By: Lungisa Somtombo
After years of suffering in bad weather, 28 Bhisho female hawkers will finally have a roof over their heads as Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Executive Mayor Xola Pakati together with the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane handed over newly-built enclosed hawkers shelters today.
A hawker of 30 years Nogcinile Simakade, said when she started selling they were using boxes to protect themselves from cold but that did not help as those boxes would be blown away by the wind.
The 62 year old started by selling rostables for 20c and a plate of meat for R2 which her business grew as she got support from people working at Radio Ciskei now Tru FM, Peoples Bank, Provincial Legislature, Bhisho High Court and Calata House.
“When you’re doing to do something you must love it because you will work with different people,” she said.
Speaking to BCM News Simakade said the women she started selling with have died because of the cold she is now working with their daughters.
Being a hawker allowed her to take her children to school, who are now graduates but cannot find employment. “I have daughters who were looking for jobs but ended up being victims of baking rostables.”
Simakade said last year they were visited by MEC Oscar Mabuyane who told them they would build shelters for them. She added that the MEC said he saw their bad situation, became sympathetic and decided to build them enclosed shelters.
“We are very happy because this is better than what we expected as these are houses and we are able to lock them and we thank God for MEC Mabuyane,” she said.
MEC Mabuyane said when he visited these women they told him about bad weather conditions they had to endure and he decided to do this initiative to show that government must invest in SMMEs and improve their working conditions.
The MEC added that Nedback has offered to educate these women about financial management starting next week and that means they have opened doors for them.
“We are happy to have done this as government. It will give dignity to our people as the freedom charter instructed us to do,” said Mabuyane.
Mayor Pakati said these women make a living out of selling here and it is the view of the city that they should be protected from bad weather. He added that they are targeting more areas in the metro.
“We started in Berlin, we will go to Zwelitsha, King Williams Town and Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane to handover more hawker stalls,” he said.
Bhisho resident Nomathamsanqa Zono who started selling meals in 2005 when she lost her job. She said she is very happy they received enclosed stalls because they used to get cold and couldn’t cope now they will stay in their shelters and sell in peace.