On Friday, rural development agrarian reform MEC Nomakhosazana Meth will be in Cradock to hand over food parcels and fresh vegetables to hawkers.
“Hawkers are integral to the SA economy, offering easy access to a wide range of goods and services in public spaces,” Meth’s spokesperson Ayongezwa Lungisa said on Thursday.
“The impact of Covid-19 on hawkers and small businesses has been severe. Covid-19 has affected their trade, with some being unable to put food on the table.”
Many smaller businesses are struggling.
Makhanda barbershop owner Siyabulela Tate Hoboshe and his three employees will have no income during the lockdown.
“It truly is a challenging time for all of us. The worst part is having to pay rent at the end of the month, let alone our personal expenses.”
Tate’s Barbershop’s neighbour on High Street is Room Service Linen Supply, owned by Thantaswa Botile, who invested all her money in setting up and opening the store in January and is a long way from recovering her investment.
“I’m not coping. My business depends on people coming, seeing items they need and then buying. I don’t see my business surviving this.”
Border-Kei Chamber of Business executive director Les Holbrook said some of the chamber’s members were saying that by the end of the third week “they won’t have money left.”
Rosheda Muller, president-elect of the SA Informal Traders Alliance (Saita), told the Dispatch a R3,000 payment would “go a long way” towards easing the burden on hawkers.
She admitted it would be difficult to distribute the R3,000, since most informal traders were not organised, but said they were working with Cosatu to mobilise informal traders.
Catholic Bishop of Mthatha Sithembele Sipuka said poor people would be doubly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It will decimate huge numbers of people” and the stress of “sitting at home for 21 days” means people have no “means to provide for themselves”. — Additional reporting by Bhongo Jacob and Mkhululi Ndamase
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Article source: https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2020-04-02-lifeline-for-informal-food-traders/