Rodger Moraba a trader at the Randburg taxi rank hails from Limpopo but came to Johannesburg in the 90’s to seek a career in acting and modelling.
Unable to find a job in the glitzy world of fashion, cameras and directors, Moraba decided that he would enter the world of business instead and traded scripts for the trade.
“I was once an extra in a drama series called Velaphi but that’s where my acting career ended and since I had a certificate in small business management I then decided to become my own boss,” he said.
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Moraba explains that before he began trading at the Randburg taxi rank he was a travelling salesman selling dashboard spray along with other car accessories.
Once he received his stall at the rank he then began selling sportswear right before the 2010 Soccer World Cup and since then that is what he has specialised in.
“I found that the other traders here at the rank did not sell sportswear and since there was a demand for it I stuck to it and I saw my gap in the market. Now I am known as the sportswear trader here at the rank,” he explained.
Moraba recently handed over the chairperson title that he held for several months on the board of Randburg Hawkers Professional Association (Rhapa).
“I am very happy that a new board has been appointed. Now I can focus my attention on the newly formed Local Drug Action Campaign committee that I serve on,” he added.
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He explained that through the years he has seen first-hand how drugs can affect people’s lives.
“I have been working around Randburg since 2003 before the taxi rank was built and it is really sad to see how drugs have increasingly become common. I just do not want to be a bystander anymore, hence I serve on the LDAC committee. We really want to save families from being torn apart by drug abuse. We know it is not easy but with help, anyone can kick the habit,” he further explained.
The father of three said he had big plans for his business and hoped that the taxi rank would be renovated soon so that he could get a bigger stall and expand his business.
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