FAST Food giant Eat n Lick was awarded a jaw-dropping US$600 000 catering tender by the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) for a single event, yet its workers claim they haven’t received their salaries in months.The company was also booted out of Equity House after accruing rental arrears amounting to USD27 000 owed to landlord Excom.The lucrative deal was flagged in a government procurement notice and it was for serving food at the Hakwata power switch-on ceremony in Chipinge held in December 2024. The contract, REF/DIR/18/09/2024, was issued through direct procurement raising eyebrows over both the size of the payment and the tendering process itself.But while management pockets high-value government contracts staff at the bottom say they’re struggling to survive.> “We have gone several months without being paid, yet we continue to cater at high-profile functions,” said a worker at Eat n Lick’s Chinhoyi Street branch. “Our bosses show up in luxury cars, but we can’t afford basic necessities.”Irony in menu: Eat n Lick gets USS600k deal but workers starveTo put the figure in perspective, Eat n Lick’s standard two-piece meal costs US$3.50 meaning the US$600 000 could have bought over 171 000 meals not accounting for logistics or overheads.The tender was listed under Section 68(a) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, which outlines public tenders awarded in the final quarter of 2024.
However, the contrast between the mega deal and unpaid salaries has torched a storm.Despite repeated inquiries from this publication since last week, Eat n Lick management has remained silent on the wage issues raised by employees.
Source: Express Mail Zim
