IOL|The unified South African Traders have called for the removal of foreigners, particularly Zimbabwean, operators in their midst, saying they are creating unfair competition.
The association, whose members operate mostly in Marabastad, claimed there had not been any significant arrests of illegal foreign informal traders in the area.
Yesterday, the organisation met the MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning Isak Pietersen at Ourasdaal, near Church Square, to hand over their petition of demands.
In the petition, the organisation said foreign informal traders must be removed, because they took away bread from the locals, while contributing nothing to the South African and Tshwane economy.
“Vending spaces in Marabastad must be occupied by local informal business people. Foreign traders sell illegal and fake items at exorbitant prices,” said the deputy chairperson of the organisation, Ramadika Morema.
Furthermore, the traders said the Ministry of Home Affairs should declare a moratorium on foreign informal traders.
The association also condemned business people who did not allow local informal traders to sell in front of their businesses.
“Big retailers should allow informal traders on to their corridors, or go back where they came from.
“We call on all informal traders not to support the outlets until they allow us to do business in their corridors.
“Our members are not thieves or beggars, but business people,” the organisation stated in the petition.
Morema said informal traders contributed to the economy through self-employment, and were not static, but growing to become big business enterprises.
Other grievances were the alleged daily “brutality” by Tshwane Metro Police Department officers.
The traders claimed the officers confiscated their stock and used violent means to do so.
They said they had to fork out bribes to stop the City police from harassing them.
Other informal traders have, on the other hand, vowed that the Marabastad development planned by the City would not get off the ground until they had been properly consulted.
They expressed unhappiness that the City failed to inform them about the project.
They also wanted the City to defuse confusion emanating from rumours that the project included the building of shops for foreigners.
During the State of the Capital Address, Executive Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa announced that R8million would be set aside for the 2018/19 financial period to benefit informal traders in Marabastad.