The plight of ‘machingas’, let’s show some love

A deliberate effort to clean up Dar es Salaam city by removing fixed small businesses stalls that blocked streets and roads is a great move, but on the other hand it is painful. Can all the small businesses removed from the streets fit in the new places set aside for the purpose? Time will tell.

Personally, I greatly respect anyone who ventures out into small business; because it is one of the most uphill tasks you will ever come across in the African setting. Yes, there are profits and losses. Anyone who has tried a hand in business and got “burnt”- I mean, made a great loss, lift up your hand!

With the alignment of small businesses that used to be in town and on road sides, I expect we will have an influx of more hawkers. In our local context, they are commonly known as Machingas, which has become a mainstream Kiswahili word, and it was originally derived from describing hawkers as the ‘marching guys’. They can walk from Mbagala to the city centre and back covering about 30 kms!

We should note that people from poor backgrounds with no or little money in Dar es Salaam, their entry point to business is hawking. One can start with as little as Sh10,000. One can go to a place like Manzese and buy used clothes (second hand clothes commonly known as mtumba), like T-shirts, skirts, trousers etc at a very low price and go out selling for a profit.

After buying, one has to move from one place to another persuading prospective buyers to take your goods. In some places, the machingas are unwanted. We have many places with the words, ‘hawkers are not allowed in.” On a good day a machinga can sell most of his or her ware, and on a bad day, no sale at all.

Sometimes you meet one, and they beg you to buy something so that they can get money for food. It can be heartbreaking. These are people seeking to earn a living in an honest way, but have difficulties earning a living.

Some of the machingas ‘graduate’ to own stalls, later on they start owning shops and some become hugely successful businessmen and women. The reality is that we cannot talk about business in Tanzania without mentioning them.

It is never easy to go down the road of self employment. And when we come to entrepreneurship not everyone can make it. It is very easy for those in employment to urge others to take the road of self employment.

When it is a deliberate personal decision to go that route, one is likely to make it, as s/he will use the right strategies and be able to persevere. Others go into self employment after failing to find a job. They are victims of circumstances.

We have millions of young people who have completed primary education, O-level, A- level, colleges and universities in the last decade, a good number without any formal jobs. More often than not the only option left out for them is the road to self employment. To tackle this, deliberate efforts must be made by citizenry and by the government to show love to “machingas.” At a personal level, it is good to buy goods from the machingas, to support their work and efforts.

At the policy level, it is good to look at their plight, of those starting businesses with little or no capital, how can they be empowered? The public and private sector as presently constituted cannot be able to absorb all those who finish up their schooling every year at different levels in the country, but the environment can be prepared to be conducive for them to establish their own businesses.