Every day, Velisa Magoloba (46) wakes up at 2am and begins to prepare food for the day.
At 4.30am she leaves Zandspruit and sets off for Malanshof where she sells vetkoek, coffee, tea, dumplings, samp, pap and braai meat to workers in the area.
Life has not been easy for Magoloba, who dreams of studying political science but, due to a lack of finances, she has to work hard every day so that she is able to feed her family and pay for her son’s studies.
“My husband started this business after being retrenched from his job in 2007 and it has been a very long, hard and tiring road,” she explained.
Magoloba is one of thousands of illegal informal traders who eke out a living at the side of the road, providing a service that many depend on.
The mother of one becomes emotional as she talks about her hardship and explains that she moved to Johannesburg in order to improve her life but she has just become another statistic of poverty.
As an illegal informal trader, Magoloba faces many challenges, the biggest being visits from Metro police who, she says, treat her as a sub-human. “My biggest fear is that the police will take away our business and then how will we live?” she asked.
She complained that the City of Johannesburg did not offer her business support and she has made many attempts to become a legal trader, but her efforts have yet to yield positive results. “If only the City could see us as people who are only trying to feed our children and, even possibly, meet us halfway while working together with us so that we can be formalised,” she said.
“We could get further training, pay taxes, obtain financial support for our businesses and be able to give back to the City.”
Magoloba pointed out that where she sells her food is where her customers work and it would not be viable for her to move to the city centre and compete with the many other traders who sell the same types of food.
Spokesperson, for the City, Virgil James explained that currently, the City was not issuing permits for informal traders as they had developed a new management plan that would enable the City to manage informal traders.
He explained that over the years, informal traders have spilt over onto the pavements and that poses a danger to sellers and buyers. “This urban management plan allows the City to deal holistically with traders and will allow them to trade without harassment in a clearly demarcated space,” said James.
He explained that once the plan was in effect, traders would be given a smart card which would display all their details. This plan, he noted, would create the right space for traders to work from.
He encouraged Magoloba to pay a visit to their offices so that she is able to begin her process to become a legal informal trader and she would then be allocated a space from which to trade. “Even though she may not want to move, the City will listen to her plight but she must abide by the rules and regulations of the bylaws,” James added.
Magoloba, however, is determined to continue selling from her corner in Malanshof and added that she has put her faith in the new mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba.
“After many years of trying my best to change my situation I have lost all hope in the ANC but I know that Mashaba won’t forget us and, in time, our situation in Zandspruit will change.”
Detail: City of Johannesburg 086 056 2874.
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