By Buziwe Nocuze
- Khanyisa Bezana, 39, sells full meal plates behind the Roman Catholic Church in Lusikisiki for R45, after a R50 price increase drove her customers away.
- She spends roughly R3,900 a week running her stall and moved closer to town to cut costs, but still carries over R350 in unpaid credit from struggling customers.
Khanyisa Bezana starts her week knowing she will probably not take much home.
She sells full meal plates behind the Roman Catholic Church in Lusikisiki town, Eastern Cape, for R45. She tried charging R50. Her customers could not carry it.
“The price increase didn’t go well because my customers complained,” Bezana said.
“Customers said R50 is too much.”
So she dropped it back. She knew what that meant for her.
Her groceries alone cost R3,000 a week. A year ago she paid R2,000 for the same supplies. A 10kg bag of rice that cost her R90 now costs R120. A 12.5kg bag of mealie meal went from R100 to R115. Add between R715 and R810 for a 19kg gas cylinder and R200 a week for the room she rents in town — she moved closer to her stall specifically to cut transport costs — and her weekly expenses sit at roughly R3,900.
On a good day she takes in R1,000. Over five days that is R5,000 at best, before the credit she is carrying.
“I spend R3,000 on groceries for my business. It is more than what I spent last year,” Bezana said.
She feeds whoever comes. A full plate gets the customer rice, salad, cabbage, potatoes and meat, or samp with beef. It all costs R45. On a good day she serves more than 15 people. A year ago she was serving double that.
“People don’t have money,” she said.
“I have realised that they have cut back on buying takeaways.”
The ones who do come sometimes cannot pay. Bezana extends credit to up to ten customers a week. She is currently owed more than R350. Some customers take months to settle.
“Deciding to give food on credit was not an easy one,” she said. “It was a risk I had to take because it was better than taking food home.”
She cannot sell leftovers the following day. So she would rather the food go to someone who will pay eventually than go to waste.
One of her regulars, Lulamile Mdluli, said the R50 price was impossible.
“We were going to eat amagwinya for lunch even if we wanted a full meal, because we wouldn’t be able to afford it,” Mdluli said.
Bezana has not raised her price. She has cut her costs where she can. She is still there every morning, behind the church, dishing up for R45.
Pictured above: Khanyisa Bezana’s food stall in Lusikisiki town, Eastern Cape, where she sells full meal plates for R45 a day.
Image credit: Supplied
