malvernmugadzikwa
Business Writer
OK Zimbabwe has stopped its workers from supplying the supermarket chain amid revelations that some of the products were overpriced and of poor quality, sources said.
Some workers, mostly at the middle management level were supplying OK Zimbabwe with goods such as clothing and fresh produce.
“It’s a strategic decision because some of the supplies were very substandard and in some instances overpriced,” said one source who declined to be named because of professional reasons.
“The situation was getting out of control. At one of the branches, we had to write off vegetables that had been supplied just a day before because they had rotten.
“The company is now buying directly from farmers as opposed to a situation where the workers had become middlemen.”
No official comment could be obtained from OK, one of the country’s largest retail chains by the time of publishing.
The decision was taken about a month ago and tension is now emerging between the senior management and the middle, and low-level management.
“It’s now a big fight, on one hand, the senior management, which is fairly new (and) trying to ‘restore order’ and the old guard resisting the change of the status core,” another source, who also declined to be named because is not allowed to talk to press said.
“Rules; the operating systems…starting at branch levels are being overhauled; but quite understandable; a retail chain like OK, a listed entity needs proper systems.”
“Nepotism and other forms of abuse are so rife and many branch managers have been dismissed over such issues.
“There is really (much) that needs to be done to restore the firm’s integrity.
While no official comment could be obtained by the time of publishing, Business Weekly independently verify the details.
Bongani Ndlovu