By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
SHOPRITE Stores has to date created more than 2,000 jobs for local people in the country.
The chain store will soon invest US$20 million in the construction of a shopping mall in Chililabombwe.
General manager for Shoprite Africa, Gerhard Fritz said in an interview in Lusaka that the chain store had created more than 2,000 jobs for local people in Zambia .
Mr Fritz said this was as a result of support the chain store was receiving from Zambia and the government in particular.
“We want to thank the Zambian Government for the support they have given to Shoprite. We are here today because of the support the Government is giving us.
“I am proud to state that from to date, Shoprite has to date created more than 2,000 jobs for local people in Zambia,” Mr Fritz said.
He said Shoprite would continue investing in Zambia because of the good policy environment the Government had put in place in a bid to contribute to job creation in the country.
“We aware that people want jobs in the country, and that is why we will continue to invest in Zambia to benefit the majority people by bringing low prices and create more job opportunities,” Mr Fritz said.
He noted that products from local suppliers were competing with anything from across the world, adding the chain Store used to import most of the products they sold in the stores, but that today 78 per cent of the products were bought locally.
On Friday Shoprite Stores opened another store at Twin Palm shopping mall in Salama Park in Lusaka in its continued efforts to expand.
He said the store was investing a lot of money not only in equipment and products but also in building some of its stores.