22 Nov 2018

When the Barclays Bank branch in Shakawe village closed down, the broad Okavango sub region was left without a bank.

This is notwithstanding the fact that the village is experiencing massive infrastructural development among them the Mohembo bridge.

Apart from being a gateway to some of the best tourism destination in Botswana, Shakawe is also hive with economic activities that have led many people to scrambling to own a piece of land in the village.

However, it has been four months now since Barclays Bank Shakawe branch closed down and the impact it has had on the community has been major.

Before the closure, the bank serviced conveniently the people of Shakawe and the peripheral areas and also villages across the Okavango River, but now the nearest branch left is Gumare, which is about 135km from Shakawe.

Many people such as shop owners, workers, public transport operators and hawkers have been affected by the closure.

Member of Parliament for Okavango, Mr Bagalatia Arone said the bank management cited poor business and low profits as the reason they decided to close the Shakawe Barclays branch.

He however noted that as the area MP he had already elevated the matter with Bank of Botswana governor and talks were on going as they were the ones who issue licenses.

Mr Arone, who is also the Minister of Basic Education, noted with concern that it was not good for the village not to have a bank, considering the rate at which Shakawe was developing.

Director of Atoma Lodge, Mr Seadimo Sethwara said since the closure of Shakawe Barclays branch, as business people they incurred extra operational costs as they now travelled long distances to do regular deposits of their profits.

He also said the impact on small businesses was severe as people in the community did not have access to cash to buy from vendors and other shops, which did not have point of sale  machines.

Mr Sethwara said circulation of cash in the area had become low while buying patterns had also changed and only businesses that take card payments benefited from the situation.

He therefore suggested a satellite bank in Shakawe as the festive season was approaching.

Another entrepreneur, Ms Kilo Kanyetu of Kanyama Butchery said closure of the bank had tremendously had a negative impact on her business as the purchasing rate had gone down because of lack of convenient access to cash by the community.

She also decried travelling costs to Gumare or Maun to do regular deposits of her takings since she could not keep cash at home. Ends