Vendors worried about losing their income

Street vendors who sell their wares and food near the Matidze Complex and the now-abandoned multi-million-rand model taxi rank in Thohoyandou are up in arms, accusing the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) of not respecting their right to vukuzenzela (to get up and do things for themselves). The vendors are fed up with having to deal with a burst water pipe near the complex, which causes a stream of stream of water to spill past their stalls.

The problem has been continuing for about a year, the hawkers say. The water runs along Joyce Bongwe and Wilson Mufamadi Street, where they operate their stalls. They say that besides all this precious, clean water going to waste, they are losing business, as customers do not want to step into the pools of water, soiled by passing cars, to visit their stalls.

Limpopo Mirror reported on this same burst water pipe in March last year. The vendors and nearby businesses claim that, despite reporting it to the VDM on numerous occasions, the problem persists.

Ms Lutendo Thoboni, who runs a food stall there, said they were battling with unemployment and thought it a good idea to start their own small businesses that could earn them an honest income. “Selling foods and cool drinks to customers in Thohoyandou was better than having to sell our bodies as sex workers. We wanted to create jobs for ourselves. Then the problem with the burst pipe started last year, which has now also caused damage to the roads. We are starting to lose customers because while they are eating our food, passing vehicles splash dirty water from the road over their food. No customers like to eat food in a dirty environment. Cooking under these difficult conditions, we end up penniless the whole day.”

Another street vendor, Ms Mbavhi Mathegu, added that clean water was always needed in the communities, and when clean water was just being wasted, they became worried.

The spokesperson for the Vhembe District Municipality, Mr Matodzi Ralushai, acknowledged that bursting water pipes could lead to shortages of water in Thohoyandou town. He said that a team from the technical services department was summoned to investigate and further repair the water pipe in the Matidze Complex in Thohoyandou.

News - Date: 09 March 2024

Silas Nduvheni

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