“The traders hope to be heard in the Constitutional Court on 5 December,” said The Socio Economic Rights Institute of SA. The institute’s lawyer will represent more than 1 200 informal traders.
The South African Informal Traders Forum has applied to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal the South Gauteng High Court order, handed down on 27 November which struck the traders’ urgent application off the roll.
In November, the South African National Traders’ Association made an urgent application to stop the City of Johannesburg from removing informal traders from the CBD and allow them to return to business.
However, the court ruled that the matter was not urgent and would only be heard in 2014.
“Informal traders operating in the CBD have been unable to earn their living and provide for their families for more than a month now,” said the institute in a statement.
“Unless this application succeeds, they will be unable to earn their living and provide for their families for at least two and a half more months.”
The Constitutional Court has issued directions to the City of Johannesburg to file an opposing affidavit by 3 December, setting out why it opposes interim relief.
Thousands of informal traders were removed from the pavements of the CBD in October as part of the City of Johannesburg’s ‘clean sweep’ campaign.
The city council said it supported all forms of entrepreneurship, but reinforced its obligation to ensure safety and order in the CBD.
