18 Nov 2014

Members of Serowe Marketing Cooperative Society have been urged to fully participate in the development of their society to safeguard its success.

The call was made by Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) regional manager, Mr Kebaabetswe Bogatsu during the society’s annual general meeting in Serowe recently. 

He said Serowe Marketing Cooperative Society had major aspirations of becoming a fully-fledged corporative entity  that would be ignored. Thus, he counseled members that success came from working together towards a common goal hence they should become participants rather than spectators.

Mr Bogatsu said the society needed to grow into one of the very strong entities that could sustain itself in today’s highly competitive environment. Also, he implored the society to contribute to the economic development of Serowe and Botswana in general by employing well educated personnel to manage it efficiently.

The society has to be up to date with information technology and be connected to the outside world, said Mr Bogatsu adding that it must increase its membership database and includes people with expertise in certain areas.

He further pleaded with the society to retain loyal members who proudly associate themselves with the society. Mr Bogatsu urged the general members to elect board members who have the capacity to administer the society into a financially viable entity.

However the society’s chairperson, Mr Moiteela Moaro said although some of their business adventures are not doing well there are some which are showing a healthy balance sheet. These, he said included a filling station which is located in the heart of Serowe.

Mr Moaro said although the filling station is doing well it sometimes experiences shortage of fuel despite that they always pay the supplier in advance.

 “We have written a letter to our supplier complaining about late delivery of fuel but it is unfortunate that we cannot get out of the contract we entered with them because it is binding.” The chairperson was also concerned about their main shop which he said was not doing well as a result of hard-hitting competition from retail shops.

He encouraged members to buy from the shop as a way of sustaining it. Mr Moaro said some of their businesses which were not doing well are a shell shop, Bogoma farm and a complex where tenants are inconsistence in paying rent and this makes it difficult to profit from this entity.  

In addition, Mr Moaro said the society is in the process of collecting the money owed to it by debtors although the progression was slow.  Another challenge that the chairperson mentioned was high tax that they pay to Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS). “This year alone we paid P307 688,” he said. BOPA