The Fabric of Perseverance: A 64-Year-Old’s Story of Struggles and Redemption at David Whitehead Textiles

By Regina Pasipanodya

In one of Zimbabwe’s large fabric companies, lies the tale of a man whose life has been intricately woven with the threads of David Whitehead Textiles.
At the age of 22 in 1983, Thomas Mangosho (64) joined DW company as an apprentice, full of ambition and hope for the future. His dedication and hard work earned him permanent employment and steady promotions, cementing his place within the fabric of the company’s history.

However, fate has something else in place for him as the early 2000s brought in dark times for many employees including him as the company faced liquidation leading them into the abyss of financial despair.
“What followed were years of pain and suffering considering that the closure of the company means the end of my family’s bread and butter. I was now relying solely on my wife’s salary who by default had become our sole breadwinner; something that troubled me daily to live on my wife’s earnings despite being the head of the family,” Mangosho told Zimba Wave News

After nearly two decades of dormancy, with occasional operations, a glimmer of hope emerged under the stewardship of new investors, David Whitehead Textiles was revived.

“Although my retirement year is near, I am happy that at least I have witnessed this day when the company has been rejuvenated company and again be part of this new dawn,” said Mangosho.

However, as he approaches retirement, with just two years remaining, he dreams of a dignified send-off from the company that shaped his life. His prayer which is simple but profound is to leave with a legacy of honour under the new leadership, a fitting conclusion to a remarkable journey.

“During our dark days when we had to toil day and night without a salary and all I could think about was what will become of me when I retire. Having endured several years of suffering I never dreamt of a day when I would see this company in full operation again. I wish I could turn the hands of time and be able to serve David Whitehead for a while,” he added.

Mangosho is one of the workers who remained with the company when the company faced liquidation and a series of retrenchments over the years.
Dark days at David Whitehead

In the early 2000s, David Whitehead was saddled by debt and other challenges leading to the retrenchment of many and at one time the company was placed under judicial management with different investors coming forward but failed to bring it back to full operations.

However, under the Agric Value Chain Zimbabwe, the company was rejuvenated with the establishment of cutting-edge technology in both plants in Kadoma, and Chegutu.

David Whitehead Director, Rodrick Musiiwa highlighted that for the company to be where it is today has been long and a exciting journey.
“We are happy today that all are set up, they are all running and it’s been a big task on the part of the team and we are looking forward to the whole value chain being revitalised, being transformed and commercialisation of this operation.”
David Whitehead has managed to establish a full-fledged value chain that starts from the cotton farmer up until the value addition of cotton into fabric.

Currently, the company has hired plus or minus 400 people who are already employed directly between the two facilities in both Kadoma and Chegutu.
“As a group, we are invested in the entire value chain, right from supporting the inputs to farmers to ginning of the cotton itself,” said Musiiwa.

Speaking during the tour of David Whitehead facilities in Kadoma and Chegutu Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Honourable Vangelis Haritatos said David Whitehead is one of the giant companies in the country that used to employ a lot of people before it went through a tough patch leading to its closure in the 2000s.

“However, the company although not fully opened and we are very impressed and encouraged by what we have seen. We are seeing fully automatic plants that are taking technology from the best parts of the world, and bringing it right here in the heart of Zimbabwe in Kadoma. I never expected to see such a facility. You know, the level of expertise, even the staff, we see are second to none.”
“We are so happy to know that they have employed just a bit over 200 people at this site in Kadoma and we are very happy to know that most of the people that they employed are women and very young for that matter.”
The company can produce about 400 tonnes of yarn which is substantial.
“This company is both Zimbabwean as well as foreign but the investment is done in a very good position place and so we will try to encourage also the international community to come and also invest in Zimbabwe, in particular in the cotton chain, value chain, where we know that the benefits are massive. Right now we don’t produce a huge amount of cotton like we used to in the past. In the past, we got to about 360,000 tonnes of cotton.
So what this means is that we need to focus on raw materials, being able to grow the cotton and add value. If we value-add our cotton here in Zimbabwe and not export it we can be able to increase the value not twice, not three times but up to 15 times from raw cotton right until fabric and that is what we need to support as government.”

Zimbabwe’s textile industry has been taking a toll over the years with Cotton prices significantly losing value. However, the rejuvenation of companies like David Whitehead has the potential to revive and promote cotton farming in Zimbabwe once again as the government is optimistic that the value of cotton will increase.