SEVERAL firms have in the past year closed shop in Bulawayo citing perennial waters woes and the general harsh economic environment while scores of others are grappling with liquidations and foreclosures.
As President Robert Mugabe put it soon after his controversial re-election, Bulawayo, referred during the colonial era as an industrial hub reminiscent of Manchester’s textile and clothing industries, has been reduced to a huge scrapyard.
In fact some critics now refer to the City of Kings and Queens as a gigantic flea market due to the proliferation of vending sites in and around the once clean second capital.
There is a saying that in a crisis beware of the danger but recognise the opportunity. It would appear sage men and women at OK Zimbabwe Limited, which runs the Bon Marché franchise, have done exactly that.
They have grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns by proceeding to open a state-of-the-art retail shop at Parklands in Bulawayo despite numerous socioeconomic challenges, cutthroat competition in the retail sector and even without having to wait for yesterday’s 2014 budget announcement, to open shop in the city.
It is prudent to mention that OK Zimbabwe Limited sets a good precedent which dovetails well with the Bulawayo City Council and the government’s efforts aimed at resuscitating the comatose local economy.
We join the local business community in roundly applauding the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed company and other corporates such as Econet Wireless Limited who are showing confidence in the city despite a generally depressed local economy.
The entry of Bon Marché, just like that of Econet Wireless in this city’s comatose economy, should spur other potential investors sitting on the fence to see that Bulawayo and its hinterlands are open for business despite a bleak outlook posed by the stagnant national economy.
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George Mukumba, the administrator of Bulawayo Business Arise rightly put it: “It should encourage more investors to come to Bulawayo and the rest of Matabeleland. It not only provides employment for locals, but opportunities for producers.
“Ultimately, the latest development calls for the urgent revival of the agro industry in this part of the world which should feed the retail store. We want to see local farmers and other producers of vegetables, for instance, feeding the retail store so that their products are found of the shelves.” Mukamba said.
Bienvenue, Bon Marché. Je vous souhaite un agréable séjour à Bulawayo, (We wish you a nice stay in Bulawayo).
