Business / Local
Datlabs and Universal Rubber relocating from Bulawayo to Harare
20 Jul 2011 at 09:53hrs | Views
Bulawayo - Ravens squawk from the rooftop of a deserted building, once a top producer of animal feed that employed hundreds in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo.
Empty factories are now a common sight in Bulawayo's industrial district as the economy struggles to recover from a decade-long crisis, with firms downsizing, closing or relocating to the capital for better opportunities.
"Companies are closing here, Bulawayo needs money," said Ruth Labode, who runs a textile mill.
"A banker openly told us that if they receive a loan application to fund a restaurant business from Bulawayo, they would not fund it.
"In Bulawayo, there are no prospects of having the project breaking even fast enough, when compared to other towns such as Mutare or Harare," she said.
Planning ministry figures show that 107 companies has closed shop in Bulawayo since last year, including clothing, auto and construction firms. An unspecified number of others relocated to neighbouring Botswana.
Besides the lack of cash, Bulawayo suffers from perennial water shortages common to arid southern Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Apex Corporation said it plans to dispose of its loss-making All Metal Foundry in Bulawayo, putting 200 jobs at risk, its chairman said.
Datlabs and Universal Rubber are also relocating to 'bambazonke' Harare.
Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo said he hopes to attract investors back to Bulawayo, partly by trying to win over Zimbabweans who have moved abroad.
Bulawayo needs to "go out, especially to South Africa, to go and meet our Zimbabweans in the diaspora to try and address them on the problems we are facing as a city," he said.
"All we have to do is to get them back so that they take responsibilities and take over those companies that have either closed down or relocated."
Empty factories are now a common sight in Bulawayo's industrial district as the economy struggles to recover from a decade-long crisis, with firms downsizing, closing or relocating to the capital for better opportunities.
"Companies are closing here, Bulawayo needs money," said Ruth Labode, who runs a textile mill.
"A banker openly told us that if they receive a loan application to fund a restaurant business from Bulawayo, they would not fund it.
"In Bulawayo, there are no prospects of having the project breaking even fast enough, when compared to other towns such as Mutare or Harare," she said.
Planning ministry figures show that 107 companies has closed shop in Bulawayo since last year, including clothing, auto and construction firms. An unspecified number of others relocated to neighbouring Botswana.
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Apex Corporation said it plans to dispose of its loss-making All Metal Foundry in Bulawayo, putting 200 jobs at risk, its chairman said.
Datlabs and Universal Rubber are also relocating to 'bambazonke' Harare.
Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo said he hopes to attract investors back to Bulawayo, partly by trying to win over Zimbabweans who have moved abroad.
Bulawayo needs to "go out, especially to South Africa, to go and meet our Zimbabweans in the diaspora to try and address them on the problems we are facing as a city," he said.
"All we have to do is to get them back so that they take responsibilities and take over those companies that have either closed down or relocated."
Source - Sapa-AFP
