The cost of living in South Africa is rising while the earnings of most South Africans have seemingly remained the same. In January 2023 alone, there was the announcement of the 18.65 per cent electricity tariff hike by the NERSA, the announcement of the 0.25 per cent hike in the repo rate which meant a prime lending rate of 10.75 per cent.
All the while the general public has to deal with loadshedding which has affected not only productivity levels but the profitability of many small, micro and medium business enterprises. As such, content creator and actor, Linda Majola is the latest ZAlebs to confirm the closure of his small food truck business.
The Wife’s Linda Majola closes food truck business
However, even before his mainstream success, Linda used his earnings from his content creation to create his own food business. Established back in 2020, Linda opened Humble Cafe, a food truck business based in Durban which sold reasonably priced but seemingly deletable street food.
But the ZAlebs recently took to his social media to confirm the close of his business by asserting that:
“It's hard to say goodbye but due to the increasingly high inflation rates it is unsustainable to continue operating Humble Cafe whilst delivering high quality and delicious food. We are closing our doors for now, till we meet again...Thank you to all our loyal customers.”
Today I bid farewell to Humble Cafe. Inflation has proven to be the most cripling thing for us small business owners and I’m sick to my stomach to have to close my doors. This is all I’ve ever had, my heart is aching, 💔 https://t.co/mwkqtCs5GD
However, Linda is not the only ZAlebs that recently had to close shop on their young and budding food business due to the actions of the ruling party. Maps Maponyane is one of the recent examples of a business which closed down during the pandemic and subsequent loadshedding.
At the time Maps confirmed the matter, it was reported as:
Businessman and media personality Maps Maponyane launched his eatery Buns Out in September 2019, and it became a popular foodie spot that attracted many celebs, however, it appears his business has been struggling.
In a tweet, the Buns Out Twitter account announced the closure of its Linden outlet. They said their last day of service will be on the 9 of October. "With heavy heart today we announce the closing of our linden store. Our last day will be on the 9th of October and we will be having a huge send off! See you there." Speaking to TimesLIVE, Buns Out co-owner Tom Savage said it had been tough to operate their business in recent months due to not having a generator.
“We don't have disposable income. If we need to install a generator properly, we need at least R55,000 and we don't have it,” he said.
