25 Jul 2018

Francistown’s Haskins Street is one of the busiest and easiest to locate largely due to the daily traffic of people engaged in business activities along the street in the second city.

The street has become a business hub for some locals and foreigners, characterised by a linear of retail shops that sell different wares including; electronics, clothing, bedding, kitchenware and several other items, where individuals either buy in bulk or per item.

The street is also well known in neighbouring countries as hordes of shoppers from as far as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho frequent the shops on it on a daily basis.

Some locals have settled around the street to provide services such as catering, assisting in packaging/loading bulk items into vehicles, as well as transporting the goods to border gates.

In an interview with BOPA, Ms Nonofo Maletsa aged 25 shared that she is among those scores of people that sell different food items on Haskins Street to make ends meet.

She further stated that following the realisation that the street is always busy, she opted to venture into a catering business since the beginning of the year, and her customers are normally foreigners who come to the shops to buy in bulk.

The youthful Ms Maletsa pointed out that the business is relatively satisfactory as the profit she makes daily enables her to provide for herself and her family.

“I am managing to conquer the dependency syndrome through my catering business here and it seems that it will be my lifetime business,” she proudly said.

She encouraged other youths to tap into the available business opportunities instead of ‘folding arms’ at home doing nothing.

Another business swashbuckler, Ms Kgalalelo Keimetswe noted that she had found solace in selling food items along the street over three years back. 

She does not despise the daily earnings, and although she could not disclose her daily profits, her facial expressions confirmed that there are more positive outcomes to this venture than meets the eye.

Ms Keimetswe said she has now made it a habit of being at her work area as early as 7am before the shops open, because of the high demand for breakfast by those who will be waiting for the shops to open to start their errands.

“Most of the people, especially those from across the borders, come here very early in the morning. As such they pass by so as to grab breakfast before they can start to move around the shops,” she said.

Mr Gwafila Nlodiwa is also one of those who do not regret all the time he spends helping people to package their luggage and load it into vans or trucks.

He said he did not only remain stationed in one area, something which he believes helps him to make better profits, adding that he sometimes ferries luggage to the bus rank.

For his part, Mr Khathado Dema, who is the chairperson of the local transporting vans, shared that the business of transporting goods for the Haskins Street buyers is profitable.

He shared that they are permitted to carry out their business by the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS) officials.

Mr Dema however decried the high crime rate on Haskins Street, attributing it to the large numbers of people visiting the areas. ENDS