MIDWEEK REPORTER
MASVINGO CITY-Hundreds of money transfer beneficiaries from the diaspora were left stranded as the biggest international money transfer agent in Zimbabwe, Mukuru ran out of cash in Masvingo City.
Mukuru ran out of cash on Monday and a lot of beneficiaries were seen moving from one outlet to the other in the hope of getting cash.
Some, were seen shouting at the cashiers that they should have warned them before they came as some were from as far as Morgenster, Zimuto and surrounding rural areas and they did not have bus fare to go back or money for food as they hoped to get money in town.
Maria Zimuto from Zimuto was visibly angry as she had planned to get her cash and do her groceries then troop back home in time.
“This is a case of poor management, whatever excuse they may have they should have resorted to technology rather than wasting our precious time coming here only to be turned away without bus fare and money for food,” said Zimuto.
One customer who also spoke to The Midweek Watch and identified herself as Tilda said she wanted to withdraw the money send by her customer out of the country to buy material for construction also expressed shock and disappointment.
“How can a big company like Mukuru run out of cash just like that, they have been in this business for a long time and they should lead by example, at least they should have notified the customers before they came for cash, the same way they notify of funds transfer,” said Tilda.
Later in the day Mukuru issued a statement which we publish below:
“Mukuru experienced a temporary logistical issue affecting CIT cash disbursements, impacting the City of Masvingo only, earlier today. The disruption lasted approximately two hours and temporarily affected some customers’ access to cash. All other areas remained unaffected and continued to operate as usual.
The issue has now been fully resolved, and normal service in the City of Masvingo has resumed. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers. This was an unforeseen circumstance, and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure it does not happen again”.
A visit by this crew at Mukuru main at N. Richards Hardware showed a different story as it was still open by 7pm and serving customers.
A worker at the centre said they are working at night due to the problem that happened during the day and they started disbursing cash in the evening and may remain open until may be 8pm.
