.
"I know that gentleman from BP. He pulled out his vehicle, ran into the hotel gym jumped into his vehicle and was about to depart. I said, 'excuse me, this is hotel property'. Staying in the hotel gives you certain rights but it does not give you the right to remove property from the hotel. That was tantamount to theft. If that was a muzungu, or Indian or Eskimo, I would have reacted in the same way," said Penny.
He later solicited for random interviews with hotel staff who ironically confirmed the victimisation.
"He runs the hotel like it's a military academy. Besides that we get paid K611, 000 as basic salary without service charge allowances and before tax," said one housekeeper.
But Ngulube said no employee at Southern Sun had ever complained to the union about Penny's alleged behaviour.
"As far as I am concerned, no one has come to complain about Mr Penny. There is a way which we use to resolve such cases like in the past some workers who were dismissed have been reinstated after discussing the matter with Mr Penny himself," he said.
Ngulube assured the workers that the union would protect them if they reported abuses using the right channels.
Labels: CATERING, LABOUR, MANAGEMENT, RACISM
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From marriage partners to business partners - a couple who made African food a commercial success
Lloyd and Adwoa Mensah-Hagan are an inspirational couple who demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit that has motivated many Africans in the UK to set up in business with their ‘other half.’
Deborah Gabriel
The idea for Jollof Pot, a catering company specialising in food from Ghana came about from the fact that both Adwoa and I really enjoy hosting dinner parties.
Lloyd and Adwoa Mensah-Hagan are an inspirational couple who demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit that has motivated many Africans in the UK to set up in business with their ‘other half.’
Aged just 28 and 29, Lloyd and Adwoa, who recently appeared on the BBC2 show The Restaurant are from Romford in East London and run a catering company called The Jollof Pot, in Hackney. The couple, who are enjoying their own wedded bliss cater for weddings, aniversaries, private parties, birthdays and corporate functions. Adwoa is a self-taught chef who started cooking aged eight. She was brought up on traditional Ghanaian food and East African food and lived in Uganda and Kenya for 10 years with her parents when her father was stationed there.
Lloyd was brought up on a mixture of traditional Ghanaian food and English food. He was born in London and would eat English food at school and Ghanaian food at home. A favourite dish is his mum’s ampesi (a mix of boiled yam, plantain and sweet potato) with grilled red snapper and red stew. The couple have catered for some very high profile customers including TV presenter, June Sarpong, Joe Wright, soul singer Alexander O’Neal and DJ Lisa I’Anson, but like most successful businesses, this has culminated from hard work, dedication and destermination.
Lloyd told Black Enterprise: “The idea for Jollof Pot, a catering company specialising in food from Ghana came about from the fact that both Adwoa and I really enjoy hosting dinner parties. Both Adwoa and myself are of Ghanaian descent, so we had the idea of starting the first mainstream Ghanaian restaurant.” However, when the couple realised the costs involved they decided to put the idea aside, until they eventually began with a market stall in Broadway Market, Hackney, where they sold stews served with plain or Jollof rice.
“The early days were quite challenging as Ghanaian food is not particularly popular, so people were quite reluctant to give it a try,” Lloyd explained. “We had to make an extra effort with our marketing - handing out flyers and offering free samples. This eventually got people to try the food.” Fortunately, most people became repeat customers after their first taste of the food. Keeping the business growing was hard work, as both Lloyd and Adwoa were working full time in IT jobs, but they finally took the plunge after deciding that the only way to grow the business was to devote more time to the project. Lloyd quit his job and the couple opened a second stall at Exmouth Market in Islington and then set about looking for commercial premises.
Lloyd told Black Enterprise: “The business has gone from strength to strength and we now have a third site in Portobello Market and a catering business and are now looking forward to opening our restaurant next year.”
Labels: CATERING, GHANA, RESTAURANTS
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