An Alrode company is at wits’ end about a street vendor who, according to the owners, is causing pollution and traffic pile-ups at the corner of Chris Street and Garfield Road in Alrode.
The company has put its foot down on what it described as a traffic hazard, and the pollution.And the man the company is blaming is 32-year-old Jonas Mathe, who sells cooked meals to passing by motorists at his informal cooking point.
His business, which is situated at an intersection, is said to cause traffic pile-ups from vehicles that make a stop to buy meals.
It is also reported that the traffic makes the intersection dangerous for other motorists to drive through.
The complainant told the RECORD that most of their customers complain about traffic when visiting their offices.
“This informal cooking set-up is a hazard with open fires as well as polluting the area around them by not cleaning up.
“We are also sure that this is in violation of municipal by-laws.
“We appreciate the individual trying to make an honest living, but he is in fact placing the lives of many people driving through that intersection at risk,” he said.
Jonas Mathe, who has been selling his food at the intersection for five years now, told the RECORD that this was an attack aimed at pulling him down.
“I started doing this late in 2015, and this is how I make a living to also be able to support my four children.
“My family mostly relies on the income that I get from this business, and there’s never a traffic jam since cars park on the side of the road,” said Mathe.
Justinus Sephaka, a manager at Loutrans, a company across the road, said: “The fire is not from a gas stove, which can easily cause it to be blown inside our premises by wind.
“We don’t have much of an issue with his business, although we sometimes have occurrences where cars are parked on the road.”
Kobeli Mokheseng, EMPD spokesperson, advised the complainant to escalate the matter to the city’s customer care centre.
“We have all the different departments there, from health department, city planning, human settlements and many other departments. If the complainant could go there, there’s always an inspector who would be responsible to see if the vendor has the proper papers to operate there,” said Mokheseng.
He said they only come in as Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) if there is resistance.
Regulation by-laws
• A person trading shall keep the area or site occupied by him or her for the purposes of such business in a clean and sanitary condition.
• They should keep their property in a clean, sanitary and well maintained condition.
• They should not dispose of litter in a manhole, storm water drain or other place not intended for the disposal of litter.
• They should ensure that on completion of business for the day, the area or site occupied for the purpose of trade, is free of litter.
• They should prevent any smoke, fumes or other substance, odours and noise originating from their activities, that could cause a nuisance, disturbance or pollution of any kind.
• No person shall trade at a place where such trading obstructs access to, or the use of, street furniture, or obstructs access to any vehicular or pedestrian entrance to or exit from a building.
