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Harare - A former chief executive at failed furniture retailer Ellerine is now heading Zimbabwe's largest fast food and retail group, Innscor Africa.
Innscor runs the popular Chicken Inn and Pizza Inn chains, as well as the local operations of supermarket Spar.
Ellerine was forced into business rescue in August after parent company African Bank Investments (Abil) cut off funding. Days later Abil was rescued by the South African Reserve Bank.
Appointed head of Ellerine in 2003, Antonio Fourie stepped down in February, by which time the furniture-selling company was choking from losses.
Fourie, who is having to shuttle between the two countries because he has no work permit, could not be reached for comment.
Read: Former Ellerine boss heads to Zim
An assistant in his office in Harare told Reuters he was out of the country and that Innscor was still waiting for his work permit.
It can take six weeks or more to process a work permit in Zimbabwe and Fourie lodged his application more than two months back, an official at Innscor with knowledge of the issue said.
Fourie was last month quoted by local online news agency The Source as saying he would undertake a restructuring exercise to cut costs, improve efficiencies and increase Innscor's return on equity to 30% from the current 23%.
Innscor, which is growing its footprint in Africa, reported a 35% decline in full-year earnings to June after consumer spending in the southern African country was hit by an economic slowdown.
