25 Mar 2020

 Selebi Phikwe, which is reeling from effects of BCL Mine closure, might be hit hard following the COVID 19 pandemic, says SPEDU regional chamber of commerce chairperson, Dr Baboloki Manake.

Prior to the pandemic, Dr Manake said the business community in Selebi Phikwe was adapting to the business environment and was even beginning to experience growth.

“This virus is likely to reverse all the efforts made to improve the town’s economy. I foresee some layoffs, financial constraints and a shutdown of some businesses,” he added.

Recovering from effects of the COVID-19, he said, was not going to be easy for most businesses, hence thus he proposed that appealling to government  to put aside a budget to cushion the affected businesses.

Dr Manake explained that most businesses had been benefiting from events hosted in Selebi Phikwe, but these had since been suspended to avoid gatherings.

Tourism is one of the thriving businesses in the SPEDU region, therefore Dr Manake explained that the sector was already feeling a pinch since the number of tourists had declined drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SPEDU region is also a region that has linkages with South Africa as such businesses in the region accessed South Africa through Platjan and Zanzibar border posts.

The closure of these border posts, he said, compelled business owners to use the Martins Drift Border Post resulting in high transportation costs.

Dr Manake proposed that  government should have left the borders operating for commercial purpose only rather than closing the borders completely.

Dr Manake, who is also chairperson of Liquor control Authority, urged bar owners to comply with the law by closing their bars until further notice.

He said, should the situation worsen,  government was likely to close other business sectors, adding that saving lives was a priority. 

However, he was of the view that government should not have closed the bars entirely, but rather allowed them to operate like bottle stores to prohibit gathering of people.

On other issues he commended businesses that heeded government’s call by providing sanitisers to customers and limiting the number of customers.

He urged government to put stringent measures to prohibit individuals from panic buying.

Dr Manake also cautioned businesses in the SPEDU region against hiking prices.

He urged communities in the SPEDU region to abide by the recommended precautionary measures of social distancing.ends