SEDCO TO VENDORS’ RESCUE

MBABANE – SEDCO has ensured vendors’ safety when conducting their business by donating hand sanitisers yesterday.

SEDCO is the Small Enterprises Development Company. The beneficiaries were vendors selling mainly fruits and vegetables at the Mbabane Bus Rank. In response to the coronavirus threat, a delegation led by Managing Director Dorrington Matiwane made a stop at the capital city’s bus rank to give out about 20 units of 1 litre sanitisers to the vendors.

Matiwane acknowledged that activity was less due to the 20-day partial lockdown enforced on March 27 but stressed that the vendors and their customers still needed to be protected.
“With a lot of interaction with the customers, we need to prioritise the life of the vendors,” he said.

Grateful

The vendors were grateful for the gesture. They conceded that business was slow due to the lockdown, but felt the rotation system in their business was better than sitting at home. The vendors come to the market in groups to conform to social distancing regulations.

“We’re grateful for the support. We also prioritise cleanliness. The hand sanitisers will go a long way in boosting customer confidence,” said Delisile Simelane, who sells mainly vegetables.
Other randomly interviewed vendors also shared the same sentiments, saying they were fully behind government’s preventive measures even though business was now slow.

Yesterday’s assistance came barely a few days after SEDCO Board Chairperson Nelsiwe Mabuza announced other measures to help small businesses. Measures include the deferment of monthly rentals for all SEDCO Incubation tenants for the months of April and May 2020.

Consultations

In the statement, Mabuza also announced plans to offer free business advisory consultations to ensure business continuity to the small and medium enterprises for the month of April, where relevant.
There are also plans to lobby financial institutions and other statutory organs to offer repayment holidays to SMEs incognisance to the obtaining situation.

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