KFC Liquidation In Botswana Will Not Affect South Africa

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US-based global fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) will shut down all its 12 outlets in Botswana this week bringing to an end a two-decades operation in the Southern African nation.

VPB Propco, franchisee for KFC Botswana, said it had been trying to the sell the restaurant chain for the past year without success and the only option left was to shutter its 12 stores by the end of this week, cutting 400 jobs, Bloomberg reported.
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KFC Africa, one of the fastest growing fast food chains on the continent, however clarified that the liquidation of its operation in Botswana will not affect its business in South Africa.

“KFC can confirm that our restaurants in Botswana are in provisional liquidation, this liquidation process is isolated to the Botswana market and does not impact KFC in South Africa,” said Doug Smart, Managing Director KFC Africa, said in a statement.

“We are working closely with the provisional liquidator to keep our restaurants open and minimize disruptions across the system. Our customers may experience intermittent temporary closures at some of our restaurants due to the impact this process may some on our ability to ensure the consistent supply of our quality approved ingredients.”

KFC already operates in 14 sub-Saharan African countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

The fast food chain company, which has over 18,000 outlets in 120 countries across the world, would be the first global food chain to enter the Ethiopian market once talks with local suppliers are concluded.

Just South Africa, Botswana’s economy has been hurt by a commodities downturn and a drought, which has put thousands of jobs at risk.

The World Bank and Business Monitor International recently revised Botswana’s economic growth downwards to 3.7 percent from 4.9 percent this year as a result of the global downturn in commodity prices, a devastating drought and vast electricity shortages.