Gaborone retail market most saturated in Africa
Thursday, March 24, 2016
According to Knight Frank’s Shop Africa 2016 Report, Gaborone has 247,000 square metres of completed shopping centre space, significantly higher than megacities such as Lagos and Kinshasa.
Because of the relatively small size of the city, Gaborone has over 1,067 completed square metres of shopping space per every 1,000 people, a number that is 10 times bigger than cities such as Nairobi, Harare and Kampala.
Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...