Harare Street Vendor Arrested For Selling Fake And Expired Groceries
Bornwell Dirwai, a street vendor in Harare’s central business district (CBD), was arrested by municipal police for selling fake and expired groceries.
In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, the City of Harare (CoH) revealed that Dirwai was found in possession of expired goods that had been repackaged in South African-branded containers.
Dirwai was selling products, including margarine, meat pies, and powdered milk at the intersection of Rezende and Robert Mugabe streets. The statement from CoH reads:
Harare Municipal Police today arrested a vendor, Bornwell Dirwai at the intersection of Rezende and Robert Mugabe streets for selling fake and repackaged groceries. Most of the groceries are expired.
The repackaged products include milk packaged in South African branded containers, margarine in Buttercup margarine containers and Zimgold packages.
Residents are urged to exercise extreme caution when purchasing goods. They should only buy from reputable shops to avoid health complications caused by fake products that have flooded the market.
Reports indicate that shoppers in Zimbabwe are increasingly opting for cheaper informal markets instead of supermarkets. These markets appear at night to evade authorities.
These temporary shops, which pop up on sidewalks, store verandas, and car parking spaces, offer a wide range of goods, including groceries, fresh meat, electronics, clothes, medicines, fashion accessories, and stationery.
These vendors avoid expenses such as rising energy costs, taxes, and regulations that force formal retailers to accept the local currency at artificially low official exchange rates.
More: Pindula News
