Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
17 October 2008
Ramotswa businessman, Tshabang Setilo has nothing to celebrate after the first-ever citizens only auction of government vehicle fleet went terribly wrong for him.
Setilo finds himself stuck with a mini-bus he must pay P35,000 for, and he says he does not know how he got himself into that mess. He says he never wanted a mini-bus in the first place. The Ramotswa businessman woke up yesterday with dream of owning a van that he would use to buy stock at the wholesalers for his shop in Ramotswa.
During the week he had been scouting for a suitable van at the Central Transport Organisation (CTO) plant in Gaborone, ahead of the first ever citizens only auction of the government vehicle fleet.
The whole day yesterday, Setilo stood near the mini-bus he is supposed to have won. He talked to anyone who might be interested to buy the mini-bus so that he can go and bid for the van he wanted. But many people he approached seemed reluctant to take the mini-bus at P35,000.
Setilo claims that he did not know what he was doing since it was his first time at the auction. He says the auctioneer pointed at him and declared him the winner of the mini-bus.
"I had my hand up like everyone had their hands up, but I did not want this vehicle. I came here for a van, so I can use it for buying stock for my shop," he said in an interview.
What makes the case even more complicated for the Ramotswa businessman is that he does not have the P35,000 to pay the government, he claims. "I came here looking to buy a van for P19,000 or 20,000. I don't have P35,000 for sure".
Setilo's attempts to talk to the auctioneers to reverse his bid failed. He says the auctioneers told him 'it is your problem'.
As the Mmegi team left the auction site, Setilo was still hoping that someone might come to his rescue. But time was not on his side as the auctioneers were nearing to start auctioning the few vans available. Malebogo Tau got herself a car for P26,000. However she looked confused as to whether she bought the right thing or not. She says others have been teasing her saying she bought a 'fong kong' at a very high price.
"Ba re ke rekile fong kong, nna ga ke itse dikoloi - They are telling me, I bought a fong-kong, and wasted my money," she said.
However, Tau can only comfort herself with the knowledge that what she bought was once a government vehicle, and that government never buys fong-kongs. Tau, who will own a car for the first time says she cannot tell whether this car is cheap or not.
Tau's problem was compounded by the fact that in this citizens only government vehicles auction, no one is allowed to bring a partner to help them assess the vehicles. Only time will tell whether Tau has struck gold with her purchase.
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