04 Aug 2015

Kanye is gradually changing its landscape given the recent property boom experienced in the last few years.

It started with the Southern District Council (SDC) twinning with a private investor to construct the famed and iconic Mongala Mall which houses all posh and plum retail operators in the village.

Now the SDC looks set to add more impetus to commerce as they have partnered with a local company, Saza Investments to build yet another multi-million pula shopping centre at the other end of the village popularly known as Mahube. 

The councils public relations officer, Mr Thapelo Timuno said they were delighted for captivating another journey with their public, private partnership model. 

He declined to state how much the project would cost, saying their partners were against giving out such information. He, however, said the shopping complex would be big as it would also change the Mahube aesthetics and provide employment opportunities. He said they wanted to fully utilise the Trans-Kgalagadi Highway.

“The mall will provide residents with services that they currently have to source from as far as Gaborone. It is our hope that businesses that will lease space in the malls we are building will employ our people and reduce the rural urban migration as well as bring services closer to people,’’ he said.

He said the mall would also have a fuel station, adding that other buildings will follow. He said most of the quality stores in towns and cities around the country were expected to lease in the upcoming mall. 

“We are glad that we are doing what the government has directed councils to do, which is to look for private sector companies that we can go into business with for purposes of providing services to the community of our village and surrounding areas,” said Mr Timuno. 

He further explained that the council’s partnership with the private investor would run for 25 years after which the mall would be wholly owned by the council. 

He said they intend to go into other similar projects in future all aimed at raising money for the council.

The government is currently encouraging councils in the country to seek private partners to go into business with to create revenue for themselves as government revenue is not enough to cater for all councils financial needs.

One resident, Mr Mpho Thibadi said they were glad to have such a big mall as they have been travelling long distances for goods and services. He expressed hope that jobs would be availed to residents while vendors and hawkers would also benefit from the traffic patronising the mall. Ends