31 Dec 2012

Some fishermen who ply their trade along Motloutse River near Foley in the Tonota Sub-district say they are only able to feed their families during the rainy season. Around 30 fishermen converge along the road to sell their fish on any given day. Speaking in an interview recently, the fishermen explained that unemployment in the village was high as many people relied on Ipelegeng. One of them, Mr Betina Mooketsi said despite being seasonal and dependent on the availability of rains, fishing afforded them the opportunity to put food on the table.

Mr Mooketsi said as they used fishing nets there were days when they returned empty handed, especially when the fish broke the nets. “On a good day one is able to make P250 but when business is low, we get as little as P50,” he said. He said sometimes customers refused to pay the set price preferring to negotiate downwards for what they could afford. He said because fish was perishable, they sometimes forced to give away stock as they did not have refrigerators. Mr Mooketsi worked with two other boys and they shared the proceeds after a day’s sales.

The business, he said, was sensitive as they sold their fish after drying it. He noted that when fresh fish come, they would be forced to reduce the price of dried fish to avoid stockpiling fish in unhygienic conditions. He said once the river dried up, they left the village for towns to search for job opportunities. Another fisherman,  Mr Tshegofatso Mooketsi said if the Foley fisherman cooperated, they could get better returns from their trade. “The problem is that some of our colleagues only want to make a quick buck and dash to the nearest drinking spot to imbibe alcohol,” he said. With proper coordination, he highlighted they could come up with better ideas on how to maximise their profit margins during the short rainy season. He said buying refrigerators to preserve fish stock would help a lot but bewailed that they did not have resources to afford such things.

One of their challenges, Mr Mooketsi said, was that the police prevented them from selling fish along the A1 road, forcing them to sell from a secluded area near the Motloutse River where customers could not easily spot them. He also said they were not allowed to cross the road to solicit customers since an incident where a child was knocked down by a bus while following her mother who had crossed the road to buy fish. “The good thing is that we talked to the authorities and made them aware that this was our only source of livelihood as we could not all work under the Ipelegeng programme,” he added.

Consequently, he asserted that being denied access to the A1 road meant that business was low as some people passed without noticing the presence of their business. Mr Mooketsi also said business was low on Christmas Day and only started improving the following day. In addition, he highlighted that business was usually good in the afternoons or on Sundays when people returned to their work stations. He said when the river dried up; fishermen who had permits would be able to continue fishing at Shashe Dam. “The permit costs P200 and takes two years to expire,” he said. Mr Mooketsi noted that whenever there was an oversupply of fish, they divided themselves with some leaving to sell their fish in places such as Palapye, Francistown and Selebi-Phikwe. “As for me when the fishing season comes to an end I go back to town where I work as a dump truck driver. I am eyeing a job on the new Tonota-Francistown road reconstruction,” he highlighted. Ends