EJECTED VENDORS LOSE OVER E30 000 STOCK

MANZINI – After being ordered to abandon their markets, the Mafutseni highway vendors have lost over E30 000 worth of stock.

The fruit and vegetable vendors at Mafutseni were ordered to sell all available stock, and abandon the roadside markets by yesterday. The order was relayed by officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. 

This was to give way to road construction around the area, which the vendors were said to have been hindering through their presence. 

However, with the hope that they would be relocated to another area, the vendors were unable to sell their stock fast enough to meet the deadline. 

 Discarded

In the process, the vendors said the stock they could not sell, which amounted to over E30 000, was left spoilt and discarded.

During a visit to the area yesterday, this reporter noticed that the vendors were demolishing the structures they had built, with nowhere else to go.

None of the vendors had set up alternative stalls, with some of them keeping their wares in a locked shack.

 However, the vendors started demolishing their structures at about 7am, as they claimed they would rather demolish the structures themselves than be arrested for defying the order.

The vendors who were ordered to vacate the area were those selling their stock next to the entrance to the Mafutseni Police Station at Mkhiweni.

In an interview with the vendors, who all preferred anonymity, they lamented that hard times awaited them as they were the breadwinners in their families and had no choice but to sit at home.

The vendors also expressed that as this was their only source of income, they would be left with increasing debts as they were responsible for the welfare of their entire families, as well as paying school fees for  their children.

One vendor said besides the stock that was now spoilt, there were still some fresh vegetables and fruits which needed to be sold, which she no longer knew what to do with because they had not been allocated a new area to conduct their businesses.

As a mother of a Form V pupil writing his final examination, the vendor said besides ensuring that her child attended school, she had to ensure that the entire family was fed.

“How can I continue to feed my family when we have been removed from the area where we make our living? Selling my wares here on a daily basis meant that I could buy mealie-meal, chicken and bread for my children. What am I going to do now with the rotting stock?” she questioned.

The vendors stated that after they were further informed by the inner council to vacate the area, they were waiting to hear where they would be relocated to. However, according to an impeccable source within the Mafutseni Inner Council, the vendors set-up their structures knowing very well that it was illegal.

He stated that the vendors were aware that their set-up was illegal, adding that there was already a designated place for market businesses in the area.

“The Mafutseni Royal Kraal did not designate that area for them to sell their wares, and some of those people are not under the Mafutseni constituency. That area will be used to complete a stretch of road construction in that area, so they should be advised to set-up legal structures down the road,” he said.

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