25 Aug 2019

Tsabong recently came alive as magnitudes from the village and neighbouring villages thronged TM complex to witness the opening of Choppies 89th supermarket.

Amongst those who came, was 82-year-old Mr Ohitile Golaolwang who had traveled all the way from Gakhibana to attend the opening.

In an interview, Mr Golaolwang who was born and bred in the Kgalagadi district said in the past, there were few supermarkets to buy from and they relied mostly on tuck shops.

He said Sefalana Shoppers supermarket and Trans which opened recently in Tsabong were the only big supermarkets before the arrival of Choppies.

He added that the presence of Choppies would bring in more competition in the market space.

Mr Golaolwang said new supermarkets offered more choice and competition to attract consumers with low prices. 

He also observed that Tsabong would become more developed.

Guest speaker at the opening ceremony, Kgalagadi District Council chairperson Mr Meleko Thumpe, said by opening its 89th store in Botswana, it was a sign that the chain store was growing and taking its business to the people even in remote areas.

Mr Thumpe appreciated Choppies for choosing to operate in Tsabong adding that the move would be beneficial to the people in the Kgalagadi district. 

“The people will not only buy from the supermarket but they will also sell their products to Choppies,” he said.

He noted that the shop created employment opportunities for young people, where they would get training.

 He added that there would be skills transfer which would develop the human resource capital of the district.

For his part, TM complex businessman, Mr Tshipietsile Mothelesi, said it took seven years to work on the infrastructure development for Choppies. 

He extended his appreciation to the Kgalagadi Land board for allowing him to extend his shopping complex to accommodate the chain store building.

Mr Mothelesi also thanked the Kgalagadi District Council for their guidance on architecture plans.

 He stated that the TM complex had other shops and one bank, whose services  he encouraged the consumers to use. 

This, he said, would contribute to the growth and development of Tsabong.

The Tsabong businessman noted that  the village operated with one commercial bank, adding ‘For other commercial banks to come it is important for the people to spend their money in Tsabong so that more developments can be done for them’. 

He divulged that it would take him three years to bring commercial banks into the complex to support the businesses in Tsabong.

Tsabong Sub-district council deputy chairperson, Mr Lucky Lorekang said the opening of Choppies in the village brought new developments and people should be prepared to also benefit by supplying Choppies with what was required.

He also encouraged Choppies management to take care of its employees as he did not want to see industrial actions on account of low wages. 

He said staff attraction and retention was key. He encouraged Choppies to support Small Micro and Medium Enterprises through the adoption of flexible procurement procedures to buy from them and take their products to the market.

He cautioned management against unfair business practices and criminal activities such as selling expired products  and changing expiry dates as that could be detrimental to public health. 

For his part, Tsabong Choppies manager, Mr Joel Monnaemang promised that the supermarket would buy fresh produce such as vegetables from the community. 

He added that farmers should be prepared to supply the supermarket with fresh meat.

He said the new supermarket had 79 employees most of them being Tsabong  residents, adding that the chain store had four managers. 

 

The store was officially opened by Tsabong deputy chief Mr Richard Toto. ENDS