Maseru – The owner of Trustworthy Enterprises, which is commonly known as Sky Country Foods, that was raided by the Ministry of Trade in conjunction with Maseru City Council (MCC) for selling rotten meat Mr. Cheng Jing Song says it is not his fault or problem that people think his store is a Sky Country Franchise.
business
May 18, 2018
2 min read
Businessman gets cocky about Sky Country issue
During an interview on Tuesday, he said he never claimed to operate a Sky Country Franchise, but he put a sticker on the front of his store just to advertise to notify the public that his store sells Sky Country products. He said he was aware that people think Sky Country is the name of his chain stores, most of which are situated in Maseru, but it is not his problem or his fault that people misunderstand the advertisement.
Responding to why he is not displaying the name “Trustworthy Enterprises” on the front of the store building, he cited that the name is there, but it is not his problem that his customers decide not to notice it.
He however promised to put the name up soon where it is clearly visible, but could not say how soon as his cellular phone went off during the interview. Before the conversation cut abruptly, he said his tax payment was up to date, but a tax clearance certificate that the reporter saw displayed on the wall of one of the stores expired on May 20, 2016. Cheng claims to renew the licence every six months.
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It has been alleged that employees of the Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) have become lenient to Chinese nationals in terms of paying of tax. These allegations stated that Chinese business people bribe LRA staff to turn a blind eye to their tax evasion, and then come back in a few months’ time to collect bribes again.
In his response to these allegations, the LRA Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mr. Pheelo Mphana said there are a number of reasons for LRA employees to visit businesses, and expired certificates do not necessarily mean the business owe is not paying tax. He also said it is not mandatory that an updated certificate should be displayed in the shop. He however differed with Chen, saying the large scale certificate is renewable after a period of a year not three or six months. Two days back Sky Country South Africa released a statement distancing itself from these stores, saying it is incorrectly, as reported in the media, that Sky Country shops in Lesotho were closed due to health safety reasons.
The statement went on to say that the stores in question are owned by Shake Universary International and a man called Cheng Jing Song, but they became commonly known with this name since the majority of the products they sell are from Sky Country.
After the raid last Wednesday, Cheng approached the courts and lodged a case against the Ministry of Trade as the first respondent and MCC as the second. The case will be heard on May 21. Lena
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