Impasse grips Pilane Mall development

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Peggy Serame said PrimeTime Property Holdings, developer of the 7,500 square-metre retail shopping centre, had written to request the ministry to exempt some non-citizen retail stores that are currently operating reserved business activities and allow them to expand their operations in the same line of trade.

“The company was responded to, in clear terms that government reserved certain trades of business activities for citizens or companies wholly owned by citizens as yet another initiative on citizen economic empowerment,” she said. She also noted that as government has the obligation to drive this initiative, a decision has been taken to suspend the granting of exemptions to non-citizen companies to expand and/or open new retail stores in the reserved business space.