Story by Fungai Jachi
HARARE – SMALL business owners operating in Harare’s downtown area who had their grocery shops gutted by fire have called on the government to intervene and assist them in resuscitating their businesses.
The inferno, which broke out in the early hours, left behind charred remnants of once-thriving enterprises. The area, typically teeming with traders and customers, resembled a state of mourning when ZBC News visited the scene on Sunday.
Many shop owners were too emotional to speak, overwhelmed by the scale of the destruction. Those who managed to voice their plight pleaded for intervention.
“It is a great loss that we have suffered. We need assistance now because this is too much for us,” a business owner said.
“The fire has left us in a difficult place, where do we start from? Everything was destroyed in the fire,” another added.
Some nearby businesses, however, narrowly escaped the inferno.
“We are grateful because the fire did not destroy our shop. Fire Brigade managed to come just in time to save our shop,” a shop owner narrated.
“Our shop was saved because it’s in the basement but we feel for those who had their shops destroyed,” another added.
Reports indicate the fire originated from a popcorn shop, but the police are yet to establish the cause of the fire as investigations are still underway.
