Chronicle Editor
Kamangeni Phiri
IT is known as the spot that breathed new life into a sleepy shopping centre, a place described by one youth as an “oasis of hope”.
In the past few years, Bulawayo’s Paddonhurst Shopping Centre was quiet and depressed; business had faded, leaving behind gutted shop owners.
Today, the place is a hive of activity, thanks to Busy Corner Car Wash and Chilling Spot, which opened its doors to the public last October.
“Every shopping centre needs diversity for business to thrive,” says Mr Reason Dembetembe, a businessman who runs a supermarket and bottle store at the shopping centre.
“We appreciate the car wash’s presence. Business was low-key but now traffic has increased pushing volumes up”.
It was water and a belief in government’s economic blueprint by the car wash owner, Mr Simbarashe Madzivire (35), which gave the Paddonhurst Shopping Centre the impetus to pull itself out of the doldrums.
In May last year, at the height of water outages in the city, the young entrepreneur drilled a borehole at the shopping centre, bringing free water to residents and business.
“With the availability of water, the number of people visiting the centre improved, albeit with little impact on the business,” says Mr Madzivire who has been running a supermarket at the complex since 2014.
The youthful businessman used the borehole water to spruce up the image of the shopping complex last year by planting lawn and flowers, turning part of the area into a beautiful park.
But still business remained low-key.
Mr Madzivire then turned to the country’s economic programmes for possible solutions on improving business.
The first phase involved unpacking the 2018 to 2020 blueprint, Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) which spoke of youth empowerment, among many other reforms.
TSP is one of the support pillars of the Government programme Vision 2030 which seeks to create an upper middle-income economy. It has since been replaced by a five-year economic plan, the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1 – 2021 to 2025).
“Government economic blueprints are full of life changing opportunities. I identified an idle piece of land directly opposite my shop which I turned into a car wash in October last year,” said Mr Madzivire.
The car wash is unmissable. It defiantly stands out adorned with reeds and planks on the right side of the more imposing brick and mortar shopping complex. Located only 3km outside Bulawayo’s city centre, about 200m off the
Bulawayo-Harare highway, the car wash has become the place-to-be for the motoring public. Years of efforts by Mr Madzivire to turn around the fortunes of his shop, Hyperblast Supermakert, were finally rewarded with the opening of the car wash.
The brilliance of the concept that changed the face of Paddonhurst Shopping Centre lies in its simplicity. A couple of sheds, one serving as a washing bay and the other as a kitchen make up the main structure of the car wash. The whole area is fenced with reeds right round.
A tent-covered lounge furnished with couches and tables made out of pallets gives the place an aura of a traditional home. The traditional touch is augmented by a kitchen that uses wood fuel and serves traditional meals like isitshwala with beef, chicken, cow heels (amangqina), and goat meat.
“Our cuisines are very popular. Clients buy refreshments at the shops and food from our kitchen, relax and enjoy their meals in our lounge section while their cars are washed,” said Mr Madzivire.
He said the garden and the new kitchen opened in June are promoting shopping tourism at the complex. But how did one so young manage to come up with a thriving business during Covid-19 induced lockdown at a time when seasoned businesses are struggling?
Mr Madzivire, who is a Christian, attributes his success to a bible verse, 1 Chronicle Chapter 12 verse 32 … ‘Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command.….’
“When you are in business you need to understand the times, we are in, study the environment and cater for the needs of your clientele. Don’t be rigid in pricing. Normally, a car wash costs $5 but because the economy is in a fragile state owing to covid 19 we are charging $3 only. This is how we attract more business under lockdown,” he said.
The car wash and supermarket have a combined staff complement of 18. When it opened last October, the car wash had five employees but now has 13 workers as business is growing.
Mr Madzivire has made it a policy to employ only local youths at both the car wash and supermarket.
“My background is what inspired me to help fellow youths. I used to walk to school from Nketa Suburb to Founders High School. I rarely had breakfast and lunch those days. I want to improve the welfare of youths because they are the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.
Mr Madzivire encouraged youths to dream big and grab life transforming opportunities contained in NDS 1.
“It is sad that most youths fail to utilise Government programmes as they link such opportunities with party politics. They think government and the ruling party are the same. We need a mind shift as youths, if we are to succeed,” he says.
Mr Madzivire’s youthful staff at the car wash might be experiencing this mind shift as most now aspire to be self-employed.
Mr Dumisani Nyoni (21) a valet at the car wash regrets going to South Africa on a job-hunting mission in 2020.
“I was in South Africa from December 2019 until October 2020 when I decided to come back home. This is my first job and I am grateful because so many youths are looking for work out there,” he said.
Mr Nyoni, who obtained seven points at A’ level, says the car wash has opened his eyes to limitless opportunities that exist in self-employment.
“I was inspired by my employer to think big and my plans have taken a new direction. My dream is to be my own boss. I want to be a commercial farmer. My parents are based in UK but I have no plans of joining them. My dream is for them to come back home and join me,” said the young man who stays with his aunt.
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