By Ziyah News Reporter
OK Zimbabwe, the country’s largest supermarket chain with 70 stores nationwide, has revealed the reasons behind recent store closures, citing Zimbabwe’s struggling economy and, in particular, crippling electricity shortages.
The closures have raised concerns among citizens already grappling with deteriorating economic conditions.
Speaking before Parliament, OK Zimbabwe’s secretary, Margaret Munyuru, attributed the closures to a combination of factors making operations increasingly unsustainable.
According to reports, a primary issue is the severe and prolonged electricity shortages plaguing the country, with power cuts lasting up to 20 hours daily.
“This forces the supermarket chain to rely on costly diesel generators, thus increasing operational expenses,” she stated
Beyond power issues, Munyuru also cited escalating property rental costs and burdensome bureaucracy in obtaining retail licenses as another challenges to maintaining operations.
The recent closure of the Entumbane branch has had a wider impact, affecting local farmers who supplied fresh produce to the store and have now lost a crucial market outlet.
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has highlighted the supermarket closures as a worrying symptom of Zimbabwe’s deepening economic crisis.