September 13, 2004
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE City of Johannesburg has struck a deal with the newly formed Traders Crisis Committee (TCC) to resolve a long-standing dispute between the City and informal traders during a dialogue workshop set for early October.
This decision was made after a volatile meeting between the Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo and informal trader representatives at a meeting held on Friday 10 September. The meeting followed a protest march in early September by over 3 000 hawkers who handed a memorandum to the mayor demanding that a policy dialogue workshop, promised by the City on 25 May 2004, be held "to re-evaluate every aspect of policy and regulations" governing hawking in the city.
Council policy envisages that trading should take place in markets, stalls and other demarcated spaces only. The City's Informal Trading Development Programme (ITDP) - part of council policy to manage the impact of informal trading on the city's infrastructure and help develop a vibrant and diverse trading sector - plans to provide traders with appropriate facilities, limit the number of traders to the carrying capacity of an area and prevent unregulated trade.
The hawkers, represented by executive members of the TCC, a group of six informal traders' organisations operating in the city centre, demanded that city by-laws be suspended and an investigation done into allegations that Metro Police are stealing confiscated goods which are not returned upon payment of the appropriate fine. The hawkers described the action as "unconstitutional" and lamented the R740 "high fine" paid for the return of confiscated goods.
"We are not saying all by-laws should be suspended, but poor people are not getting food on the table because of Metro Police actions. The Joubert Park area, for example, has been closed off from trading because the metro police are raiding our hawkers eight to nine times a day and taking away their goods," said Livingstone Matanga, chairman of the TCC.
Masondo stressed that it was the City's intention to keep Johannesburg clean and to regulate informal trading. "It was our aim to work together with the informal traders. Informal trading is an important aspect of our economy, but it must happen in an organised manner. People must trade only in designated areas. If they trade illegally, they should expect the law to catch up with them," Masondo said.
In a statement released on Thursday, 9 September, the TCC said market traders owe millions to the Metropolitan Trading Company, a council-owned company responsible for establishing and managing markets in the city. "Hawkers never had debts before council intervention forced them to trade from non-viable market sites. Eviction of people who were promised empowerment is the order of the day," the statement said.
The statement went on to say that hawkers insist that the City of Johannesburg take meaningful steps to bring trading policy into line with national government's declared intention of developing "the second economy".
"We have an obligation to participate in the people's contract to create work. Two million South Africans are presently economically active in the informal economy. This indicates that one quarter of our population are surviving as a result of this form of economic activity," said the statement.
On the issue of by-law suspension, the mayor said there will be no suspension of the implementation of by-laws. "No city can operate without by-laws. It is our duty to govern the City of Johannesburg and this mandate emanates from the voices of its residents. Part of this is law enforcement, but this must be done in a humane manner."
Masondo promised that the City would take disciplinary action against any Johannesburg Metro Police Department official found involved in criminal activities. "If anyone steals your goods, report him to the police because that is a criminal activity. Also raise the complaint with the City and we will then follow the allegation up."
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