Africa-Press – Botswana. With the inaugural FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix only a few days away, press took to the streets of Gaborone and talked to hawkers, especially those in the proximity of the National Stadium, to hear their preparedness for the global event.
Although most of them said they were unaware of the upcoming race, a few said that they knew about the event and were ready to take advantage of the influx of customers into the stadium.
Ms Irene Mosimanegape, who manages Moon Kiss Catering Services, said she was indeed ready for the event. “Our plan is to simply increase our production because a lot of people are likely to require our food,” she said.
Even though she anticipated an increase in customers, she said she had no plans to adjust her menu to accommodate international spectators.
“One would wish to add a few traditional dishes to cater for international customers, but from my experience such plates sell slowly, so we will stick to what we usually sell,” she said, reasoning that time was too short to change the menu.
“We would only consider adjusting our menu if the event stretched over a few days, or if we had a special booking,” she said.
Ms Mosimanegape’s business specialises in fast foods such as chips, burgers, chicken and steaks.
Her neighbour, Ms Ako Mokokwe from Letlhakeng has a different view.
The 49-year old, who has been operating AJG Catering in front of the University of Botswana for 15 years, said adding Setswana cuisine to her menu would attract international visitors.
“I have all along been selling traditional foods like dikgobe and phaleche, but I plan to add more like seswaa, bogobe ja lerotse, letshotlho and letlhodi among others,” she said.
Ms Mokokwe was, however, worried about the influx of hawkers who did not usually operate from the National Stadium. Her wish was that resident hawkers should be given preference.
“We, nonetheless, expect to make more profit than usual. My plate will go for P45 from the normal P35 and by the look of things, I will definitely have to bring more helpers,” she said.
Ms Mokokwe, however, complained that the local organising committee had never engaged them about the coming event, and that they only learned about it by chance despite being closer to the venue.
Another hawker, 40-year-old Ms Bokani Mpofu of Fert Foods said that she was also expecting to make a killing from the event
“Normally I make between P3 000-P4 000 in sales on a normal day, but for this event I am expecting to double my profits,” she said.
Ms Mpofu, whose business has a staff complement of four, also said she would have to engage additional staff, albeit temporarily.
She said it made sense to introduce local cuisine to cater for international guests, but was worried about the space of her kiosk which she doubted would be able to accommodate the influx of customers she was likely to have.
Most of the other hawkers in the area were also in agreement that there was a need to increase stock and that there was also a need to add a few Setswana dishes to their normal menu to showcase to the visitors what Botswana has.
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