derick.khumalo
Mkhululi Ncube
[email protected]
FIFTEEN traders operating from Tsholotsho Business Centre have been left counting losses after a mysterious fire destroyed goods stored in a storeroom on Thursday night.
The blaze reduced merchandise to ashes but left the roof and structure of the building intact, deepening suspicions among traders that the fire may have been deliberately started.
The affected storeroom, which is housed in a building at Tsholotsho Business Centre, is not connected to electricity, making the cause of the fire unclear.
Speaking on behalf of the affected traders, Ms Sicelumusa Ngwenya said the incident had left many families facing uncertainty as the businesses were their main source of income.
“We lost our goods, which include clothes, and this is our livelihood. We do not know where the fire came from because the storeroom has no electricity,” she said.
“We are in shock that this has happened, but there have been attempts to burn our stuff before, which we thwarted and reported to council.”
Ms Ngwenya said the traders had previously raised concerns over alleged attempts to set fire to their property but felt that not enough had been done to address the issue.
She said the latest incident had wiped out years of hard work and investment by small business owners, most of whom are women supporting their families through informal trading.
“This is a major setback for women who have been nurturing their small businesses with the hope of growing them,” she said.
Ms Ngwenya added that the traders were now struggling to figure out how they would recover from the losses and continue providing for their families.
The incident has once again highlighted the vulnerability of many small-to-medium enterprises, most of which operate without insurance cover, making recovery from disasters such as fires extremely difficult.
Contacted for comment, Tsholotsho Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Nkululeko Sibanda said the local authority’s fire department responded promptly to the emergency.
He said firefighters arrived at the scene within five minutes of receiving the report.
Mr Sibanda rejected allegations that the council had ignored previous complaints raised by traders.
“There was once a fire in the storeroom which burnt the wooden door, and we replaced it with a metal one,” he said.
“Council cannot be held accountable for the fires because we support them as we do any other business.”
Online Reporter