What are the hawkers waiting for?

Somebody always needs their grass cut, or the fence painted, or gardening done, but according to a concerned resident of Die Heuwel, there might be a few among them that are sitting there for other reasons.

One resident of the area told the Witbank News that there are many guys waiting by the stop street from early in the morning right through the day until late afternoon. “They can see everything that the people are doing, like when we leave our houses, and who lives where,” said the concerned resident who wishes not to be named. Needless to say this information can potentially be used by robbers, or burglars.

Apparently this resident has noticed some suspicious behaviour from some of them, for example when work is offered to them they do not get up to speak to the possible employer like the others. He has also apparently noticed several of the men still sitting there after five o clock in the evening on a weekday.

Although the residents are concerned, legally the hawkers cannot be asked to leave. According to Captain Eddie Hall from the Witbank SAPS they are not breaking any federal laws by sitting at the stop street. The definition of a hawker is any person selling or trading anything that is not set up in a permanent establishment. Loitering is the act of waiting around or standing in an area without apparent purpose.

The municipal by-law regarding loitering and hawkers says that only when the loitering is obstructing traffic, is it against regulations or if the municipality specifically decides to prevent hawking in a specific area for whatever reason. In this case the resident is concerned that there are possibly spies sitting among the hawkers gathering information to plan robberies or burglaries.

However if a burglary does occur it is the responsibility of the investigators to find evidence of a connection to the hypothetical burglary and the hawkers if such a connection exists.

Speaking to some of the hawkers it seems most of them are just waiting for work.