Cape Town - While #Sandpapergate was playing out on the turf at Newlands during the third SA v Australia Test, there was another low-key stand-off on the sidelines of the ground.
I’m a bit superstitious and believe my behaviour during a day’s play will somehow affect the outcome. So I make it a point to be seated in time for the first ball of the day and usually arrive an hour or so early.
That Friday morning was no different and I decided to take a walk around the ground. There, behind the Railway Stand, I found the owner of the Rack ’n Grill food truck sitting outside his business looking forlorn. He had yet to open for the day.
Now let me tell you about this food truck I discovered a few months ago. They trade in different places every weekend and make the finest burgers and ribs. Recently, the owner Muammer Kasu had managed to secure a trading spot at Newlands and was an instant hit among cricket fans.
But on this Friday, on Day 2 of the Test match, his food truck was shut down by a City of Cape Town official. He was told he hadn’t complied with certain conditions.
But a remarkable thing happened minutes after I tweeted about the shutdown. The same official returned to do another inspection and declared the food truck was fit to trade. He was happy with the conditions despite Kasu not changing a thing since his food truck was shut down earlier.
The following day - when #Sandpapergate went down on the field of play - the battle between City official and entrepreneur raged on. This time the official wouldn’t let Kasu drive into the grounds to set up his food truck. He was told to carry his goods and equipment to his trading area on foot.
This was the height of pettiness and I tweeted again. Minutes later he was mysteriously allowed to drive into the ground.
What this official was doing was contrary to the message of both the leadership of Western Province Cricket and the MEC for Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, about creating opportunities for small business.
Western Province Cricket president Beresford Williams and chief executive Nabeal Dien have been running a very progressive sports franchise - from transforming the team on the field of play to making the trading space inclusive.
Gatti’s ice cream has been a mainstay business on the Cape Flats and recently spread its reach into suburban and central Cape Town. It now is the preferred ice cream vendor for Newlands Cricket Ground and it’s great to see black business owners increasingly getting opportunities to trade in these spaces.
Winde was one of the first to react to my tweet and promised to engage the City on the Rack ’n Grill food truck incident. Like Williams and Dien, Winde has been sincere about cutting out unnecessary red tape for small businesses.
But outside of the glare of a big screen (that is able to pick up ball tampering), officials whose agendas are not known can operate with impunity and deny small businesses the opportunities they’ve been given to be a success. I want to see local businesses I’ve supported all my life to grow and become part of the mainstream economy.
As I sat in the President’s Suite of the “new” Newlands Williams and Dien have created, I spotted a Coca-Cola poster behind the bar area with a picture of Basil D’Oliveira - a South African cricket legend who went on to become a great for England because he never got the opportunity to play for his country because of his skin colour.
It reminded me of the many other stories of people from all walks of life who were denied opportunities.
A few days later comedian Joey Rasdien and others were beaming on Twitter about a team picture of the Transvaal Coloured Cricket Union team taken during the 1949/50 season. Imagine if members of this team had been eligible to play for their country and how this would have inspired a lost generation of cricketers?
We’ve come a long way. We’re realising some of the ethos of the Sacos sports federation that advocated non-racialism in sport.
Kagiso Rabada, for me, represents the epitomé of excellence in our sport. He was given the opportunity to play. That is all he needed and it is all that is needed in life, business, sport and the arts. Given the opportunity, more Kagiso Rabadas, Rack ’n Grills and Gatti’s ice creams will rise to greatness.
* Follow more of Abarder’s musings on Twitter - @GasantAbarder.
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