Big shopping complex landlords around Gaborone were on Thursday yet to meet with tenants to make a decision on April rental payment.
Since the beginning of Extreme Social Distancing at the beginning of April, shopping malls have become virtually empty as non-essential establishment closed.
This has meant that many businesses have not been able to generate revenue for the month of April.
Turnstar, owners and managers of Game City mall in Gaborone said they were yet to make a solid decision on how to assist their tenants, who are mostly retailers.
“We are constantly engaging with our tenants but right now there is nothing I can say regarding the arrangement. You have to realise that we also have operational costs that we incur,” said Asset Manager, Kagiso Morokotso.
Khumo Property Asset Management, which manages a number of properties on behalf of their clients also, said a decision was yet to be made regarding how clients would be assisted.
The company manages among others Railpark Mall and Airport Junction Mall in Gaborone.
In an interview, the company Chief Executive Officer, Outule Bale said a decision on the way forward will be made by landlords after consultation with tenants,
“What I can tell you is that we are in constant consultations with the tenants and also monitoring the situation,” said Bale, adding that they were at a stage where case-by-case assessments of clients’ predicaments were being carried out.
However he pointed out that ultimately it would be the landlords who would be responsible for making a final decision.
Chief Executive Officer of JB, Rajesh Nair said as a client he was yet to meet with his landlord to map a way forward regarding rental.
“Right now there is nothing that has been said by the landlords, we are waiting for the lockdown to end to meet with them so we can find a way to meet each other halfway,” said Nair.