- Andiswa Mkuzangwe transports fifteen learners in Cape Town but the transport money does not cover the monthly household living bills.
- The Cape Town mother faces high petrol prices and cannot buy red meat or birthday treats for the three children.
Andiswa Mkuzangwe is a mother of three from Cape Town. She runs a scholar transport business and takes 15 learners to school.
She started the business before Covid-19 using a Toyota Tazz. She worked hard and bought two Toyota Quantums.
When Covid-19 hit, she lost both Quantums because she could not pay for them.
Mkuzangwe used savings to buy a second-hand car and found another Quantum on Marketplace.
She hired a driver for the second car, but he crashed it. The broken car now sits in her yard because she cannot fix it.
The transport business is struggling to survive.
“People think that things are easy on my side because I am transporting kids,” Mkuzangwe said.
She used to pay R6,000 a month for petrol. Now she pays more.
She also pays R4,800 for school fees and R1,200 for stationery. When a tyre on the Quantum breaks, a new one costs more than R1,500.
The rising costs mean she cannot buy nice things for her children. They used to celebrate birthdays outside the house.
“One day my daughter asked if I didn’t even have money for a burger. I had to explain to them that I am only affording basics,” she said.
She changed how she shops to make sure the family has food. She buys grocery combos to last the month.
She stopped buying red meat, sausages, ice cream and Ultramel because they cost too much.
Mkuzangwe keeps driving because she has no other way to make money.
“I cannot even leave this business and go look for a job because there are no jobs,” she said.
Pictured above: Andiswa Mkuzangwe is in the scholar transport business but the money she gets does not cover her bills.
Image source: Andiswa Mkuzangwe
