Chronicle Editor
THE business sector must be delighted that the Government, on Tuesday, extended trading hours by three-and-a-half hours.
The same must apply to their clients.
The extension of business hours from 8AM to 3.30PM to 7PM, restoration of inter-city travel, relaxation of the curfew and increase in the office manning level from 25 to 50 percent indicate that the business operating environment is, by and large, getting to normal.
Addressing the nation, President Mnangagwa also said restaurants and bars in lodges and hotels can operate from 8AM to 10PM. His decision to ease the Covid-19 lockdown to level two came as the business sector was beginning to agitate for a longer trading period and reopening of inter-city routes to more ordinary travellers.
In taking yet another step towards reopening the country to normal activity, the President considered the progressive decline in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks. The coronavirus burden was at its heaviest in July when infections averaged 2 000 per day and fatalities in their dozens but figures started falling in early August as conditions started getting warmer. On Tuesday 125 positive cases and 10 deaths were recorded countrywide.
Cumulatively, the country had by that day recorded 125 796 confirmed cases since March last year, including 117 456 recoveries and 4 503 deaths. A total of 2 750 681 people had been vaccinated against the disease with 1,7 million having received both doses of vaccines.
But even as the cases progressively declined and some sections of the economy being reopened, among them schools, colleges and universities, the Government kept the business sector under a tighter lockdown.
Now that the President has granted their wish the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) must be happy.
CZR president, Mr Denford Mutashu, welcomed the extension of opening hours.
“CZR applauds President Mnangagwa for relaxing Covid-19 restrictions by announcing a level 2 lockdown in order to curb the global pandemic,” he said.
“This development is welcomed by industry, as businesses had started to show signs of stress due to Covid-19-induced shorter trading hours. Most companies have vaccinated over 80 percent of their employees in anticipation of increasing production time.”
As Mr Mutashu points out, operating for only seven-and-a-half hours a day was tough for businesses. Their clients hardly had enough time to run from this end of town to the other to buy this and that or to transact this or that business. The seven-and-a-half hours meant businesses effectively closing as soon as they opened. This must have meant reduced revenues for them as not many people had enough time to do all the businesses they wanted to do.
The shorter business hours also meant congestion with many people rushing to do this and that before the end of the business day. In some cases, the large numbers of people seeking certain services at one place violated social distancing, increasing the risk of them contracting and spreading the coronavirus.
It was truly a huge hustle for everyone to do all they had to between 8AM and 3.30PM. It was worse for workers who use public transport. They had to be at their work stations at 8AM, work until lunch time and take that hour to dash out for some personal business, returning to work by 2PM and rushing to catch a Zupco bus/kombi before the curfew took effect at 6.30PM.
However, as they resume more or less normal business hours, businesses need no reminding that the coronavirus has not been eliminated yet. The normal prevention and management guidelines must be adhered to at all times.
It is good that as many as 80 percent of employees in the retail sector have been vaccinated against the viral disease.
It would be more desirable if the remainder also gets vaccinated too as soon as possible.
Online Reporter