Clifford Kalibo
THE current economic hardships, coupled with meagre salaries and a scarcity of jobs, has given rise to all sorts of entrepreneurs.
Many people have opened up small kiosks or spazas at the backyard or front side of their homes where they sell a variety of grocery items.
Almost five houses in a line with an average of 20 houses, have kiosks.
These kiosks do well in supplementing the household income.
Ekasi kiosks are also very convenient because one can buy at any time of the day or night.
Unlike the normal stores, the spazas have neither an official opening time nor closing time.
One simply knocks on the gate, be it at 12 midnight or three in the morning and the kiosk owner will serve you cheerfully without any grumbles.
This is even more convenient for the unmarried imbibers, who are after a long beer binge can pass by the spaza shop after the beer spot has closed, and buy a few eggs or “amacimbi” and a bit of “ibilebile” to make a quick scramble and have something to eat for the night.
I don’t know whether one would call that a light supper or a snack.
Well, I guess it’s something similar to supper.
Dozens of “mobile supermarkets” have mushroomed everywhere in the townships and in the City Centre as well.
I have had the pleasure of hanging around Makoni Intersection at Pumula South Township during the evenings.
It is a fascinating panorama, watching the hustle and bustle of the activities around the mobile supermarkets, especially in the evenings.
Mobile supermarkets refer basically to people who sell their wares from their vehicles. The Honda Fit is the most
common type of vehicle used in this type of business.
These mobile supermarkets sell almost anything that you can find in a big supermarket, and at times they have commodities that are scarce in the stores or supermarkets.
These are also convenient stores for imbibers where 200mls of hot stuff alcoholic beverages are sold.
These brands of hot stuff which are commonly known as injengu in the Townships are sold at a very affordable price.
With only a single dollar, one can get as many as three izipatalala or amakota.
Injengu has no known alcohol percentage and is therefore highly intoxicating.
Well, for only a dollar, as many as four guys can get high, so the day’s hardships are temporarily forgotten, and it’s a day gone.
“Okwakusasa kuzazi shaper kodwa” so goes the saying, as the imbibers try to console themselves over the economic hardships.
The mobile supermarkets have come as a blessing to the imbibers!!
Also of note is the mealie-meal that is sold by the kiosks and the mobile supermarkets.
They have what is known as a “bachelors pack” or “umphinywa”.
This is mealie-meal that has been conveniently packaged for those who cannot afford the standard 10kg or 20kg packs of mealie-meal. It is packaged in 2kg, 1kg, 500grammes or even 250grammes packets.
This ensures that at least someone can have a bit of sadza or a little bit of porridge for as little as 50c or 70 bonds. And it’s a day gone!!
Beef, pork, fish and chicken cuts are sold in affordable packets.
Chicken heads, feet, necks and gizzards have become a favourite dish for most households because of the pricing that goes with the convenient packaging.
You find packets with two or three chicken feet, two or three chicken heads, necks or gizzards, or an assortment of one chicken foot, two heads and one neck.
One can then buy such a mixed packet and a packet of 1kg mealie-meal and have an evening meal.
Ekasi entrepreneurs who sell chicken gizzards have even raised their innovativeness a notch higher.
They are now selling a new product known as “after gizzards”.
They peel off the rough skin from the gizzards and package these skins and sell these at a cheap price.
I am told the “after gizzards” are quite a delicacy when deep oil- fried, salted and sprinkled with ibilebile, and eaten with soft hot sadza.
I was further informed that the “after gizzards” are even more delicious when washed down the throat with amasese or an Ingwebu Calabash.
Whilst talking of budding Ekasi entrepreneurs, you will inevitably come across some newest entrepreneurs who have sprouted just for this festive season.
I met this guy Pedro recently in Sizinda.
He is hiring out a braai stand for anyone wanting to use it.
Pedro is not charging any money for use of his braai stand, but he has set a strict condition that he must also attend the braai party, eat the meat and drink beer.
Even if the party goes for two days, that is fine with Pedro. It’s a fair business deal, I guess.
So, Pedro’s festive season is set to be a very good one. His braai stand is already fully booked up to 2 January 2022.
There is a story that has been doing the rounds lately on social media about an ant-bear, isambane that was found near Magwegwe Motors in Old Magwegwe.
Pictures have also been circulating on WhatsApp platforms about the guys who had a good time braaing the ant-bear and selling some of the raw meat.
If this story is true, we can only speculate that the guys are in a sense, upcoming Ekasi entrepreneurs.
Then of course we have the small-time soft con-artist Ekasi entrepreneurs.
I am told there is a guy, Nkombwe, staying with his grandmother somewhere in Iminyela.
He finds his granny having put on the television, but somehow the old queen does not realise that the volume is off and she is busy trying to figure out what could be the problem.
As Nkombwe enters the room, his grandmother asks in a hysterical tone, “Yini manje ingasakhulumi TV?” (Why is the TV soundless?”) To which Nkombwe replies,” Yikuthi i volume ayibhadalwanga linyanga Gogo so kufuneka 5 ama US dola”.
Gogo promptly gives Nkombwe the five dollars and Nkombwe, under the pretext that he is going to pay for the “volume”, rushes to the mobile supermarket where he buys three izipatalala eze njengu and joins his drinking mates.
By the time he gets home, his granny will be asleep and, in the morning, he will switch on the television volume for granny.
That’s a day gone and well spent for Nkombwe.
Till we meet again.
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