The people of Pretoria expressed their views on the three-day informal traders’ protest from Tuesday to Thursday in the city centre.
Ron Sibiya
Lesego Baloyi (16):
''This protest is a big mess. People cause drama scenes such as attacking businesses and stealing. We, pupils, battle to go home quickly as taxis struggle to get into ranks and take us home on time. Arriving home late makes us have limited or no time to do home work and study. I think the government has great leaders who are capable of solving this problem. It is time to showcase leadership and end violent protest. We don’t like it.''
The three-day informal traders’ protest from Tuesday to Thursday caused chaos in the city centre.
Several businesses were attacked and damaged. People who smoke the highly addictive drug nyaope also used the protest as an opportunity to steal. These people, who are referred to as ‘nyaope boys’, are always accompanying protesters to capitalise on the chaos as it gives them the perfect opportunity to steal.
They managed to steal several items including beer that was stored on the corner of Bloed and Lilian Ngoyi streets on Tuesday. The informal traders seem to support them as their aim is to make the city ungovernable.
The informal traders demanded that the Tshwane metro stop confiscating their trading stock and licences and that the Metro police stop harassing them. Rekord visited the city centre on the last day of the protest (Thursday) and spoke to residents, workers and business people. This is what they had to say.