Informal traders risk being arrested to sustain their livelihoods

STREET vendors who rely on sales of their fresh produce to support their families, fear being sucked deeper into poverty in light of the nationwide shutdown.

The unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus will no doubt have a far-reaching impact on the national economy, but local informal traders feel this could mean the end of their businesses and livelihoods as they  know it.

According to economist Mike Schussler, the shutdown could cause the already high unemployment rate to jump to 13 million.

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Speaking to the ZO, informal trader Sandile Mthembu said she had been operating her stand at the Mtunzini Toll Plaza for eight years and has never seen such a drastic drop in sales.

‘We live in a settlement in Mtunzini and we buy fruit and vegetables from the supermarkets which we sell to passing motorists and truckers.

‘There are about ten of us here. It is not big business, but this is something that we are proud of and we make an honest living.

‘Since the beginning of the coronavirus, things have become really bad. Hardly anyone stops to buy from us now.’

The traders work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, braving the harsh Zululand heat.

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Mthembu said she earns about R300 to R400 on a good day.

Despite the president implementing a lockdown, confining people to their homes, the traders still plan to risk criminal charges for the sake of making a few rands worth of sales.

According to Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, unemployment benefits will not be offered to informal workers who, according to Statistics SA, make up almost 18 per cent of the country’s workforce.

However, the president added that such workers would be assisted through a government safety net, but it is not yet clear how the process will work.

‘This is all we have and this money is what we use to support our family. As it is, we are living without the basics.

‘If we go home without money, our children and parents who rely on us will suffer, so we will just have to risk getting arrested. Not all of us have the choice of staying at home,’ said Mthembu.

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