VENDORS HIT HARD BY HIKE IN COMMODITY PRICES

MANZINI – The hike in commodity prices is hitting hard on vendors.

Their once booming businesses are now crumbling to the ground as customers have little money to spend on their wares. Information gathered from Zodwa Maziya, who has been plying her trade as a vendor in Manzini for 27 years, was to the effect that there has been a drastic decline in profits in her business since the implementation of the recent hikes of commodities and services comprising fuel, bread, bus fares and probably electricity, that is if the proposal to effect the hike is approved by Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA).

According to Maziya, who sells fruit and vegetables in Manzini, before the implementation of the hikes, she used to make profits in the region of E200 per day. However, since the endorsement of the hikes she hardly makes E50 per day. She said this had caused a strain not only in her business, but also in her personal life as well, as she now has to spend more money on transport on a daily basis than she used to. Maziya pointed out that prior to the approval of the hikes, she used to provide bus fare for her two children who were attending school in two of the prominent schools in Manzini, namely St Paul’s High School and Manzini Central High School, however, with the newly-imposed hikes of commodities, particularly bus fares, she struggles to provide bus fare for even one of her children. 

She pleaded with government to intervene in their sorrowful situation as vendors, failing which, they would seek government’s intervention in paying for their children’s school fees even at high school level, something which would be uncalled for because they were still energetic enough to make a living for themselves. Maziya also highlighted the fact that what made their financial strain to be even more prevalent in Manzini as vendors, was that reputable shopping outlets in town had adopted the culture of selling packaged fruit and vegetables.

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