New development puts ‘smileys’ on hawkers’ faces

Fort Jackson to get enclosed eating area

BUFFALO City Metro (BCM) hopes to complete the construction of an eating area that will accommodate hawkers selling sheep heads or “smileys” in Fort Jackson by the end of next year.

This was revealed by BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi, who said plans were afoot to get the project off the ground.

He was reacting to an announcement by Eastern Cape Economic Development MEC Sakhumzi Somyo while addressing a joint sitting in East London last week under the banner of taking parliament and legislature to the people.

Somyo publicly blamed the metro for failing to develop hawkers, saying a budget for their development had been set aside for years.

Somyo’s chief of staff, Akhona Tinta, said R5-million for the project had been set aside in the “national informational business upliftment strategy”.

Asked why the department did not follow up and ensure i mplementation, Tinta responded: “The department is indeed monitoring the process and has identified capacity ills in terms of implementation from the side of the concerned municipality.”

However, Cindi told the Daily Dispatch that there was nothing concrete on the table to develop the hawkers.

“At the moment, there is no written confirmation about the budget that is available for the infrastructure at Fort Jackson to accommodate the hawkers.

“There are discussions between the city and the department of small business development to access funding from a shared economic infrastructure fund,” he said, stressing that the metro had yet to receive any funding from external parties.

Cindi said the metro was still busy with the designs and plans for the development of the area.

“The development entails a restaurant and will accommodate all the hawkers that are trading in that area,” Cindi said.

This was welcomed by the hawkers who operate in open space and have for years had to endure all kinds of weather.

They are hopeful that the metro will carry out its plans and not just make empty promises.

Cindi promised that the plan would be implemented.

The project is being spearheaded by the recently launched BCM economic development agency, which is meant to champion the development of local businesses.

Cindi said the agency was busy finalising the application to the department of small business development in order to access the funds.

The metro has set aside R2.5million to top up the budget from the department, once approved, as well as finalising the designs for what will be constructed.

Asked if the city had set itself time frames for completion of the project, Cindi said the metro was anticipating completion next year.

Mbali Traditional Meal MultiPurpose Primary Cooperative, which operates in the space earmarked for a restaurant, welcomed BCM’s plans.

The cooperative’s treasurer, Davis Tyalo, said opening a restaurant would result in a drastic improvement in the working conditions of the 16 people they employed.

Currently, there are no ablution facilities and hawkers operate in the open, even during stormy weather conditions.

To have a restaurant with refrigeration facilities would allow the cooperation to buy in bulk without worrying about sheep and cattle heads going bad, which Tyalo said sometimes happened.

“We need water and proper shelter for the people to work from. We would love to have a chesa nyama,” he said.

At the time of writing, small business development Minister Lindiwe Zulu’s spokesman Cornelius Monama had not responded to questions. —