ANOTHER row over wrong Ndebele spelling

Chicken Slice under fire as locals mull boycott...  

PACKERS International, a Harare company that owns Chicken Slice, Pizza Slice, Creamy Slice and Slice Express, which recently opened a branch in Bulawayo has drawn the ire of locals by misspelling Ndebele phrases on its banner which was mounted outside the food outlet last week.

To add to the fracas, the company allegedly smuggled labor from outside the region of Matabeleland in what locals have condemned as nepotism aimed at marginalizing locals.

The statement on the banner which has angered locals reads: "Ukwenyana Uqobo uyabuya le…" instead of "Umkhwenyana Woqobo/Uqobo Uyabuya Le…"

Social networks were over the weekend been abuzz with the image of the mis-spelt Ndebele banner with irate locals called for a boycott saying locals must not purchase from the new food outlet.

Radio Dialogue Station Manager Zenzele Ndebele tweeted over the weekend querying the blatant mis-spelling of the Ndebele words and the disregard of locals in terms of employment, sparking a heated debate on the issue.

"The solution is simple, lets jus not buy products sold by these people.....mina vele kangiboni ukuthi umuntu wakoBulawayo opheleleyo uyabe edingani koChicken Slice besehlulwa layikuqhatsha indebele elokubabhalela "umkhwenyana"...kulokunye okuyiroli kwabo okukade kubhalwe "oqobo" futhi," wrote one concerned local on Facebook.

Efforts to get a comment from the Bulawayo branch drew a blank as personnel manning the outlet were non-committal and referred all questions to company owner Tawanda Mutyebere.