Mall will ease unemployment burden;improve district's economy

Date: 20 August 2017 By: Elmon Tshikhudo

With a population of more than 1,3 million people in her area of jurisdiction, Vhembe District’s first citizen, Cllr Florence Radzilani, is beaming with confidence and excitement about the forthcoming official opening of the new Thavhani Mall in Thohoyandou.

Construction of the new R1 billion mall with more than 130 shops started last year and is nearing completion. It will open its doors for the first time on 24 August 2017. The new regional mall, with a large variety of retail shops, restaurants and other local businesses, is by far the largest mall in the area.

In an interview with the Vhembe mayor shortly before the anticipated official opening of the mall, Radzilani described the mall as one of the best things to have happened in her district in a long time. The mayor says she has a passion for development, clean governance and the empowerment of the youth. She describes the new Thavhani Mall as a blessing to her municipality, saying it will go a long way in easing poverty and creating opportunities for all in her municipality.

“We are a big municipality with four local municipalities that are predominantly rural. With the ever-increasing population and unemployment in our district, who cannot rejoice at the opening of such a massive investment?” she said. “We are extremely happy that a number of our people will gain meaningful employment and, even though we know that not all will be absorbed in terms of jobs, it will make a huge difference in the lives of the ones employed and their families. This calls for a celebration on our part,” she said.

The mayor further indicated that the new mall would mean massive savings for local people who used to travel long distances to buy certain products elsewhere. According to her, the district will benefit a lot economically as shoppers from neighbouring areas will also bring business to the mall.

“We are happy that our local businesspeople, including the youth, will not be left out of the economy as a sizeable number have businesses in the mall. This venture will certainly yield positive spinoffs,” she said.

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Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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