MALL OF THEMBISA OPENS UP TO SMALL TRADERS

It’s 12:00 pm in the afternoon, it’s lunch time. Workers are buzzing outside the site of the mall to buy food. Whether it’s traditional food or chips, thanks to the traders they now can find it.

“Mall of Thembisa is still in the construction phase but already small businesses are benefiting,” says Baphiwe Sibangela, spokesperson for Clayville Development Community (CDC).

“Remember the entire Thembisa will be shopping here once the mall is opened,” he continues.

It’s rare that small businesses are given an opportunity to operate their businesses while a mall is still in construction. One of the traders there is, Agreement Mthethwa. She says she started selling at the Mall just before lockdown.

“We were given an opportunity to go there and sell. So, I was interested in that. So, I went and applied and started working immediately. I am exactly not sure about when I started working here but it was just before lockdown,” she says.

“My plan is to continue selling even after the mall has been built. I am selling from Monday to Saturday. I have the other business, but it is the same as this one. We cook home meals such as pap, skop, mogodu, hard chicken, manqina, and all the other traditional food that black people like,” she reveals.