Oriental Plaza fails to get licence again

Patricia Edwin
Staff Writer | Thursday March 7, 2013 00:00

 

The minister said that the non-citizens who want to operate from the complex have to apply for the necessary permits. She wrote to the Oriental Plaza consultant, Sam Masunga saying that she would not accede to the request that non-citizens should be exempted from engaging in reserved areas. 'I have carefully considered your request for exemption for non-citizens to trade in reserved areas at the Oriental Plaza business complex and have come to the conclusion that I cannot accede to your request to allow non-citizens to trade in the indicated reserved areas,' wrote the minister.

The correspondence advises the consultant that he should inform his clients accordingly. 'You are therefore requested to advise your clients to apply for licences for which they qualify.' The P70 million complex has been sitting idle for two years after completion as the minister has made it clear that she would not grant licences if its business is still segregated. She has said she would only grant licences upon notification that Batswana have been brought on board. The Oriental Plaza was completed in 2011 and since then, there has been a back and forth struggle between the owners and the government to grant licences. The government has maintained that it would not grant licences unless locals are part of the businesses operating from the plaza.

The complex is owned by Chen Jian Fei, the proprietor of Oriental Plaza in Gaborone.  Masunga said that they do not understand what the government wants as they thought they had met all the requirements. 'The minister had said that she did not want segregation and we have since managed to rope in some Batswana but we still cannot get a licence to operate. We have 25 non-citizens and 25 Batswana who are prospective business operators at the complex but we have been shut down and now we do not know what to do,' he lamented.

Masunga said that when the minister was still heading BEDIA, she worked hard to bring investors to the country.'But now it seems like she is the one who is chasing them away. We are confused she is now advising the licencing authority not to licence Oriental Plaza even though we met the requirements,' he added. He said that at the moment they have people who are willing to sell clothes, furniture, hardware, as well as open restaurants and supermarkets at the plaza.