King Monada lends Limpopo vendors, poor a R50K helping hand

Limpopo musician King Monada has put his money where his mouth is: he has opened his wallet to help a number of small businesses, including spaza shop owners and street vendors.

On Thursday, hours before the 21-day coronavirus lockdown began, he bought all the vegetables and fruit from vendors in the province.

Khutso Steven Kgatle (King Monada) and his manager, Albert Makwela, spent the better part of the day in different Limpopo towns, educating the elderly, spaza shop owners and street vendors about creating a coronavirus-free society as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday.

The musician’s journey took him to taxi ranks in the province, where he spread the message of staying at home during the lockdown.

King Monada, 27, also went to far-flung villages, educating pensioners and semi-literate residents on how to contain the spread of the deadly virus in their rural communities, where water shortages are a way of life.

“I was born and bred in primitive rural areas where information and technology were difficult to access,” he said. “This made me to become familiar with the colour of poverty and how difficult it is to go to bed with a hungry stomach.

“Once the president announced about the lockdown on Monday, my manager and I sat down and planned on how to escalate the message to the less fortunate who do not have radios or television sets in their homes or could not understand the queen’s language or read,” said King Monada during an exclusive interview with Saturday Citizen on Friday.

“We then decided to play our part by educating spaza shop owners and street vendors about the dangers of the disease and how to conduct themselves during the lockdown, while at the same time buying their stock.

“We bought almost everything there was on the streets and in their shops.

“We spent about R50,000 on the project and we are willing to go the extra mile, depending on the severity of the case,” he said.

“But because we harbour a belief that a hand that gives is a hand that receives, we distributed the items we bought to indigent families around Tzaneen, whose breadwinners either work on farms or depend on the government’s social grants.

“Our message to the people we bought groceries from was very simple: stay at home and wash your hands for 20 seconds if you shook hands or came into contact with someone in public spaces.”

One of the street vendors, Mbekwa Matlala, said it was very pleasing to see famous people doing their part.

“We are happy that there are still people who would find space in their tight schedule to educate us about this dangerous disease and give a helping hand to the poor and the less fortunate.

“We are really indebted to you, my son. You are a true celebrity and a role model to us,” she said, smiling from ear to ear after the king bought a tin of groundnuts from her.

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