- 300 permanent jobs created as P140 million mall opens
The first ever mall in the diamond rich Boteti District was officially opened in Letlhakane last Saturday.
Teemane Mall, whose construction commenced in March last year, was completed in record time by Time Projects Botswana (Pty) Ltd at a cost of P140 million.
Co-owned by local businessman, Tipson Mahube, his wife Josephine Mahube and the property developers, Teemane Mall boasts 42 shops, with Pick N Pay as the anchor store.
39 of the available 42 units are already occupied, with the remaining three reserved for Woolworths, SheetStreet and Pep Home, who are all expected to set up shop soon.
Other tenants include: Knockout Cash and Carry, OK Furniture, Clicks, Exact, Markhams, Sports Scene, Mr Price, and Capello.
Giving a brief insight into his business background, Mahube described Teemane as the continuation of a dream that began in 1984, when he first arrived in Letlhakane and began his empire with a general dealer, a chibuku depot and later a Shell Filling Station.
“My wife and I had always wanted to develop this land. So in 2010 we went ahead with the design of the shopping mall. We started with Engine Filling Station in 2013, which really became a draw card for the mall, as we had interest from the likes of Nandos and Debonaires,” explained Mahube, speaking at the official opening.
He said they eventually received a partnership proposal from Time Projects to develop the mall and never looked back.
“Phase two of the development is pending; watch this space,” added Mahube with a teasing smile.
Giving a project overview, Director, Property Management at Time Projects Turnie Morolong revealed the mall has created 300 permanent jobs and has made shopping easy in Boteti region.
He further disclosed that the new mall, which sits on 11, 500 square metres of land and boasts parking space for 600 vehicles, has a P2 million self-contained sewer treatment plant generating its own recycled water for use in public toilets and for landscape irrigation.
In his keynote address, Vice President, Slumber Tsogwane hailed the development as extremely timely, noting it comes a week after Boteti was declared a full district.
“It would have reflected badly on us to be the only district without a mall,” noted the Vice President.
Tsogwane added the mall will save the people of Boteti both time and money as they no longer have to splash out on transport fares for the long trip to Francistown for their shopping.
“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.
The Vice President further assured Mahube and partners that his government will all always support initiatives geared towards job creation.
“As government, we’re also determined to ensure that retailers sell local products at these stores,” he concluded.
