CROWDS FILL MANZINI TO BUY CLOTHES

MANZINI – The hub came to life yesterday. A warm Saturday coupled with a low-key armed force presence in Manzini, heralded a carefree shopping spree mainly in the clothing shops where long queues to the outlets disregarded the Covid-19 regulation on social distancing with impunity.

Not too far from where a nurse tested positive to coronavirus and 20 others isolated, some people walked as if there was no threat to their lives.
This is so because they did not observe the restrictions regarding physical contact that apply to the public. People here mingled with each other.
Parking was scarce here, signalling a busy day on which the young and old came in numbers to buy baby clothes, sneakers, shoes, shirts, among other items.

hive of business activity

It was a partial lockdown in word and a normal day in practice. Small boutiques were not that much busy but there was a hive of business activity at the big outlets such as Jet, Woolworths, Truworths, True Pep, Power Fashion Factory, Mr Price, Ackermans, and others.
People came out with plastics full of clothes. Other people were honest enough to say that money they intended to spend on alcohol would definitely be diverted to fashion.

People were allowed to enter the shops in groups so that they were not more than 20 inside. It was the queues outside the shops that were a cause for concern.
Shockingly, they stood within touching distances. Drama almost unfolded at Bhunu Mall when a woman conversing with another suddenly coughed hysterically causing a taxi driver to remark: “It looks like we shall all die of coronavirus.”

roadblock at Logoba

People who stood by her side panicked and moved away. There were roadblocks at Logoba and Mhlaleni, which did not dampen the spirit to come to the city.  
When extending the partial lockdown by three weeks, Manqoba Khumalo, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade suspended the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol, and allowed 15 commercial establishments, which Cabinet classified as low-risk businesses.

They included car wash businesses, construction, which nurses described as a high-risk business, craft vendors, food vendors, stationery shops, car dealerships, photographic studios, warehousing, cleaning services, dry cleaners, driving schools, breakdown services, hawkers, furniture shops and manufacturers who will observe WHO and Ministry of Health guidelines and clothing shops.

Some of the car washes, mainly in Matsapha, were relatively busy while furniture shops were not much visited during our inspection. 
 Noticeably, supermarkets are the ones that attract a lot of customers as customers flock them for groceries. Some bottle stores have run out of stock. Customers bought the liquor in bulk, leaving refrigerators relatively empty.

Travel bans have affected the hotel industry all over the world. In Eswatini, the most affected businesses are the hairdressing salons and barber shops, which have been suspended from operating until Covid-19 was contained to public safety.

affected businesses

Other affected businesses are manufacturers and distributors of alcohol, beauty parlous and gymnasiums, night clubs and entertainment venues, cinemas and theatres, travel agents, auctioneers, and clothing street vendors (bend and pick).
Bongani Mdluli, the President of the Eswatini Consumers Association, warned buyers to prioritise their personal life. He said as much as consumers needed clothes, life, however, remained very important, and there was no substitute for it.

Mdluli mentioned that there were certain things a person could live without for a moment, but a human being was nothing without life. He urged them to apply restraint and observe the partial lockdown effected by government to contain the virus that cause Covid-19. He further urged them to remain indoors to save their lives.

“Prioritise your life and put aside goodies for a moment while government fights the virus that looks set to wipe us all if we do not take it seriously,” warned the top lawyer and former Times of Eswatini journalist. The total number of people who tested positive for coronavirus are 22. There is only one casualty, a man who died this week. There were 10 patients admitted for Covid-19 at Lubombo Referral Hospital in Siteki.

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