One of the country’s retail giants TM Pick ‘n’ Pay Supermarkets is closing its Harare Street branch completely.
Commenting on the development former Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries boss, Busisa Moyo said:
“Formal businesses struggling to stay in the game because of informalisation & weak bye law enforcement.
“You will hear some buffoons saying it’s because they lack innovation, forgetting that Pic n Pay is one of the largest retail chains in the developing world!”
Renowned Zimbabwean investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono reacted to Moyo’s post:
My brother, accept that the economy has been mismanaged.
Don’t focus on the symptoms, focus on the root cause of what has triggered the informal traders to maul established businesses like retain chains.
You are one of President Mnangagwa’s advisors, we told you during civil discussions he re that the policies you were supporting would not work.
What you are pointing out are the consequences of economic mismanagement, and the buck stops with your boss, Mnangagwa!
The fact that informal traders are mauling established businesses is a symptom of a larger problem, an economy that has been mismanaged for years.
As an advisor to Mnangagwa, it is important to recognise the role that poor economic policies and corruption have played in creating this situation you mourn about.
Ignoring the warnings that were given here raising concerns about these policies has only made the problem worse.
The key questions to ask are, why are people going to tuck shops and not established supermarkets?
What have give rise to these tuck shops?
How does the 95% unemployment rate affect ordinary citizen choices when it fines to where to buy and where to avoid buying from.
