PROFILE: Maphopha’s dream to grow rural spaza shops

by | Mar 10, 2023 | Lifestyle

This Witsie wants to challenge the likes of Checkers Sixty60, Woolies Dash and Pick n Pay ASAP.

Born and raised in Tafelkop, Limpopo Lethabo Maphopha, a fourth-year Wits University medical student is the founder of BroughtCargo, an online e-commerce website. 

BroughtCargowas was established in 2022 to help spaza shops in rural areas expand and provide them with easy access to bulk suppliers. 

The 23-year-old businessman believes that for local spaza shops to thrive unity is needed. “If Spaza shops can buy bulk products, they can afford to make a certain profit, because like they come at a certain lower cost but street vendors and other Spaza shops they can’t afford to buy them alone,” he said. 

Tokelo Matsepe, an actuarial specialist and Maphopha’s business mentor, told Wits Vuvuzela that he decided to take Maphopha on as a mentee after seeing his passion and love for business. He believes that BroughtCargo is a great initiative for underserved communities. “When people design products, they never think about the Spaza shops and small businesses,” said Matsepe. 

Maphopha’s late father was his initial inspiration, he was a spaza shop owner who was struggling to expand his business, all while supporting a family of eight. Maphopa attributes this to the bulk buying tactic used by foreign-owned spaza’s, who are then able to sell goods much cheaper than most.

BroughCargo, was placed fourth in the 2022 Nedbank Green Superheroes competition for helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The competition recognises the efforts of small businesses which incorporate ‘green’ practices in several aspects of their operations.

Lethabo Maphopha stand in front of a bookshelf, he says much of his success comes from his love for books. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

When asked about how a medical student learned about business, Maphopha said he reads a lot of business books and from the experience of others. Maphopha’s role model is Anna Mokgokong, a former Wits medical student and businesswoman. 

Friend and Wits Bsc Chemistry graduate, Khutso Fenyane, is helping him with business mentorship and applying for funding and incubation opportunities. 

“I first met [Lethabo] through his uncle and he told me about his interests I discovered that we share common interests,” Fenyane said.

He said his greatest challenge is not having enough money which has prevented him from performing neuromarketing, a marketing technique that measures brain signals to help understand customers better and said juggling work with studies limits his time making it very difficult to compete with other businesses. 

Maphopha’s expansion plans for BroughtCargo, include turning the business into a Takealot for Spaza shops, so convenience can be more than a luxury for those with means.

FEATURED IMAGE:  Lethabo Maphopha poses for a portrait. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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#WitsShutdown: Suspensions must stop or ceasefire will flop

by | Mar 8, 2023 | News

A brief reprieve at Wits University, as protesting students momentarily call off protest action.  

The deputy president of the Wits student representative council (SRC), Kamogelo Mabe declared a 24-hour ceasefire on March 8, as the group prepares to finally meet with Vice Chancellor, Zeblon Vilakazi.

The ceasefire is conditional, Mabe called for all ‘bouncers’ (security officers) to be removed from campuses and for no further suspensions to be enacted by the university.   

“This is a stance that we are taking as student leaders. We are not intimidated, we are not pressured into any position, but we are simply saying that we are, for the last time, revisiting this conversation,” said Mabe at a press briefing. 

Several student protesters including the Wits SRC president, Aphiwe Mnyamana remain suspended from the university. The suspensions bar the students from entering the university premises including residences, making them effectively homeless and unable to continue with their studies. 

Speaking to eNCA, the university’s spokesperson Shirona Patel welcomed the ceasefire and said that they were willing to meet the SRC’s demands to facilitate dialogue. Patel added that the university has already acceded to the SRC’s demand to remove the police presence in and around the university and will reduce the number of private security guards as the situation deescalates. 

“I’ve been here before the pandemic, and I’ve seen like protests like in 2019 and I’m a bit unfazed by it because it’s something that like we almost expect now so it’s a bit disheartening to me that like we’re still having these conversations even though I’ve been here since 2019 this is 2023 and it’s still the same conversation,” said Owethu Tema, a third-year architecture student 

Similar protests are taking place at the Tshwane University of Technology, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town, among others. The same issues persist at these institutions, students simply cannot afford both the high cost of education and the living expenses that come with being a student.  

FEATURED IMAGE: Left to right: Wits SRC members Karabo Matloga, deputy president Kamogelo Mabe and secretary general Tshiamo Chuma at the press briefing on March 8, 2023. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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#WitsShutdown nears second week

by | Mar 6, 2023 | News

While some are attending online classes, protesting students still have their proverbial boots on the ground as the #WitsShutdown drags on.  

Protesting students were joined by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union affiliated workers picketing in front of the heavily guarded Wits Great Hall on Monday, March 6.  

The Great Hall piazza has been stage to increased tensions over the last few days, which saw projectiles including bricks and stones, flung from either side of the picket line. Most recently students trying to gain entry to the admin block were shoved and pepper sprayed by security officers.

Increased security in recent days, has seen the police called in to quell tensions. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

SRC’s attempt to ‘fetch’ VC 

A group of students protested outside the Wits VC, Zeblon Vilakazi’s house in Parktown at around 22:00 on March 6, 2023, to pressure the university to meet outstanding demands. The protesters accused the vice chancellor of being “arrogant” and not taking their plight seriously after he refused to meet them, he was on campus at the time and agreed to meet with the SRC at a time yet to be confirmed. 

In a statement, the university said: “Following our engagement with the SRC, and further correspondence, the SRC has rejected the concessions presented today. Instead… about 200 students, led by the SRC, chose to march to the Vice-Chancellor’s home, and some threatened to burn it down.” The SRC denied the threat.  

“We will not put our arms down until our students are registered,” said Kabelo Phungwayo, the Wits SRC Treasurer General who said that he was left bruised after security guards assaulted him while protesting on Monday morning.  

Students kneel on the Great Hall piazza on March 6, 2023. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

Deadlock after concessions 

Wits has made some concessions including the waiving the R10 000 first fee payment for students applying for accommodation, and the provision of free data for all students from April 1, 2023. Speaking at a mass meeting on Sunday evening SRC president, Aphiwe Mnyamana said that they “will remain resolute” until all their demands are met.  

Remaining demands include the allocation of additional beds for homeless students, scrapping of the R45 000 National Student Financial Aid Scheme accommodation cap, allowing indebted students to graduate and the lifting of suspensions.  

The university says many of these demands are simply unaffordable, the NSFAS shortfall for instance requires some R86 million.  

In a statement issued over the weekend, the minister of higher education, science and technology, Blade Nzimande said urgent meetings over the cap would take place in the coming days. Along with this, “price collusion by landlords”, would be investigated.  

Karabo Matloga, the Wits SRC compliance officer, told Wits Vuvuzela that, “We had a meeting on Saturday looked promising however, the letter that we received was simply a spit in our faces because it was not addressing the core issues we have.”  

The university said it is committed to working with the SRC subject to availability of resources and the university’s long-term sustainability.

FEATURED IMAGE: Student holding up a placard which reads, “Wits is not for good…”. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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INFOGRAPHIC: Wits SRC vs Wits SET

by | Mar 6, 2023 | News

The #WitsShutdown protests are ongoing as key demands remain unmet.

There has been much back and forth between the Wits SRC and the university’s Senior Management Team during the #WitsShutdown protests. We put some of the key issues side by side.

FEATURED IMAGE: A protesting student form the Wits EFF Student Command sings into a loudhailer. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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GALLERY: Tensions rise on third day of protests

by | Mar 3, 2023 | News

From the early hours of Friday morning, the ongoing #WitsShutdown protests became physical.

Things came to a head between protesting students and private security officers and Campus Protection Services (CPS) on March 3, 2023. What started out as security using their shields to bar students from entering buildings or using certain entrances, quickly escalated into water, bricks and other projectiles being hurled by some protestors.

Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) have now entered the fray, with multiple nyala’s standing at the ready in front of the Great Hall steps to provide reinforcements.

  • EFF Student Command members joined the protest.
  • A student holds up a placard which reads “Wits is not for good. It is depriving us education and shelter, our basic human rights!!!” Photo: Mpho Hlakudi.
  • A student wears a t-shirt with “Hasta la Victoria Siempre” written on it, which means “Until victory, always” in Spanish.
  • Bricks being ripped off the
  • A water bottle being emptied out onto a private security officer.
  • A protesting student addressing a security officer.
  • Protesting members of NEHAWU joined protesting students and are seen attempting to calm tensions.
  • A traffic cone about to be flung at security officers.
  • Remnants of some of the things thrown at officers lie on the floor at the top of the Great Hall steps.
  • A student protester sings into the loudspeaker. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi
  • Protesting students gathered at the Wits amphitheatre as members of the SRC addressed them. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi.

FEATURED IMAGE: A traffic cone about to be flung at security officers. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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Suspensions loom as #WitsShutdown continues

by | Mar 2, 2023 | News

Protests on campus spilled out onto the streets of Braamfontein as students continued with their call to “leave no student behind”.

Campus Protection Services (CPS) beefed up their presence to include private security on Wits University’s main campus, which saw men and women dressed in orange and black act as the only barrier between protesting students and those continuing with the academic programme on March 2, 2023. Police officers were also stationed at some university entrances at various points in the day.

Following a mass meeting on the evening of March 1, 2023, protesting students ramped up efforts to have activities on campus grind to a halt. At different points in the day groups of students took the protest off campus and onto Empire Road, Smit Street and Jorissen Streets, blocking traffic with their bodies and burning tyres.

In video footage taken by TimesLive journalist, Thabo Tshabalala, some protestors could be seen vandalising property and threatening shop-owners to close up shop.

Along with this, classes taking place in various venues were disrupted. The university has condemned these acts and said this is no longer a peaceful protest. In a statement, Wits head of communications, Shirona Patel said: “We cannot be held to ransom by a small group of disruptors, and we now have no choice but to act firmly against those who contravene the University’s rules.”

The university’s Legal Office is now studying video footage, photographs and statements given to CPS, “with a view to suspending the disruptors in line with the University’s policies and procedures and taking appropriate legal action to ensure that the rights of others are not infringed,” Patel added.

Protesting students took their fight to the streets of Braamfontein on March 2, 2023. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

Members of the Wits SRC told Wits Vuvuzela that they will not stop protesting until all their demands are met and students are able to register, as such their demands now include an extension of the first block by one week.

In a statement, the Wits SRC said that talks with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and the department of higher education failed. Now, the SRC has called for the immediate removal of Blade Nzimande and his deputy Buti Manamela for poor performance. Along with this demand they are calling for the withdrawal of the R45 000 NSFAS accommodation cap, and the increase of the NSFAS allowance to R2000 to address the high cost of living.

FEATURED IMAGE: A burning tyre pictured on the middle of Empire Road in Braamfontein on March 2, 2023. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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Wits SRC: Students cannot be displaced on our watch

by | Mar 1, 2023 | News

Some Wits University students have joined the countrywide protests over historical debt and unaffordable student accommodation.

Scores of students, staff and visitors were turned away at the Yale Road North and Empire Road entrances of Wits University on the morning of March 1, 2023, as a group of students led by the student representative council (SRC) used their bodies, plastic road barriers and rubbish to block entry.

Students blocking the Empire Road entrance to main campus, as protests over historic debt and accommodation reach Wits University after weeks of similar protest action across the country. Photo: Seth Thorne

The attempted shutdown is aimed at addressing a number of students who have been unable to register due to existing debt and those without accommodation. Many can not afford the rentals charged at some university residences and private off-campus residences alike, forcing them to take shelter in libraries, toilet stalls and other unsuitable spaces.

When approached by Wits Vuvuzela, some members of the SRC were reluctant to speak on the record but said their demands to management had not been met and the shutdown would be in place until they were. In an interview with eNCA, deputy secretary of the SRC, Vuyiswa Mochochoko said, “over 10 000 students” have been financially excluded and are in need of assistance to continue with their studies.

In a statement, the university said the protest came as a “surprise” as they had been working with the SRC up to a few hours before the protest to assist qualifying students with their registration. “Wits has matched the R6,2 million brought in by the SRC rand for rand. In effect, there is a pot of R12,4 million available in the SRC Fund for qualifying students,” the statement says.

The university added that 36 200 students (96% of the student population) have successfully registered for the academic year and R28 million raised through the Wits Hardship Fund has been used to assist with some of these registrations and to provide emergency accommodation.

While the SRC is demanding that all students with debt below R150 000 be allowed to register, these are the concessions the university has made so far:

  • allowing students who owe R10 000 or less to register, 
  • allowing students whose total household income is below R600 000 to apply for registration assistance by paying 50% of the outstanding debt due and by making an arrangement to pay the balance of the debt during the course of the academic year, and 
  • allowing students who owe R15 000 or less to graduate.
A group of protesting students block the Yale Road entrance onto main campus near the Origins Centre. The protest on March 1, 2023 saw some students being pulled out of lecture halls in an attempt to shut down all activities on campus. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

The protesters disrupted lectures and assessments, which may prompt the need to move online if the situation on the ground continues.

“We were supposed to write a test today and we couldn’t write it and I studied for it and I planned and now like the whole week is like, was a waste, all my studying. I’m really mad that we didn’t get to write that test and now we have to do it next week but we have another test next week so you know, I was very upset about that. Yeah, no, its going to be so stressful,” said Isabella Pedra, a second-year Bsc occupational therapy student.

Shannon Henning, a second-year BSc student told Wits Vuvuzela that, “I feel like if it was more peaceful more people would join them but I feel like when there’s vandalism, like the whole Yale Road is covered in litter now and I’m like, if I was a student I don’t wanna be represented by that. I would rather join something that’s peaceful than something where you’re breaking things and you’re littering everywhere, I don’t wanna be associated with that type of protest action.”

As reported by Wits Vuvuzela earlier this year, several universities and technical vocational education and training colleges have seen protests over the same issues being raised by the Wits SRC.

FEATURED IMAGE: A protesting student holds up a placard which reads, “We must register” on March 1, 2023. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi

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