20 Nov 2022

 Teemane Mall has ushered in a new shopping experience for areas around Letlhakane and Orapa.

The Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, said this in Letlhakane on Saturday during official opening of the mall.

He the mall would lessen the distance travelled by residents of Boteti to other areas.

He said the mall was a welcome development considering the increase in transportation costs.

During construction, he said, about 300 jobs were created for Batswana.

“I’m reliably informed that there is still potential to develop the other areas of the mall, which will result in more job opportunities. I highly encourage that be done soon,” he said.

Government would always support initiatives meant to create jobs, stated Mr Tsogwane.

Teemane Mall, he said, was owned by a Motswana who started small.

Mr Tsogwane said with proper management, all small businesses had potential to grow.

He said the mall had major local and regional retail chain stores as tenants, noting that government was determined to ensure that retailers sold local products at their stores.

Owner of the mall, Mr Tipson Mahube, said he started in 1985 with a small general dealer and a Chibuku depot financed from family savings.

He indicated that in 1989, they added Shell Filling Station and later on Granny’s Kitchen and Granny’s Lodge.

He said Granny’s Lodge opened doors in 1993 with only three rooms, but a conference centre was later included.

To succeed in business, Mr Mahube said, one had to work hard, adding selflessness, sacrifice, tenacity and focus were also key.

He said him and his wife toyed with various ideas about the land used for the mall since the year 2000, but the idea of a shopping mall was dominant.

In 2010 they went ahead with the design of a shopping mall.

However, he said they shelved it because the timing was not right and the market was not ready.

The shopping mall, Mr Mahube said, had other components that complimented it such as a fuel station, which they started with.  

Mr Mahube stated that once the fuel station was up and running in 2013, the business model became more visible and real, and they started getting a lot of interest from various stakeholders such as Nandos and Debonairs pizza.

The fuel station, he said, became a draw card for the shopping mall and they were approached by the director of Time Projects Botswana to partner with them for the development of the mall.

The deal was structured and new plans for the mall were designed and approved. Construction started in March 2021.

Time Projects director, Mr Turnie Morolong, said construction was completed August this year.

Mr Morolong indicated that the total lettable area for the mall was 11 500 square metres comprising 41 retail units with parking for 600 vehicles.

The mall, he said, had a P2 million self-contained sewer treatment plant generating its own recycled water for use in public toilets and landscape irrigation.

He said the mall had tenants that included Pick ’n’ Pay, Knockout Cash and Carry, OK Furniture, Exact, Markhams, Sports Scene, Mr Price, Clicks and Capello.

Mr Morolong said they expected PEP Home, Sheet Street and Woolworths to join their lineup of tenants early next year.

He said they were not yet done developing the mall adding, the second phase was upcoming. ENDS