Some street vendors in Carolina have been left stranded and have to display their merchandise on the ground, which is against the municipal bylaws.
According to the vendors, municipal workers accompanied by a councillor whose name is known to the Highvelder removed their stalls recently.
A group of at least 13 women whose stalls were removed said they are battling to manage without the stalls they have occupied for more than 10 years.
“We don’t know why our stalls were removed. Nobody warned us about the removal and our efforts to get answers were in vain, as we were sent from pillar to post by some of the municipal officials,” said one of the affected vendors.
The Highvelder was reliably informed that stalls next to a financial institution building were removed for safety reasons, after the municipality received a number of complaints about illegal activities taking place in the stalls.
What remains inexplicable to the affected group of women is that their stalls next to the post office and the Magistrate’s Court and reasonably far from the affected banks were removed, but some near the banks were left behind.
“We can’t help but wonder why certain stalls were removed and others left behind. What criteria were used, who decided on this and why were we not informed in time? This is our livelihood; now we can’t bring all our stock due to a lack of space.
We are afraid that we might be completely removed, as it is against municipal laws to display merchandise on the ground,” said one distraught vendor.
Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality spokesman, Mr David Nhlabathi, said that there was growing concern about illegal activities taking place next to the banks, which posed serious safety and security concerns.
He explained that stalls next to the post office were removed, because municipal bylaws state clearly that “the post office is a monument building and nothing can be built in front of the building”.
“Stalls near the shopping centre were removed, as there is construction work currently underway and the owner requested temporary removal of such structures, including the taxi rank, until they complete the work,” said Mr Nhlabathi.
Mr Nhlabathi said the vendors had been informed of the removals.
“The municipality sent out communication in time to everyone. We do, however, apologise to those that did not receive it in time or at all and for the inconvenience caused,” Mr Nhlabathi concluded.
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