Hawkers support large families in Roodepoort

While the Record team took to the streets recently to understand Roodepoort’s ‘informal’ social and business scenes better, I made a shocking discovery after speaking to Roodepoort hawkers.

Street vendors, hawkers, smouse and other names refer to our ever-friendly Roodepoort characters who sell anything from socks to oranges on the streets of Roodepoort. Ever-curious, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jack, Joseph, Dominic and Suzie* about their day jobs. Each hawker makes an average of R3 650 a month (conservatively calculated and adjusted) and has the potential of an additional R5 500 in income a month, should they have better sales each day. This almost warrants my resignation and I continued our conversations with the hopes of understanding their daily challenges (besides the obvious environmental elements) and home situations.

It is interesting to note that Jack, Joseph and Dominic share the same area but not necessarily the same corners of the intersection of Ontdekkers Road and CR Swart Avenue. On the afternoon of Friday 5 June, Jack explained that he travels all the way from Braam Fischerville at an expense of R30 in taxi fares daily (R900 for a month of 30 days).

“I buy my own stock and I work alone,” Jack shares, “and car chargers have been my best seller.”

He fathers four children and has a wife, and has to make up R2 500 in rent per month. A working day starts at 10am for him and though he does not have a bank account, Jack stashes some savings every month.

Joseph concurred that it is best for a hawker to work alone and to buy his own stock. Joseph travels from Soweto on R30 of taxi fares daily, and pays R1 800 per month for his dwelling in Zola. Joseph has a wife, three children of his own as well as his mother and brother living with him. He also feels that car chargers sell best at this busy intersection, but does not have a bank account and tries to save in the months that he can afford to.

Dominic is less motivated and optimistic about his life as a “seller of soft goods” who deals in sunglasses. Also from Soweto, Dominic pays R1 400 in rent per month and has a wife and three children to support. He shares the ideal of ‘working for yourself’ and does not bank his money. This left me wondering why I bank and reconsidering my savings arrangements (to my later relief, these savings came in handy).

All three the Ontdekkers Road intersection hawkers aim to make at least R100 a day and spend less than R30 a day on lunch, sometimes collecting donations for the food. They do not sell on credit and work around eight hours a day for their income.

Suzie, on the other hand, is a hawker that deals at a Witpoortjie shopping centre daily. Although she is not a resident and travels from Park Station every day, she believes that she makes more money here, and the figures prove it. Dealing in socks and warm winter jackets, Suzie buys her stock in Johannesburg and carries a larger selection of goods than the intersection hawkers. Suzie spends R1 000 on rent per month and supports her three children as a widowed parent who has no bank account and no savings. She works from 10am to 4.30pm daily (six and a half hours) which is less than the average intersection hawker’s hours, with a greater reward of between R100 and R1 000 a day. Although she has regular customers, no one is allowed credit. She also spends an average of R50 per day on food and taxi fares.

These hawkers’ street sales could be compared to that of the average company employee’s. The hawkers are earning much more than one would expect, and could unlock the potential of even greater income with the right stock and the right location. I near followed their sheer entrepreneurial expertise when, a few hours later, I had to replace my tyres, blowing my said savings and being left with three spare tyres and one cast away for being slashed. Soon, you might see me on the corner offering “tyres mammie, only R250 each” to make up for the finances lost and emotional intelligence gained with my outing.

*The hawkers were left to pick their own pseudonyms to protect their identity.