By Nangamso Mabindla
14 September 2004

WITH the erection of new stands with shelters, hawkers at the King William's Town bus rank now feel protected from the weather and from theft - challenges that were major stumbling blocks at the rank before.

Construction of the 50 stands was started late last year by Buffalo City as part of its development of the once prosperous town.

Hawker Bathabile Matyana said with the new attractive stands, which were completed earlier this year, her business was dong well.

"Customers are attracted to the new stands because they're neater than the previous stands. Ask any of the hawkers here our business is really thriving lately," said a delighted Matyana. "I can now put food on the table for my two children. People come in their numbers to my stand."

A contributing factor to the thriving hawker business was its proximity to the bus rank, she said. "That is where we get are customers; buses are parked in between our stand, so we're able to sell our products to the passengers."

Another major plus was that all the hawkers could work in bad weather conditions. "Previously our products would be wet and spoiled if it rained but now we have sheltered stands, so despite changes in weather we still come to work because we have stands waiting for us," said Linda Makhanya.

The hawkers were also more organised with the formation of the King William's Town Hawkers Association, and was negotiating for even better conditions.

"We're in talks with the municipality to provide us with enough space and licences - with the current delays when issuing licenses, the city police come and remove our hawkers," said NomaDyapani Bless, chairperson of the association. "We lose business in the process."

Bless thanked the municipality for building the new stands, adding that the city needed to work together with its people to better their lives.