Katlehong traders feel the cold

Hawkers at the open-air flea market behind the Letsoho Shopping Centre in Katlehong say they’re appealing to the municipality to build them shelters for protection against the elements.

Some of them told Kathorus MAIL they have been trading on the designated paved open space not far from the old Natalspruit Hospital for more than two decades and said they now wish the Ekurhuleni Municipality would reconsider the situation of the unprotected trading area.

“In summer, we can’t sell our merchandise because of the rain and in summer the hot sun damages our products. And come winter, we are forced to sit in the open and expose ourselves to the elements,” said herbalist Mosotho Mushishi, who sells traditional herbs under a canopy of self-made plastics to shade his wares from the blazing sun.

The traders said even though business at the flea market is not booming as before, many of them claim to have managed to raise and educate their children from the meager income they earn from selling second-hand clothes to the community. They purchase their stock of second-hand clothes in bales from second-hand clothes importers and then re-sell them to the public for a profit.

And after the relocation of the old Natalspruit Hospital from the busy nearby main bus and taxi terminus opposite the Letsoho Shopping Centre, to the new premises in Vosloorus, four years ago, traders said their businesses have also suffered from the drop in human traffic to the health facility.

Pointing to bundles of his stock of assorted merchandise of second-hand clothing, Francis Chauke said he started the business in 1998. “It has been my main source of income and survival for my family since I lost my job in 1997,” explained Chauke, a father of six children, who specialises mainly in men’s, women’s and children’s second-hand clothes.

According to Chauke, the meager earnings he makes from selling second-hand clothes to the public has helped him to put three of his eldest children through school. His second- and third-born are currently in their second and third year at university respectively and the business pays for their tuition. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’m definitely not complaining,” said Chauke with a proud smile on his face.

To Chauke and his fellow traders, their plea to the Ekurhuleni Municipality is to have the area shaded to protect their merchandise from the elements especially from the rains in summer and the winter cold.

“We are grateful to the municipality for establishing this place for us, but we need help to draw potential clients to our businesses,” explained Cekiso Nxasa, who specialises in second-hand shoes.

An attempt by Kathorus MAIL to obtain clarity regarding the status of the flea market and the plea of the traders from the municipality, a council employee who refused to be named described the flea market area as “situated under electrical power lines” and gave this as the reason why the municipality was unable to erect cubicles for traders.

See budget speech story on page 5.