Natalie Sindile Nyathi
Tuck shops have been known to be mostly found in rural areas or schools but due to the current economic environment, these enterprises seem to have mushroomed in the cities.
In Bulawayo, Cowdray Park seems to have the highest number of these informal grocery shops. There could be many reasons why the sprawling high density suburb of Cowdray Park has a number of these establishments, it may be because there are few shopping centers in the area and it could also be due to the high percentage of unemployment .
One tuck shop operator that Zim GBC News spoke to in Cowdray, a madzimai said her enterprise is bringing back enough profit to make her acquire possessions she wishes to have.
“After losing my job l was left with no choice but to start up something so as to put food on the table and two years down the line l have built three round huts in Ntabazinduna and furthermore, l don’t go to bed hungry so yes am not complaining “,said one tuck shop owner Madzimai.
Tuck shops may be looked down upon but they are the new earners in the market, especially for the sprawling Cowdray Park neighborhood.
“l can testify that one can make a living from running a tuck shop, am saying this because am employed at one. On average we get up to US$35 daily so can you imagine how much that is in a month”, said a shopkeeper at one of the tuck shops by the name Samue.
Zim GBC News also spoke to a couple, the Moyos of the Garikai section of Cowdray Park and they said they too managed to ends meet through their small tuck shop, through some of the proceeds from this enterprise, they claim that they are able to send two of their children to a good high school.
A young man from the same high density area told this reporter that besides earning a descent living through his tuck shop, he also managed to buy a car through the profits he earns.
” last year l was able to buy my self a brand new Honda fit using proceeds from the tuck shop”, he said.
The sprawling Cowdray Park high density suburb lacks many facilities ranging from recreational, medical and shopping centers. It only has five proper shopping centers in the form of the TM area, Terminus, Egaragen, Caravan and Athens. There is a shopping mall which is under construction in the Garikai Section, but progress seems to be slow on this project.
Like we said above, enterprising residents have taken advantage of this shortage of shopping facilities by creating small shops in almost every household.