Scores of Jozi residents came out in their numbers to enjoy the Jozi Kota Festival on Saturday.
Image: Itumeleng English
Scores of kota-loving Jozi residents braved the wet weather and came out in their numbers to enjoy a wide range of the kasi-flavoured delicacies as the Jozi Kota Festival got underway at the Station ZA in Newtown, Johannesburg on Saturday.
One of the attendees was Refiloe Ramathuba from Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga who brought her family of four over for a day of family fun.
“I decided to take my family out for everyone to enjoy themselves at this festival before the school holidays end. As a family, we have decided to come because this festival is family-friendly and accommodates everyone and provides us a good way to spend quality time together and enjoy ourselves,” she said.
Phumzile Mbhele from Diepkloof, Soweto alongside her friends found the day to be a friendly experience saying: "We came out here because we wanted to have some delicious designer kotas outside of our usual Soweto kota and I must say, today proved to be a beautiful experience of fun and good food."
With live performances from the likes of Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Oscar Mbo, DJ Zandi and guest appearances by Somizi Mhlongo, comedian, Celeste Ntuli many others, the day-long event took off in fine style ahead of a nation-wide tour.
The festival which is set to tour other parts of the country, including Mpumalanga comes hot on the heels of a recent announcement made by the festival’s headline sponsor, Albany which recently announced a groundbreaking three-year partnership deal, which sees the bread manufacturers pump in a remarkable R12.9 million investment.
The Jozi Kota Festival which took place on Saturday gave patrons a chance to experience a variety of the township inspired culinary delight
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
Abongile Dzai the bread company’s brand manager said in spite of the wet weather, he was satisfied with the crowd that braved the negative weather conditions adding that for the brand, this partnership is more than just about appearing on the billboard, but about empowering local businesses through skills developments and other initiatives.
“As a leading brand in South Africa and the kota being a heritage culinary experience, we saw an alignment with the kota festival. Our alignment goes beyond being a headline sponsor for this event. We have gone beyond that and exposed our enterprise partners through supplier development programmes where they get skills upliftment and business training for the traders. Each trader gets support to the value of R25 000 in terms of being onboarded on how to formalise their businesses," he said.
Through this, Dzai indicated that Albany has committed itself in supporting 24 events across South Africa over the next three years, bringing together a dynamic mix of food lovers, cultural enthusiasts, and local businesses.
He added that this investment reflects Albany and Tiger Brands’ commitment to empowering the informal market, with a focus on creating over 2,000 job opportunities through the course of the events.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
