MANZINI – Over 5000 informal traders in Manzini were allegedly not invited to participate in the Manzini Regional Day, the Coalition of Informal Economic Association Eswatini (CIEAES), a representative body for informal traders, says.
Speaking to Independent News, CIEAES the National Coordinator, Mathokoza Sikhondze, said their organisation’s office has not been notified about the planned event.
“We currently have about 5,000 to 6,000 members, and the number keeps growing due to the lack of job opportunities. We expected the organisers to recognise us even if they may acknowledge individual informal traders in different constituencies. It would have made things easier if the organisers had simply contacted the CIEAES office,” Sikhondze explained.
The Manzini Regional Day announced by the Manzini Regional Administrator (RA) Chief Gija early this month will be happening for the 10th time tomorrow, Friday, July 25, in the spirit of promoting indigenous entrepreneurs.
It is themed ‘Manzini Together, Towards Tomorrow.’ Sikhondze said that previously the initiative benefited them. He said for about five years, starting around 2018 or 2019, they have participated.
“It benefited us because we were able to promote entrepreneurs within their constituencies, allowing those based in town to become aware of the services being offered in the constituencies. It expanded their networks and encouraged the sharing of ideas,” he said.
He added that it is unclear what may have changed this year, and wondered whether this may be due to the absence of a postmortem or evaluation process.
“We would have been able to assist by identifying vendors from the different regions and helping facilitate their participation, which would have made the event more impactful for the vendors,” Sikhondze said.
He added: “Events like World Trade Day and Vendors’ Day in November are usually focused specifically on vendors in the Manzini region, and the purpose is to help them expand their networks.”
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