Zim’s ‘tuck-shop’ dealers to formalise operations

Downtown shop owners operating in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, also known as “tuck-shop dealers” say they are ready to regularize their operations which will see most of them beginning to pay taxes.

This emerged after the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers held a meeting with representatives of the entrepreneurs on Thursday morning.

Speaking after the meeting, Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers President Denford Mutashu said they have given the retailers three months to regularize their operations.

Tuck shops are convenience small retail outlets where consumers can access household items such as sugar, cooking oil and salt. Some of them offer credit to shoppers and provide services after business hours.

With cash hard to access in banks, Zimbabweans have turned to electronic money transactions. However, most traders running tuck shops are demanding cash payments only and refusing mobile money transactions as well as shying away from the use of point of sale machines.

The majority of the merchants have also been accused of being part of a syndicate supplying cash to traders on the parallel market.