Tailors Suffer As LEA Takes Over BEDU

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Monday January 11, 2010 00:00

They claim that with BEDU, their businesses flourished and they were hopeful that they could grow into nationally recognised tailors. 

Kefilwe Molale, one of the tailors, told Monitor that they were comfortable when they had stalls inside BEDU and their customers knew exactly where to find them.  She complained that since they started selling on the streets life has been difficult as they have to withstand harsh weather conditions on a daily basis. 'We are here whether it is raining, windy, cold or hot. We are suffering and it is not good for our business,' she complained.

She said that their products also discolour since they are exposed to high heat temperatures in the sun. 

She called for assistance from government, individuals or private companies to enable them to grow as an industry.  While they sometimes have a lot of clients, they cannot meet the demand as a result of lack of a proper working place and market to put their goods, explained Molale. 

Because they are no longer working in their old premises, Molale said they have lost a good number of their clients who do not know where to find them.  'We now stand and sell at the gate because some of our clients still come here looking for us,' she says. 

Another problem cited by Molale is that customers sometimes despise their products simply because they are on the streets. 'It pains us that people look down on our products simply because we are operating from the street,' she says.

Molale claimed that it is difficult to utilise LEA services since they require a lot of things that complicate everything and consume a lot of time to process.

However, while some business owners complain about being on the streets, some who have proper working stations are planning on moving from their factories into the streets.

One business owner, Sekgabo Molefe, owner of Molefe Dress Makers in Gaborone, said that she wants to at least have a stall in the streets rather than operate only from the factory.  'Tailors on the streets take our clients even before they get here. Some do not know where our factory is and end up buying from the street,' she said.  Molefe believes that if she was on the streets, she would be closer to her clients and they would recognise her work better. 

Molefe said that another problem that they have is clients who bring orders and renew tenders very late.  'I usually prepare school uniforms in September, but what happened last year is that a certain school renewed their contract with me just towards the end of December, which puts me under a lot of pressure,' she says. 

She claimed that as a result of such late orders, she consequently fails to deliver on time because she sometimes struggles to find the material.