"Majega" Given A New Lease On Life

The deteriorating economic situation in the country has given a new lease of life for the beleagued "Mageja".These are the men who drive hand carts to carry all sorts of goods for a fee.

"Majega" at work

These gentlemen have been maligned for the longest time for taking part in menial jobs which a "right"thinking person would not touch with a long pole.The high cost of transportation as a result of the exploding inflation rate has forced a lot of the people to review how they interact with the cart-drivers.They are ever present in most of the high density surburbs of Zimbabwe and help people move their goods from point A to point B.The fact that their fares are much more reasonably priced makes them more attractive to the general public.

A typical day for them starts as early as five in the morning and will end when it is too dark to see.By far the biggest need for these gentlemen nowadays is the carting of water from homes where the owners are fortunate to own borehole to those who donot have that privilege.After paying for the water ,this is normally charged per bucket,the cartdrivers then charge their transport costs per bucket as well.The more established ones have a client base which ensures that they have business on a daily basis.All told this makes for a very tidy sum of money and these gentlemen have been known to take care of their families quite well.Given the fact that ours is a country where job opportunities are scarce,these gentlemen have shown quite an entrepreunal spirit and with the right kind of backup they very likely can start a well oiled transport business since there is a dire need for water in most of our urban communities.

The economic downturn is certainly working for them.