Mmegi is vendors� lifeline #Mmegi30yrs
| Tuesday July 29, 2014 11:32
Alex Dirang Dikokwe (32), based at Main Mall opposite Barclays Bank
“I come from Kopong and have been selling Mmegi Newspaper for 19 years now. When I was still in my junior school, my brother who was at the time selling newspapers gave me piece jobs as a way of making pocket money. At the time, his business was booming so he usually needed extra hands. When I failed my form three (JC), I decided to join the industry and open my own stall.
“When the business grew I opted to open other stalls. I now have stalls across the mall where I sell Mmegi and The Monitor newspapers and other papers. Seeing that the paper was in demand, I decided to expand my business. I am now supplying more than 20 companies with the newspaper daily. This paper is in high demand more especially the Friday paper that seems to have gained popularity.
“For the years that I have been in this business, I have been able to succeed in life. Like other men I have built myself a house. I can also feed my family and I am looking forward to marrying my girlfriend soon. I am very grateful and proud to have chosen this business as I live and feel like other business people. Even though there are a few challenges, I hope that I will soon be able to open a decent shop where I will focus on selling newspapers.”
Tsholofelo Tontosi (50),
based at Bus Rank
“I come from Ranaka and have been a street vendor for many years. I used to sell fruits and other things. Seven years ago I decided to sell newspapers as nobody sold them here. As a person who is passionate about reading, I found it intriguing to sell papers, as it was also a way of encouraging people to read. Mmegi newspaper has contributed a lot in my life, as I have been able to feed my family with the profits I make from this business.
“My customers like the Friday paper the most but some of them are faithful readers so they never want to miss a copy. The business was booming in the previous years than in the past few years. The sales have declined slightly and I think that social media and other new technology influenced this. Social media such as Facebook and others have really affected our business, as some people prefer to read news online than buying newspapers.”
Jephas Ngano (31), based at Broadhurst
Kagiso Mall
“I come from Nkange. I decided to venture into this business five years ago to feed my family. As I did not do well at school, I wanted to invest in a business and did not know which one to do. I wanted to venture into a different business than other people, as I wanted to make money so I did a research and realised that no one was selling newspaper here so I tried my luck and opted to sell them. Putting the paper on display can entice some customers to buy one. This has also boosted interest in reading amongst many people. It is also an advantage to some people as the can buy the paper at ease.
“Since selling newspapers, my family has never slept on an empty stomach. I had been able to put a roof over their head, pay school fees and pay bills like other men. I used to sell 100 papers per day and made a lot of profit. However, for the past few years due to the recession, the sales dropped a bit as I sell about 60 papers per day. Mmegi newspaper is one of the papers that are doing well in the market. The daily paper has gained fame amongst some customers who never want to go a day without one.
“Selling newspapers in the street is not an easy task though as the sun tarnishes their quality while we can also not sell on rainy days. Even though I would like to open my own shop, I cant, as rents are costly. As street vendors, the Gaborone City Council also gives us a challenge as it is always on our case.”