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The collapse of the two main supermarkets— Nakumatt and Uchumi— is symptomatic of the deeper woes in the formal retail sector.

While it is easy to point fingers at poor management, the current fragile economic environment and lack of proper regulatory structure are at the heart of what now ails the sector.

And matters are not helped by an onslaught from deep-pocketed international chains smothering life out of local firms which have weak cash flows and poor corporate governance systems.

This leaves suppliers of goods carrying the burden of those that go under. In this dishourable ground lie the likes of erstwhile household retailers such as Ebrahims and Ukwala. 

While direct foreign investment is welcome, it has, however, affected the value chain as envisioned in Vision 2030.

This has exposed the economy to various risks because the sector is critical to the wellbeing of both the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

For instance, the fate of Uchumi supermarkets, which was an anchor national retail outlet for manufacturers and farmers, is a huge blow not only to the economic sectors, but the national economy. 

There is hope, however, for the retailer after creditors voted to take 70 per cent cut of the debt owed to them, thus giving it a lifeline.

As the State struggles to resuscitate other facets of the economy, it  must streamline the retail sector.

Granted, there has been a law which now makes it imperative for payments to be processed within a certain agreed period. 

But more importantly, contracts between suppliers and buyers must now have minimum requirements, including terms of payment, payment date, interest payable, mechanism of dispute resolution, and conditions of contract termination or variation.

The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2019 is a welcome instrument  for the stability of the sector, which struggles with many challenges, among them delayed payments. 

It also provides that all buyers and suppliers develop and adhere to an industry code of practice— and, of course, the redress mechanism in case of a breach.

Ultimately, there will be need to enhance and support the sector to ensure that even the SMEs and mama mboga benefit along the value chain. 

This will call for the fast tracking the development and implementation of a Public Private Partnership Policy to promote more formalised business linkages between traders and manufacturers across the board.