Hawkers queue for permit which will ensure survival

Hundreds of informal traders queued outside a Tshwane municipal office in the city centre on Thursday, desperate to obtain a permit in order to get back into business.

Since the national lockdown which imposed strict regulations to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, informal traders have been removed from the streets.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced this month that informal traders were allowed to operate again, but only once they obtain a permit from their municipality.

It was clear the capital’s informal traders were determined to get the required permits as many returned over several days during the application period to try and get the correct documentation.

Due to the high number of applicants, the City of Tshwane reopened its application period for another three days, from Wednesday to Friday, after the initial period closed last Thursday.

The city also relocated the entire process from its regional offices to a centralised point in the central business district.

Tina Matjeke from Soshanguve was on her fourth attempt on Thursday, saying she was told to only register her name, but never received the permit. She sells fruit and vegetables in her neighbourhood.

“I have been trying since last week to get a permit. We have all been struggling to get them,” she said.

John Ndlovu, who sells chicken feet, fruit and vegetables in Mamelodi, could not wait to make a living to feed his five children.

“We had to lock ourselves in the house like the government said we should. So I struggled to feed my five children. We once listed ourselves for food parcels but never got them, so it’s best we start selling again,” he said.

But some used the vulnerability of informal traders to supply them with fake permits.

A 22-year-old man appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for allegedly selling fraudulent permits to informal traders for R300. The matter was postponed to 4 May.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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