Moeladiotlhoko Newsboiler goes commercial
Director of Moeladiotlhoko Newsboiler, Tshepo Sethibe says he cannot feed on Facebook likes and other donated goods, such as petrol and airtime.
This comes after he introduced membership cards under his business brand on January 1st. When his followers caused an uproar on Facebook due to the new development, the Moeladiotlhoko boiler Facebook page was deactivated, on claims of brand revamping and it has not been active ever since.
Moeladiotlhoko is registered as a company and their Facebook news page, had 357 000 likes and 491 000 followers.
Speaking to The Midweek Sun about his company decision to introduce the membership card that cost P300 annually, paid upon registration and a P20 monthly subscription, Sethibe said he has offered free services to Batswana for three years, relying on personal resources and few donations.
“Ga ke sa tlhola ke batla dikoleke, ke batla tsela e tlhamaletseng go dira dilo tse di tlhamaletseng mo sechabeng,” loosely translated, “I no longer need donations, I want to provide my services to people professionally.”
Sethibe said he has previously undergone tough situations and ended in jail, which he says has increased his passion to help people and has made him to be more resilient in his career.
He remains adamant that the membership card will serve as a loyalty benefit card and he promises that all cardholders will be given first priority with their services.
'The membership initiative is called 'Re thusa Malome, go re thusa.’ I appreciate the donations, but I also want to sustain my life,' he said. His company services, he says, include client visitations, free coverage during hard times such as funerals, assisting to search a missing family member, offering counselling and attending other community events such as weddings.
He said that his company has an expectation of giving membership cards to 20 000 people.
'A free t-shirt is given to those who register for our membership card. We have also made an arrangement with some local businesses such as Law firms and boutiques to offer services at a reasonable price to those having our membership cards,' he said.