open its popular restaurants in Zimbabwe, more than a decade after it
initially indicated its willingness to set up shop be in the southern
African country.
The takeaway giant said no dates have been set as to when its first outlets
will open in Zimbabwe.
"We have not set a firm date for the development of McDonald's restaurants
in Zimbabwe …. eventually we will take steps to open McDonald's restaurants
in Zimbabwe," McDonald's international franchising unit said in a statement
posted on its website.
In 1999, McDonald indicated that it was willing to set up a franchise in the
country, but shelved the plans as Zimbabwe plunged into an unprecedented
economic crisis that began with the crash of the local dollar in November
1997 after President Robert Mugabe authorised payments to about than 50 000
former fighters of the country's 1970s liberation war.
The payouts were not budgeted and the economy responded with a bang,
resulting in the infamous "Black Friday" crash of 14 November 1997 when the
Zimbabwe dollar plunged on a single day from $14 against the United States
greenback to $26 to the US unit.
The secondary contagion effect was a sharp 40 percent crash of the Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange. The stock market lost 46 percent of the value of shares as
investors scrambled to dump the Zimbabwe dollar.
Withdrawal of balance of balance of payments support by the International
Monetary Fund in 1999 and the farm invasions that began the following send
Zimbabwe's economy plunging into the mire, forcing many investors to close
shop and flee the collapsing economy while those like McDonald's that were
planning to come quietly abandoned such plans.
But there is renewed interest in Zimbabwe since formation of a unity
government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai that has stabilised the economy. -- ZimOnline.
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