Molepolole CBD abandoned, businesses collapse

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Tuesday September 14, 2010 00:00

Seven years after the envisaged Molepolole Central Business District (CBD) the project is yet to take off. The dream for the all-purpose mall at Borakanelo ward seems to have gone up in smoke, in the process loosing investors millions of Pulas.

In fact, the abondentment of the CBD development has also cost the tax payer. While the council has nothing to show of a seven-year old dream, people have been relocated and paid for the inconvinience, and a consultant involved in the design of the mall has been paid his dues. Some neighbouring business people have lost as, on the council promise, had to renovate their properties in anticipation of the spinoffs.

Council Chairman for Kweneng District Council Motlhophi Leo insists he does not know the reasons behind the abandonment of the project since he was not chairman of the council at the time the project was being discussed. 

What he is sure of is that Borakalalo shopping complex was the area earmarked for a CBD in Molepolole and later abandoned by the council.  He also confirmed that those neighbouring the targeted development area were relocated and compensated, as they had to surrender their plots to give way for the planned developments.  He says that a consultant hired for the job was paid for the design of the mall, something that showed council commitment to the project then.

Even business owners were informed of council's intention to modernise  and develop Borakalalo.  'I believe the council was at a stage where they were only waiting for construction to start otherwise everything was done,' he said.  Leo says, that in the current council plan currently, there is nothing to report to Molepolole residents.  'I don't have the CBD in the development plan. I don't know what happened with it and nobody told me anything,' he said.

At Borakalalo shopping complex, some infrastructure bears testimony of this once-upon-a-time dream of council's determination to have a CBD.  There are stretches of  two kilometre walkway pavements that connect Molepolole-Gaborone road to Letlakeng main road that passes through the dream CBD.  Along the walkways there are streets lights which are now unutilised as the area has grown into a bush. The one and only traffic light is non-functional.    There are four parking bays lying unused, though one of them is currently used as a village bus rank since there is no bus rank in the village. 

Farouk Tajbhai, one of the business people who claims to have spent millions of pula renovating their property with the hope of making returns from the new CBD says that businesses in Borakalalo have collapsed since the council halted the mall development plan.

He says that in 2003, the business community was approached by the council and requested to renovate their buildings and invest in Borakalalo so as to modernise the CBD. To their surprise the council renaged in its promise of modernising Borakalalo and moved development elsewhere, leaving the business community to suffer in false hope.  'Borakalalo is a dead shopping complex. There is no business here and property developers have lost out since they spent their money renovating buildings for a mall that never materialised,' he said.

'Most of these shops have been here for well over 60 years.  Buildings were demolished to make way for roads, walkways for pedestrians and parking areas which were indeed constructed in the hope of this dream becoming a reality. Business people started investing millions in improving infrastructure in the area but to their utmost surprise the unimaginable happened' Tajbhai said.  

Business people claim to have confronted the council several times on the issue and received one promise after another. He says the council always promised that the development of the mall was underway.  To their surprise, the supposed mall is used for other purposes.  'There are churches opening here while other shops have turned into white elephants. Business owners have lost millions of money and have not recovered that money yet. They are out of business.'  Again, business people blame the council for licensing plots for commercial purposes along the Gaborone-Molepolole road instead of encouraging them to move to Borakalalo ward.  'Due to poor planning of business centres by the council some businesses have been crippled and are now paying  the price for trusting in the council's empty promises.  Roads are congested as malls open along the road and this could be avoided if the council could plan better and move businesses along the road to Borakalalo,' said Tajbhai.