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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
As borders remain closed to all traffic except commercial cargo, thousands of Zimbabweans in South Africa have turned to online shopping services to send groceries to their families back home, overwhelming delivery points.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, sending groceries back home was easy as there were numerous alternatives, both formal and informal, with private car owners, popularly known as umalayitsha, taking the lead by picking up bags from the buyer in South Africa and delivering them to the recipient back home for a fee.
Others used buses and trucks that also charged a premium.
As all these services have become defunct due to measures to contain Covid-19, more Zimbabweans are now utilising online platform Malaicha.com, which allows those in South Africa to make purchases online and their families receive the goods in their home city in Zimbabwe.
As a results, hundreds of people, most of them elderly, are spending the entire day waiting to receive their goods at the designated shop in Mutare, which has become overwhelmed.
Online Reporter