Orange Time in Mdantsane

Orange Time in Mdantsane

This is how you can get your daily dose of Vitamin C at Hi-Way in Mdantsane. Every year it is the same.....when the oranges are ripe and cheat..... the orange mountain appears!
Just the vendors are not always the same!

HI-WAY Sellers Need Patience

 

One of the most beautiful things the African continent has to offer are the traditional African markets. Although more developped than the rest of the continent South Africa still has a lot of them! Hi-Way in Mdantsane is one of them. But times are hard for the sellers. The global recession has not spared South Africa. The smile is still there on the faces but life has definitely changed for the worse for many!

After the morning buzz and after preparing the stalls and displaying the merchandise, comes the wait. Sometimes a very long wait! 

"Nobody buys anything these days", one seller said. Only the hair-salons are still doing ok. I am thinking of changing my line of busniess. But even they suffer. And I don't know really about hair!"

This seems to be a fact and the cheap and low quality Chinese imports, flooding the country from every angle do not help either. Now everybody has the same things on offer.

While relations with China are intensified and China is getting a tighter grip on Africa more and more traditional craft techniques disappear and die, because the products are too expensive and the producers can not find ways to sell them in this global economy on their own.

So for many the only thing to do is wait, and continue doing the things they already do!

Busy At HI--WAY

Hi-Way scenes during a mid week morning

 

Everything Under Control On Hi-Way !

There is no other way to say this, but the "Orange Dude" is an institution in Mdantsane.

Hope he forgives me for calling him like that.  But whenever I come to Mdantsane he is there, around Hi-way in front of an orange mountain counting the money in his plastic bag.  He is there, was there and should never leave. I give him dozens of likes if he ever sets up a fan page.

And there is no way that his picture could not crown a page in our book.

Vukuzenzele - Do It Yourself, My Experience

JUST DO IT FOR YOURSELF !!!

About three years ago the world economic downturn resulted in the highest unemployment figures ever recorded in recent times, as millions of people lost their jobs. The prediction that the world might soon experience a double-dip recession means that more and more South Aficans could face further retrenchments. The scourge has also led to fewer job opportunities, thus adding salt to the wound, as many young people already find themselves in an a state of dispondency, as most of them are unemployed.

It is estimated that in Africa alone 100 000 000 jobs are needed to try and solve the status quo.

Vukuzenzele is one of the initiatives by the government to encourage South Africans to stand up and do it for themselves, with a promise to create platforms and catalysts for assisting such efforts. 

As noble and sound as this idea might sound, the above mentioned promise exists only as such, just an idea and or promise to many, as accessing financial assistance remains a far fetched dream. This intended obligation by the gorvernment is clouded, namely by lack of available information, corruption, lack of funding and too much red tape to name just a few.

A friend of mine who just opened a hardware store in Mdantsane related to me how disappointed and shocked he was to find signages, advertising his business, were taken away by municipal authorities without any warning because they clashed with by-laws. What infurated him was that he did not understand why he was the only one targeted as there were many other signages around Mdanstane. 

He went to the municipal office and demand his signages be put back where they were or if not, all signages in Mdantsane be taken down. After his protest, he was given back his signages and he put them up, and was never bothered again. 

My turn of Vukuzenzele gone bad, came when I wanted to have my mobile shop outside the Nontyatyambo Clinic at the Highway Taxi Rank in the township. I saw a business opportunity to sell take-aways there, since there was no cafeteria at the premises. 

I was told to make an application to the municipality, where I was given a long list of things to install in my mobile shop before I could go ahead. A sink, storage spaces, a tap were some of the things I was asked to install before a permit could be issued. 

 

The total cost of the installations was estimated at R 7 000, mind you, I am in between jobs at the moment and do not have a regular income. In Mdantsane many businesses are run without permits and as a law abiding citizen, I went through all the trouble as I wanted to do things by the book. 

I tried to explain to the manager that I could not afford such installations, and besides around the township there are containers who are standing there without any licenses from the municipality. 

The manager insisted that I should meet the requirements first, and what makes me angry is that there are hawkers who are trading already next to the clinic entrance, also without permission. With the levels of corruption I would not be suprised to see that the permit to sell at the clinic will be given to a person who has a close relationship with the powers that institution.

A  story by Siyanda Nkonyeni

Medium To Rare

If you are a Vegetarian or a Vegan you might want to skip this post.

But if you love and appreciate meat like many African people do, then the meat section of the Hi-Way market might just be right for you. Not everybody can afford meat and a meal with a hearty tasty piece of meat, a stew of tribe cooked with spices and vegetables is simply and purely considered happiness. And it is.

Every morning the tables are topped up with fresh meat

And there is no lack of intestines as well. For the tribe and liver lovers this is the place to get it.

You can buy every desired part of the animal, inside and outside - if available of course.

All the delicacies that have crowned European butchery tables many years back and that can not be sold anymore nowadays, because of diseases like BSE and Mad Cow disease, can still be found here.

There is never shortage of company

Some ladies work together

and are helping each other with cleaning and cutting the meat into portions, dealing and selling to costumers and every other task that their business entails.

And to safeguard the money two are always better than one.

Others however prefer to work alone

and have their shop space and time to themselves.

You can also order from the ladies if you are looking for something specific like a whole cow head.
They will get it from the farmers that supply them.

This meat when nicely cleaned and prepared is really good, Pelisa explains.

Twenty Five For A Bag - Winter Vegetables

This lady is selling delicious looking fresh vegetables on the Hi-Way central market.

Everything needed for a good warming winter soup like carrots, potatoes, onions, green pepper  and cabbage can be found here and bought cheaper than in town.

with one of her friends keeping her company.

New York City Style

Getting Ready For The Day

Madam is preparing her table at the market and she is getting ready for some big sales today.
And the wind is the last in line to hold her back !
You can take my word for that.

Fresh Fruit Is Good For You

A small mountain of oranges is getting packed into bags at HI-Way, the central market in Mdantsane.