The cool drink is ideal, so you choose your preferred flavour, make payment and drive off with something to quench your thirst.
Many Joburg motorists have been involved in such transactions or witnessed others doing so, but have you ever wondered how street vendors, who often appear to have only a single tray of refreshments, have a sufficient supply of stock that somehow remains cool all day?
Crafty hawkers have found a way to store and keep their stock cool throughout the day by improvising and using municipal infrastructure.
During a media tour with the Joburg Roads Agency, Metro police discovered that some street hawkers were using manholes as storage spaces and makeshift refrigerators.
A local street hawker was observed inside a manhole on the centre island at the intersection of Main Reef and Commando roads storing buckets of cold beverages and packs of ice. When questioned by Metro police officers as to why he was inside the manhole, the hawker said he was storing his stock in it to keep it safe and cold.
Metro police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, said the practice was not uncommon.
“It was the first time that we’ve seen a cool drink vendor putting his stock in a manhole; however, at other locations we have seen vendors storing their fruit and vegetables in manholes to keep them cool,” he said.
However, Minnaar said, it was a concern because manholes were intended for underground pipelines, water and cables and not to be used as storage spaces. He said police would monitor that location to ensure that such incidents did not persist.
