Hawkers allegedly denied access to school premises

A group of women hawkers at Mawa Block 12 village are accusing the local primary school management of denying them an opportunity to make an honest living.

The rural villagers who survive by selling snacks to school children, say they are denied access to the Bolobedu based Mohale Primary School premises because they refused to pay R400 annual fee to the school management.

One of the affected hawkers who is a bread winner with three school-going children, said the decision by the school management to deny them access has negatively affected her livelihood.

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“I hardly make R30 profit a day and every cent a make goes towards putting food on the table for my family. How am I going to afford that amount,” asked the woman who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimized.

She said they are more than 10 hawkers at the school and every day is a struggle to earn a living.

All the women who spoke to Herald agreed that R400 is too much for them and suggested that they be charged R50 per annum. The Department of Education referred the matter to the School Governing Body.

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The chairperson of the SGB, Daniel Phaane, confirmed that the hawkers have been requested to pay R400 a year as a donation towards the building of a kitchen at the school.

“They are well aware that we need a proper place to prepare food for the learners as part of the school nutrition project. The school has no money hence we ask for donations,” said Phaane.

He said the money required to be paid by the hawkers is calculated at around R2 a day because the school is situated in a poverty-stricken area where most parents are unemployed.