13 Aug 2020

Tuckshops, commonly known in the vernacular as dimausu, have for many years operated from households, villages and townships’ open areas all over the country.

These businesses would not be displaced by big retail companies that tried to out compete them in the grocery business.

They became distributors for those retailers in locations, settlements, cattle posts and villages where big retail companies could not reach their customers.

Mr Kgothano Lentswe aged 46 of Majwanaadipitse in Serowe North Constituency has graduated from that line of business and now owns a grocery store he has operated since 2017.

Prior to that, he ran a shack tuckshop he had called his own for many years.

Mr Lentswe is no different from other businesses that start small and eventually reach their purpose. The grocery store he now owns was purchased from one of the village elders.

Circumstances did not allow him to sit back because he was not from an affluent family and that threw him into assuming the role of a provider for his family.

Running a business in a village like Majwaanadipitse comes with its tests and Mr Lentswe narrated how it thrived only when it was pay day for pensioners and Ipelegeng beneficiaries. Most villagers are not well to do.

Owning a business, no matter how small, requires one to always be on their feet and Mr Lentswe decried customers who bought on credit and took long to pay.

Such is typical when operating a business in a village but the down side is that ‘customers disadvantage my daily operations because I have to stock from retailers where there is no credit facility,’ stated Mr Lentswe.

The coming in of big retail stores especially in Serowe, roughly 65km away, has diverted customers’ attention who prefer to buy from those, in bulk.

Mr Lentswe said although he operated as a middlemen for big retailers, at times he was forced to sell at competitive prices to meet his customers’ needs.

He complained about the state of Tshimoyapula/Majwanadipitse road, which he said was impassible to use, as well as the lack of electricity in the village, which made robbery a regular occurrence at his store.

Not one to put all his eggs in one basket, Mr Lentswe, who was previously employed by one of the companies sub-contracted by Debswana mine in Letlhakane, doubles as a farmer. ends