Green, black, and yellow lined the streets outside the Unisa Conference Centre in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg, where vendors selling ANC regalia enticed delegates with the latest styles of clothing and footwear brandished with the party logo.
After an eight-year hiatus, the ANC Youth League makes a comeback with an elective conference that is set to begin today at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
While the number of vendors stood at more than 50 gazebo-type stalls, the sales from them were still low, said some of the vendors.
Some blamed the delays in registration that occupied delegates in the conference centre instead of out on the street where they could support vendors, and others remained confident that sales will increase as the conference progressed over the next few days.
Jimmy Mhlabathi from the Mpumalanga region is one of the party’s official merchandisers. His stall is popular among delegates due to the wide range of products he sells.
“I have every item of clothing except underwear on sale, but socks and ties and everything else, I have.
“In terms of business, we are still not sure how it will be. As for now, we are still quiet as delegates are busy with registration and not shopping. But, we will see as time goes on how it will be,” he said.
Mhlabathi said he would move his stall to Nasrec once registrations are complete and the conference is under way. Also, a voting member of the ANCYL, Mhlabathi, said he was looking forward to the conference.
Another vendor, Trevor Mtshali, from the Pretoria region said he was not part of the ANCYL and considered himself an “elder”.
“I am just here to support the conference and everything seems to be going on appropriately. But on behalf of the people who are selling, business is not on,” he said.
Mtshali said the number of people arriving at the stalls to support them was low.
“It’s just too low. People do not have money, we understand that. We are just trying,” he said.
kailene.pillay@inl.co.za
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