Lekopanye Mooketsi
24 November 2008
Business came to a standstill at the popular Oriental Plaza in Gaborone on Friday when law enforcement officers raided the complex to flush out those who were trading without licences and work permits.
The complex at Broadhurst Industrial houses Chinese wholesalers. It is the main supplier of goods to Chinese stores in the country. The raid was conducted by officials from the departments of trade; immigration; and labour; the Gaborone City Council and the police who arrested a number of Chinese traders. Apparently the government officials had staged surveillance earlier during the week prior to the raid.
When a Chinese trader claimed that she could not speak English, an official from the department of trade told her that: "I was here on Thursday and you were speaking perfect English. You even showed me the mats".
Some of the shops were forced to close after the owners were hauled to the Broadhurst Police Station.
The exercise fished out people who were operating without licences, work permits and those who were trading in goods that they are not licensed to sell. One Chinese woman was arrested after she was found duplicating DVDs with a lap top computer. Some of the Chinese were found with forged documents.
One was busted for operating a shop with a construction company license which he had pasted on the door. When they were confronted by the law enforcement agents, the Chinese exclaimed 'no English'. But they were told that one of the requirements for being issued with a residence permit was that they must speak one of the official languages. Those who claimed that they could not speak English later pleaded in the same language when they realised that they were in trouble.
A woman with a permit showing she was an industrial machine technician was found working as a shop assistant. Another with a permit for a garment designer was also working as a shop assistant.
One of the traders was caught with forged documents while others had licences with altered expiry dates. One of the traders was found operating with a licence which has been issued for a Molepolole business. A trader who was operating without a licence claimed that he was running a warehouse. But some goods inside his shop had price tags and were displayed on shelves.
A food wholesaler was found selling goods, which were not stipulated on the licence. Some traders failed to produce documents for tax and imports.
One of the traders who was operating with an expired licence, refused to leave the shop when he was ordered to do so by the law enforcement agents. The police were forced to handcuff him. His wife tried to lock herself in a toilet. Although the wife did not have a work permit, she was found working in the shop.
A young Chinese man in the shop claimed he was just visiting from Molepololole where he is running his own business. Another trader was found with an expired license, which belongs to a Motswana. Zimbabweans were also rounded up during the operation for working without work permits. Broadhurst Police Station Commander, Counsel Moyo was not available for comment.
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