January 15, 2003
By Tendai Dhliwayo
MEMBERS of the Gauteng Hawkers Association (GHA) took to the streets of Johannesburg on Wednesday, in protest against the "clearing of Eloff Street traders" and Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), whom they allege are stealing from them.
The protesters, who marched to the Gauteng legislature from the Library Gardens, presented their memorandum to the MEC of safety and liason, Ian Robertson.
Later, the procession left the legislature and marched to the City of Johannesburg offices in Braamfontein to hand the memorandum to mayor Amos Masondo.
In the memorandum, the hawkers claim "a sizeable criminal syndicate operating freely within your JMPD is plundering, looting, and stealing masses of hawkers' stock daily".
Hawkers came out in full force to deliver the memorandum
Spokesman for the hawkers, Edmund Elias, said the breaking of an Eloff Street management deal reached in December was one of the reasons for protesting. The deal, according to Elias, entailed electing a street management committee appointed from block leaders who would register traders properly. About 200 block traders were to be catered for under the process.
Elias added that space had been demarcated to settle the traders. According to him, the JMPD disregarded the deal and went on to remove the hawkers from Eloff Street at the instructions of Graeme Reid, CEO of the Johannesburg Development Agency.
Wayne Minnaar, spokesperson for the JMPD, said the Eloff street traders had to be removed as they were overcrowding the pavement, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk, thus contravening the city's by-laws in the process.
Reid said informal trading is a vital sector of the economy, but reiterated that if it is confined to the pavement, it will never grow and flourish. "People should not be marginalised to the pavements," he said.
He added that street trading is not in the interest of the city. Reid cited congestion and litter caused by street trading as adding to high costs the city would incur in cleaning up after the hawkers. "Council has adopted a policy to provide facilities like markets to allow people to carry out their daily activities," reasoned Reid.
Mannetjies Solomon, chairperson of the GHA, also lashed out at the JMPD for confiscating hawkers' goods.
"Why are these people robbing us, poor people? They must be investigated and suspended," declared the enraged Solomon.
Deputy director of internal affairs for the JMPD, Pinkie Mathabathe, said the theft allegations were news to her.
She said no formal complaints by members of the public had been received regarding the looting and stealing of hawkers' possessions. She added that in the event of officers confiscating goods, people should furnish details and describe who confiscated goods.
