Staff exodus rocks Quality Chemicals, CEO on spot

There is unease and uncertainty at Quality Chemical Industries Limited (Qcil) formerly Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (CiplaQCIL) over the modus operandi of the CEO Ajay Kumar Pal.

Allegations are that he is practicing systematic discrimination which has led to senior personnel and others leaving the company.

Morale is at its lowest point.

Quality Chemicals is a listed company on Uganda Stock exchange.

There are allegations that he prefers to work with fellow Indians at the drug firm, something that has led to protests from the rest of the employees.

That he has continued to fix them in key positions with huge pay “offered in an irregular manner”, insider sources say.

It is further alleged that most of these “irregularly” recruited Indians as expatriates are closely related to the CEO.

Some local firms and suppliers are also up in arms protesting against the CEO’s alleged irregular practices of favoring Indian service providers whenever an opportunity comes up.

We are told soon, the remaining staff are in the process of officially laying down tools to show their discomfort with the CEO.

Ajay Kumar Pal took over from Nevin Bradford who retired in 2021.

He joined CiplaQCIL in 2020 first as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, he was Senior Director: Head of Manufacturing Cipla South Africa. He holds a Master of Business Administration in Management and Leadership from Nelson Mandela University – South Africa and a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) – India.

Cipla Quality Chemical Industries is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products with a focus on antiretrovirals, artemisinin-based combination therapies and hepatitis B drugs. It is also a distributor of other medical products and has licences to operate in 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The company currently exports its products to 13 countries in Africa and two in south-east Asia.

Africa Capitalworks acquired a 51.18 per cent stake in the pharmaceutical company from the Indian Group. Cipla Quality Chemicals Limited was established in 2005 as a joint venture between Cipla Limited and Quality Chemicals Limited, a drug importer and distributor founded in 1997 by four Ugandan businessmen and two foreign partners.

Cipla acquired a majority stake in the company on 20 November 2013, equivalent to 62.3 per cent of the company’s shares. This was reduced to 51.18 per cent when the company went public on the Uganda Securities Exchange in September 2018.

Africa Capitalworks SSA 3 is a holding vehicle set up by Africa Capitalworks Holdings to manage its investment in the drugmaker. The parent company is registered in Mauritius and provides equity capital and “complementary skills” to “sub-Saharan mid-market companies in strategically selected selectors that offer the potential to be transformed into local and regional industry champions.”

Africa Capitalworks Holdings is an investment vehicle of Capitalworks Group, the South African private equity fund. Its shareholders include the South African Government Employees Pension Fund, British Investment International (formerly CDC), and the African Development Bank.

Three of the Ugandan co-founders of Quality Chemical Industries — Emmanuel Katongole, George Mutebi and George Baguma — collectively hold 8.4 per cent stake in the company.