Food wars continued in Mthatha between hawkers and city officials this week with hawker leaders claiming they had launched court action over failed official promises of new market places and punitive action against stallholders.
Officials hit back saying hawkers were parking their containers on pavements and obstructing traffic.
Saturday Dispatch was told by African Hawkers Association president Fundile Jalile that their case was being heard in court this week. However, this could not be confirmed.
Earlier this week, scores of angry vendors took over the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipal offices in protest at the confiscation of their “premises”, which were shipping containers and caravans.
Several containers were impounded by municipal bosses earlier this week.
This was the second time the municipality had removed them from the city’s pavements recently. But Jalile said the hawkers would not take the fight lying down.
“They must rather kill us. There are people employed by the owners of those containers. If you remove them, you are not only depriving the owner of their livelihood but a lot of families who are dependent on them, too.”
KSD spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza, who earlier this week said the presence of the containers was in violation of the Traffic Act insisted the containers had been parked illegally on pavements.
“The act states that caravans must enter the town at certain times of the day and they should be licensed.
“But many of them do not have wheels and are parked in town permanently which is in contravention of the Act,” he explained.
He said that following a protest by the hawkers, a meeting held on Wednesday resolved that a forum be set up to help provide an amicable solution to the standoff.
Mampoza said he was not aware of any court case.
Jalile also told the Dispatch yesterday that the hawkers and municipality sat in a meeting on February 20 where KSD resolved to build a food market to accommodate the caravans and containers.
“They don’t respect or recognise us as informal traders because they are now stealing our containers and caravans.
“They have reneged on their resolution by trying to kick people off the streets but they have not made any provision for them.”
He also questioned why authorities were only acting now when the containers had been operating in town since 2003.
UDM provincial spokesman and KSD councillor Mabandla Gogo described the municipality’s actions as illegal, arguing no council resolution was taken to kick people off the streets.
He said instead it had been agreed in council they would be allowed to pay a trading fee to the municipality.
“But now they are harassing people. There is a high rate of unemployment in KSD and they contribute to the economy of this municipality.
“When you are going to remove people, you must set aside a piece of land for them,” Gogo said.
OR Tambo District Chamber of Business president Vuyisile Ntlabati blamed the municipality for failing to implement bylaws.
“Had they acted on these bylaws in the past, we wouldn’t be talking about this at all,” he said.
KSD had a duty to implement effective bylaws to regulate business in town, he said. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za