TWO small entrepreneurs in Mutare’s central business district are at loggerheads over a six-year-old US$200 debt.
The money was used to pay for a shop licence that benefitted Tedious Nyabadza, a car parts dealer, and Hilda Tizora, a grocery shop owner.
The debt has caused a huge rift between the pair who share a shop in Mutare’s downtown.
In an unsolicited interview, Tizora said after making incessant demands for her money, Nyabadza gave her a notice to vacate the shop.
Nyabadza has been sub-letting part of the shop to her for the past six years.
“He is just jealous as I have a lot of customers, while his business has been very low over the years. He is jealous because he sells car parts for old model vehicles and they are rarely bought.
“I sell groceries and customers flock to the shop. Now he wants me out, but I will not leave that shop until he pays me back the money that I used to pay for the shop licence,” charged Tizora.
According to the notice served to Tizora, she should have vacated the premises by December 2022.
She has also stopped paying her rentals since then.
However, Nyabadza insists that he does not owe Tizora anything and claims that the money she paid for the shop licence was diverted towards her rentals in 2016.
Contacted for comment, Nyabadza begged the reporter to drop the story.
Nyabadza, however, said he gave Tizora notice to vacate the premises due to their differences.
“I asked her to leave my shop because of our differences, not because of this so-called debt. I do not owe her anything. When she paid for the shop licence, I let her use the shop for a month without paying rentals and that debt was cancelled. I gave her a notice to vacate the shop in July 2022 and the notice expired on December 31, 2022,” he said.
He also said Tizora did not pay rentals for January and February.
“I have said nothing about that because we are related and we have been using the same shop for a long time. I respect her. I thought the said debt could also be converted to January’s rentals since she is supposed to pay US$275 monthly rentals,” he said. – Manica Post
