It's a sad Christmas for business without Zimbos
FRANCISTOWN: Vendors on the ever-busy Haskins Street here are decrying the trickle of Zimbabwean shoppers who normally swarm the place at this time of the year.The mood was the same among Chinese shopkeepers on the same street came calling this week.Though monosyllabic conversations with the Chinese, it was clear that the absence of shoppers, especially Zimbos who have been coming in droves over the years, was the cause of the depressed moods.
"The extent of my vocabulary being limited to 'sheshe' and 'nihao' (wrinting phonetically), that was all I could say when I entered Best Choice, A W Lesego and Rainbow Exporters and Importers.At "More4Less," a fierce looking Chinese young man holding a hand exerciser simply waved me away when I tried to explain myself in English.
I had finished making the formal greetings and he had, with a fleeting smile, nodded assent. But I had to switch to English which, unbeknownst to me, would spell the end of our friendship. However, a lad who said his name was Philip came to my rescue, saying they were not as busy as last year. "Around this time last year, there were so many Zimbabweans we could not sit down from morning till 6pm when we knocked off," said Philip."But this time around, we have time to relax, as you can see (pointing to a Chinese young man sitting cross-legged on the counter)."
Besides the “natural and organic materials” to concoct said products, the kit includes “a booklet that explores how scents affect 