By Sizwe Dlamini
Mankayane saw an abundance of food vendors during His Majesty King Mswati III, 56th Birthday celebrations on Friday.
Small business owners operating around the Mankayane CBD say they recorded excellent business sales during the recent King’s birthday celebrations.
Speaking during the celebrations, the owner of Eagles Transportation and the operator of the Galp filling station complex, as well as the operator of an MTN customer service outlet, restaurant, bar, and carwash Bongani Dlamini of Mankayane said all his businesses were profitable due to the festivities.
“It was a pleasant day for business and the general populace of Mankayane. Sitsi Bayethe wena Waphakathi. Business was booming considering that Mankayane was brimming with people from far and wide who had come together for a happy reason. We remain optimistic and pleased at the fact that His Majesty was here, and we believe that it is a good Omen for good things to come to our small town as the King pronounced.”
Dlamini added that he saw good business from his bar, bottle store, and carwash.
Fellow operator of Siya Bottle Store, Dumisa Dlamini also said that his business was doing well because the majority of the public walked into his business which is located opposite the Mankayane busrank.
“As you can see business is booming here in Mankayane town because all of these people have come to celebrate with us and our King. Today is not month end so business would have been slow but due to the festivities I have made good profits but I won’t tell you how much” he said in a light tone.
Several food vendors, however, complained about an oversaturation of their chosen food items.
When interviewed, the majority of the food vendors said that they were not making any profit due to the abundance of competing food vendor stalls. Speaking to us, Xolani Dlamini of Matsapha said that he would have made more money at his usual place of business.
“I usually sell meat at Matsapha today I decided to come here and see if I would be lucky. I came at 9 am and found other vendors doing the same. Unfortunately, I found a lot of Shisa Nyama vendors and as the day progressed I had to improvise and sell my meat at a discounted price. I sold a portion of food at E30 but I ended up selling at E20 in a bid to leave the event with less stock. I didn’t make any profit” he said.
Another food vendor Sibusiso Zwane of Mankayane said that he would like to ask all national event organizers to regulate the number of food vendors at each event to keep them manageable.
“I have worked at several national events over the years and there is always an abundance of Shisa Nyama vendors. This is not good for business as it limits the profits we make. In the future, I am asking organizers to regulate the number of vendors and keep us at a minimum on a first come first serve basis. I know what I am talking about because I also sell at Buhleni during the buganu festival where I see the same problem” he said.
Another food vendor Melleny Mkhonta of Manzini said that she added other products to her stall like hotdogs and sweets as well as packed chips to make money as the Shisa Nyama was not profitable.
Interestingly, public transport operators speaking through Mankayane busrank marshall Thando Ginindza said that business for them was not as good.
“Other business people around Mankayane town have enjoyed business but not public transport operators because a majority of the people you see here came into the town with their own or free transport like the free buses and trucks that transport members of the public to such events,” he said.