Frank Maponya

Traders and vendors in Mankweng and surrounding areas in Limpopo can't wait for the ANC's national conference to begin.

They said they believe business would boom during the conference.

The week-long conference to elect the organisation's leadership is scheduled to begin on December 15.

Most of the traders Sowetan spoke to yesterday said they were ready for the event and hoped that it would change their lives for the better.

Kgaugelo Maredi has been operating a spaza shop at the entrance gate of the University of Limpopo's Turfloop campus for a while.

Maredi, 33, said though he had not been formally informed about the conference, he had heard about it on radio and was looking forward to it.

Like all businesspeople in the area, Maredi is hoping to make a killing during the conference.

"I'm not going anywhere during the festive season.

"I want to service my clients and those who will be attending the conference," said Maredi.

He said as part of efforts to expand his business, he would also sell newspapers at his spaza shop to attract more customers.

"I will only take a break after the conference," he vowed.

Jerminah Ramakgobo, 48, a vendor who makes a living by selling fruit and vegetables next to the campus gate, said she hoped her three children would enjoy the "best Christmas ever" as she anticipated cashing in on the conference.

"I'm going to stock every fruit available so that when the conference is over I would have made as much money as possible," Ramakgobo said.

For Violet Mothapo, 46, who has been trading from a kiosk next to the university since 1996, news of the conference did not mean much to her.

"I've heard people speak about the conference, but I don' know what changes it will bring to my life," said Mothapo.

She said she was going to take a break from the first week of December, but after Sowetan told her what the benefits would be during the conference, she changed her tune and vowed to stay put until after the gathering had ended.