Ominous threat hangs over wretched vendors

FRANCISTOWN: Though the threat of evicting them has not (yet) been carried out, the remaining vendors in Francistown's old mall are still uneasy.

Law enforcement officers of the City Council of Francistown (CCF) went around Botswana's second city warning the vendors, especially unlicensed ones, to vacate their posts or face imminent removal.

That was done in subsequent days, leaving the wretched informal traders a bundle of nerves on the kerb - their ramshackle structures wrecked, their livelihoods in ruins.

Editor's Comment
Micro-procurement maze demands urgent reform

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...

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