adminThabang Nare
INNOVATION in the local food industry has become a challenge to local authorities and established businesses in the context of growing informal sector entrepreneurs. How should the new business players be engaged?
There are several reasons why residents have resorted to the informal sector as an area of entrepreneurship.
The informal sector is that area of business with least regulation and lower entry barriers in any country.
While one would have to go through a lengthy and expensive process of company registration, application for trading licences, indigenisation certificates and Zimra tax clearance, one can quickly set up shop within a few weeks in the informal sector.
One must be quick to add that every citizen has an obligation to pay tax especially now as Zimra guns for its end of year targets.
It’s important to digress a bit in the interest of a national cause. Yes, informal traders are aware of the need to apply for some licences and pay some tax.
It’s not only the start-up costs that are high but the costs of actually running a formal business in Zimbabwe are also prohibitive not just for foreign investors but also for local investors.
Overhead costs include costs of space rentals, power and labour.
In a conversation with a friend, he remarked how our real state barons would rather keep buildings empty than allow emerging entrepreneurs to pay affordable rates and keep the buildings open.
Another colleague added that commercial rentals are based on “wished for incomes” and not real costs, which means that tenants pay for more than the square metres they occupy.
In such a scenario, it therefore makes business sense to lower one’s costs by resorting to public spaces with less costs. It’s, therefore, important that our local authorities work with stakeholders to innovate and create affordable yet attractive infrastructure for the informal sector.
While Zimra commissioner general, Gershem Pasi, has warned some informal sector investment may turn into white elephants, our town planning and economic development strategies have traditionally been too “westernised”.
I am of the opinion that our town planning and business laws should be relevant to our lifestyle, culture and climatic conditions.
One of the areas that have registered growth are local takeaways and restaurants.
People in this country love their isitshwala.
Whether it’s at a flea market, caravans, flats and converted offices, you will find locals enjoying a plate come lunch time. There’s a trend where isitshwala is pre-packaged and sold from baskets and even car boots including some Mercedes Benz saloons.
It is not surprising that some wise international food chains have added pap to their meal offerings.
I, therefore, would like to propose that given our appetites for the local staple food, there is an opportunity for careful de-regulation of the food industry that will allow entry of gifted individuals into this industry.
Regular spot checks by health personnel will ensure adherence to high standards of health and the use of clean water in preparation.
One of the characteristics of entrepreneurship is that it is disruptive in nature.
I must be quick to add that this statement does not condone disorder in any way but entrepreneurs in this economy have to think outside the box or better still throw the box out altogether.
I know of one restaurant near 15th Avenue where hundreds of “gentleman” flock and enjoy white hot isitshwala and meaty bones under sweltering heat.
I can assure you the owners are not thinking of air conditioning. I have also recently paid a courtesy call to another restaurant located at a cricket academy with lush green lawns and I said to myself, “This is how isitshwala should be eaten, under a big tree”.
One of the innovations that have taken place and are being suppressed is that of butcheries turned braai shops. Despite regular raids and fines, butchery operators in western suburbs have embraced the opportunity of increasing their profits using braais conducted behind their shops.
It is puzzling why the Bulawayo City Council, for instance, has not found middle ground that can facilitate licencing of these community food joints.
With or without these raids, the braais continue and maybe this is a lost revenue opportunity.
I am reminded of a butchery along Plumtree Road where “red-blooded” males occasionally resort for a braai, and yes I hear there is one that has been licensed at the Retreat Shopping Centre.
In the city, I would like to suggest that it should be possible for the Bulawayo City Council to grant leases for at least five well designed caravans and create a street café environment on one side of the City Hall car park.
To ensure equal opportunities any food shop might be given a maximum of three years to rent space like is the norm at some international airports where there is usually a long queue of potential tenants. In promoting natural justice, you get your once in a lifetime chance, then ship out, maybe we could adopt the same model. This development will not be new to Bulawayo.
As one of Southern Africa’s metropolitan giants, we can pride ourselves in being a world class African city, proving that it is possible to be developmental and yet integrate aspects of African culture and lifestyles in the modern city.
One can enjoy isitshwala, salad and braai meat prepared and served from a caravan along the pavements of Rosebank and Sandton in Johannesburg, South Africa.
So the Bulawayo city hall car park, which has become a transport hub once again, can be used to stimulate some economic activity.
Those that have been at train stations in the northern hemispheres will attest to the fact that these are places where people meet, greet each other and eat.
I think we would have to knock down and build new toilets, of course even after the new tiles that were recently installed. Having done that, I can see some tourists enjoying a plate of isitshwala while being entertained by local imbube groups.
I think some of the local food franchises would also be interested in a licence.
I think even the bachelors and spinsters who stay in the flats around the city would be spared the trouble of preparing a meal for one if they can get a plate for a dollar in a cool African summer evening at the City Hall car park.
This might also lead to fruitful collisions where people meet their soulmates. Who knows, there might be some community volunteer who can offer free Zumba lessons in the car park for a an hour, and yes we could install solar panels to provide lighting.
Maybe I am just dreaming but guess we have to dream and try something so that Siyephambili.
Some of these ideas can be implemented at the proposed Inxwala Cultural Centre and the New Egodini Complex but the point is that we need to start living in the city and merely transit through it as if we are still subject to colonial laws.
We need to have a re-look at both local economic policies and by-laws and see how we can adapt them to facilitate local economic development.
- Thabang Makwati Nare is the coordinator of the Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA). He has strong passion for SMEs growth. He can be contacted on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> or 0772 380 367.
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