30 Aug 2016

Botswana’s leading chain supermarket, Choppies, on Friday opened its 75th branch in the country in Nata.
In an interview, the branch manager Mr Amokela Elias said it had been a long wait for their new customers after traveling long distances to Choppies shops in Tutume and Francistown.
 Mr Elias said the supermarket would not only elevate the status of Nata as a tourist destination, but it would also add value in terms of the local economy.
“Sixty, mostly young people, including 40 recruited locally, have found jobs in the various sections of the new store,” she said, adding that the intention was to increase the number as the busuness grew.
 He further said taking services to the people at reasonable and affordable prices was their norm and that the new store offered people’s everyday needs.
Member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Mr Mr Polson Majaga, said the community was happy because the development had given the village a new profile.
 With transport being a challenge for some communities, getting to Nata would now be easier through traditional modes of transport such as donkey carts, bicycles and horses, compared to travelling to Francistown or Tutume, said the MP.
He was also of the view that the presence of Choppies should be a boost to local producers by supporting farmers in the area.
He also wished that Choppies’ arrival in the area would not lead to the closure of the small general dealers that had been serving the community from time immemorial. ENDS