Traders give City’s kota competition a thumbs up
06-03-2015
Come 11 June 2015, Johannesburg will have the healthiest and tastiest kota ever made.
That is if the enthusiasm and interest demonstrated by more 110 Johannesburg informal traders during the briefing session of the City of Johannesburg’s Fortified Kota Competition at the Metro Centre yesterday are anything to go by.
The competition forms part of the City’s Go Jozi Healthy Lifestyle Programme launched by Johannesburg Executive Mayor Parks Tau in 2012.
The programme encourages Johannesburg residents to embrace a healthy lifestyle and fight chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and heart ailments to enhance Johannesburg’s life expectancy.
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Health and Social Development Councillor Nonceba Molwele said she was highly impressed with the turnout.
“Informal traders are a very important part of this programme because dangerous foods are being sold to the people, especially to children.
“A kota (bunny chow) is one of these dangerous foods because they are causing obesity, especially among children. We are in agreement that we need a fortified kota. This competition must come up with a tastier and healthier option. We’re working with experts from Wits University and University of Johannesburg on this. I’m very happy with the informal traders’ response. They are keen to help their customers,” MMC Molwele said.
Nomsa Nkosi, one of the programme’s coordinators, said: “We’re a caring city. Our children eat the kota all the time. They don’t exercise and end up overweight. That’s why we have to come up with a healthy alternative because our people are getting obese; they suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure. People are dying from these non-communicable diseases because of our poor food choices.”
Nkosi said the city was also working with restaurants to offer their customers healthier food options. Street fairs are being held throughout the city every fortnight to encourage residents to get tested and engage in exercises. Early Childhood Development centres were also offering children healthier meals.
Simon Mothusi, another coordinator, said the judging of the competition would be done with the help of dieticians and nutritionists.
“The City will be very proud of whoever produces the healthiest and tastiest kota. We cannot dictate how they do this. That is why it is a collaboration,” Mothusi said.
Yesterday’s briefing followed a series of workshops in all the city’s regions last year.
Zachariah Ramutula, chairman of the One Voice of All Hawkers Association said though the competition was a great idea, residents needed more education on the importance of living healthily.
He said more workshops would be helpful.
Mandisa Mawisa said informal food traders should abandon the old ways of doing things.
“This is not just about us producing healthy kotas, it’s about producing healthy food all the time. For example, reusing cooking oil to fry chips, chicken or wors is unhealthy. We should all understand our customers and control how we prepare food and what ingredients we use,” Mawisa said.
Irene Dlamini, a caterer, agreed, adding that food preparation needed to change.
“I think if we can grill our chips, burgers and boil viennas instead of frying them, we will come up with healthy kotas,” she said.
The traders were handed entry forms with all the requirements.
All forms should be handed in at No 3 Kotze Street, Braamfontein, by April 4. Semifinalists will be named on April 10, whereas the final will be held on April 17.