Botswana: Consumer Fair 2007 is More Focused - Chairman

Source from:  Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone) 3 September 2007 09/05/2007

The consumer market is on an upward spiral and the retail sector should empower the youth by offering them trainee management opportunities so that they are self-sufficient James Kamyuka, the Chairman of Fairground Holdings, said at the Consumer Fair 2007's prize-giving ceremony last week: "The Botswana Consumer Fair has helped in creating employment, especially for the youth who would otherwise be roaming in the streets. 'Your Spring Shopping Oasis' is (the) tagline for the event, thus this event will always be held in spring and its mission will always be consumer-centric." Viable plans are underway to further develop the fair to the taste of the exhibitors and consumers. "I am sure you have seen a leaner and more focused exhibition that is compact in duration and not congested," Kamyuka said. "Our quest for continual improvement will see us conducting another survey during this exhibition so that we can gauge the satisfaction climate of our clients - the exhibitors and the visitors. We appeal to you to cooperate so that we can adapt to the sophisticated and ever changing dictates of the environment in which we operate". For the fair to flourish, there is need not to discriminate consumers on the basis of their financial status. The fair is for anyone who wants to buy goods. According to the 2002/03 Household Income and Expenditure Survey published by the Central Statistics Office, the average monthly household consumption expenditure on Food was 23.7 percent, Transport stood at 15.6 percent, and Housing 12.9 percent. Kamyuka said expenditure across regions, cities/towns and urban villages followed the national pattern, except in rural areas where the third highest proportion was allocated to Alcohol and Tobacco. "As suppliers and retailers, we need to be wary of social ills such as alcohol abuse in relation to economic inequalities. We should not profit out of the miseries of consumers who are frustrated beyond economic productivity. "There is high unemployment in rural areas and economic activity is relatively low. I urge you to decentralise your operations to cater for marginalised areas so that there will be (a more) equitable distribution of wealth. Kamyuka called on businesses to be consumer-focused, saying Botswana was catching up with monitoring fair practices through organisations such as the Consumer Watchdog and the Consumer Protection Unit in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Botswana Consumer Fair is an opportunity for exhibitors to enhance their marketing options through product demonstrations and marketing and to share experiences. Enditem