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Let me explain this video & what it's like to be a vendor in the city;
We play cat & mouse with municipals but our business thrives. Thread /24 https://twitter.com/lemugangg/status/1229805740174532612
We play cat & mouse with municipals but our business thrives. Thread /24 https://twitter.com/lemugangg/status/1229805740174532612
There are cart hiring businesses in Makhokhoba, eRenkini & eGodini but some people have their own. If you don't, you hire yours early in the morning before they run out or you will get a bad one.
I used to hire mine esKhokhobeni but had a bad encounter knocking off late at night & walking back to return it & back to the City Hall to board back home. So now I hire eGodini at 15bond for the whole day.
Suka lapho you fetch or buy boxes to lay on the cart to carry the bananas well. Then off to the wholesale in Thorngroove (Matanuska)
Regardless of you buying in bulk or small crates you have to get there early to hoard a good banana. Zikhona induna ezithenga 2000 bananas & I did that once but my stuff got looted so I buy in small quantities now to avoid big losses.
After payments you load your stuff on the cart according to size (it's called grading) while at it you count each 1 by 1 to have an estimate of your target figure. Then off you go!
The rank is a good place to start, there's lots of white people there but there's competition, many vendors selling so you have to get a nice spot ulimemezele ibanana lakho
Once you've sold off at least 30 - 50 bananas you move. Some vendors go straight to town via 6th kodwa mina I like to grab a stroll in Makhokhoba chanting "ez'vuthiweyo! 2 dollars ibanana lapha"
Abantu besKhokhobeni abawomeli & there are fly huns there mfana! So kuntswempu.
Abantu besKhokhobeni abawomeli & there are fly huns there mfana! So kuntswempu.
I usually sell 30 bananas on a good day eSkhokhobeni. Then off to town via 3rd Avenue is when anxiety & focus levels rise ngoba you could get looted any time. They do surprise visits abafana bekhansili w their trucks.
I don't normally station in downtown areas 3rd 4th & 5th avenues. I just take my walks slowly hoping someone goes "yimalini ibanana malume"
Bakhona abadala abathenga bezithathela imbasela ngoba imbasela iza nezibusiso, sihlala sixabene. Ukusijombisa lokhu!
Zikhona imbulu who think ibanana yikudla kwezigulwane 
Ncii ungalizweli es'bhedlele sutsheka khiwa. Life's too short not to grab a banana in town.
Ncii ungalizweli es'bhedlele sutsheka khiwa. Life's too short not to grab a banana in town.
Honestly my favourite thing about this job is ubuhle kwabafazi bako Bulawayo nkos'yami! Everywhere!!! Kodwa ubumbulu! Kumbe yikuthi ngincoma ngithengisa?
I take my route through the market, it should be 12pm by then & anyone can sell at the market. You just gotta lookout! Inkinga futhi is slow traffic there, road is small & one way! Kodwa indaba zabadala ziyahlekisa, especially ekamaNcube.
Sometimes we get people like Nomsa carrying heavy groceries who ask to help them carry to some place. Khona bayabhadala but they disturb our planned routes.
My favourite place to pass through is the flower market, serene energy there & a great display, on a good day I sell up to 30 bananas there! They know me as mchifani by the trees & roses
I've always thought that the best random gift for a girl (in these zim circumstances) is a rose or 2 for her beauty & a bunch of bananas for her health. Bananas symbolize happiness. Think about it
The time is 1pm & I'm stationed at my spot in the hot sun, customers are coming 1 by 1 but I'm also busy watching the coast.
Ngisathi ngiqhubela icustomer their package bethutshe omakhokhoba ngobude, Iz'thende zivele ziqonde ez'bunu!
Ngisathi ngiqhubela icustomer their package bethutshe omakhokhoba ngobude, Iz'thende zivele ziqonde ez'bunu!
That time my bananas are jumping up & down indoda iqubule amehlo kuyabalekwa phela lapha!
After things relax, I start selling again. "Ongaphathelanga abanye amabanana kangenanga edrobheni" / "One 2 dollars unebanana makhiwa" the time is 3pm bananas are beginning to change peel colour!
If people ordered a bunch for lunch online (WA or Twitter) I must've delivered at their designated places by now.
The time is 6pm I am at the Tredgold Herbert Chitepo with my Tonga colleagues looking forward to ukuvala ishop. Depending on my sales I knock off at 6pm on a fast day or 9pm on a slow day.
There are people who talk at buildings like courts, police stations, offices, hospitals etc. You'll think they are talking to themselves Kant bayafungela, or sending a spell (umlomo uyaloya) to whoever is inside. A lot of things happen in town, be careful what you laugh at.
For lunch I probably had a jumbo bun & a bunch of bananas. But depending on my energy or ngingathaba kakhulu I might have grabbed is'tshwala & mince plus mbhida eGodini or another place around BC areas ngizi treata.
& that just sums up my day in business. If business was good my profit rages between 160 & ZWL210 minus expenses for lunch, cart hiring, airtime & bribes. If the day was bad, ZWL100. If it was worse, there's little or no profit, or a loss!
The time is 9pm I'm cycling back home.
The time is 9pm I'm cycling back home.
