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Written by Staff Reporters
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“Bureaucracy must not
be allowed to stand in the way of local economic development” says Ronnie
Coleman. The Rosh Pinah based entrepreneur is expanding his already large
shopping centre located in the rapidly growing southern mining town to include
retail and office space for 20 new enterprises.
In
fact Coleman created a central business district for the mining town by initially
building the shopping centre.
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| Coleman’s Rosh Pinah
Shopping Mall, which is still under construction. |
The town of Rosh Pinah developed in the
1960s following the opening of a zinc mine. However, when the Base Metals
division of international mining giant Anglo America made a major investment
earlier this decade in the form of Skorpion Zinc the mining town transformed
overnight into one of Namibia’s fastest growing urban areas. Skorpion Zinc is
hailed as Namibia’s post Independence foreign investment success story.
As is usually the situation in such
circumstances where growth outstrips even the most generous predictions,
shopping facilities in Rosh Pinah did not keep pace with demands brought about
by an ever increasing population following the opening of Skorpion Zinc.
Another obstacle was the town’s status – that of a mining settlement and not an
autonomous municipality or local authority.
But the modest, soft spoken and
indefatigable Ronnie Coleman would not let an entrepreneurial opportunity
slip-by. Against all odds and flying in the face of prophets of doom, he refused
to allow bureaucracy to get in the way. First Coleman took over a general
retail outlet and turned it into a well stocked retail store. Then he built a
lodge with a restaurant facility. In the meanwhile he grew his road haulage and
passenger transport business. It is now one of the largest Namibian owned and
managed transport firms.
Yielding to the demands of local residents
for better shopping facilities Coleman constructed a modern shopping centre
right in the centre of the town. He took a further business risk by opening a
Spar franchise with a modern butchery and bakery, all owned and operated by
him, as the anchor tenant in the shopping centre.
Coleman’s new Rosh Pinah Shopping Mall is
an investment of close to N$7 million. Representing one of the largest property
developments in Southern Namibia the project has created hundreds of jobs
during its construction phase.
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