Informal traders: how to apply for a special permit

Only legal hawkers in the City of Ekurhuleni will be granted special permits by the City to trade during the current lockdown.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs issued amended Covid-19 regulations on April 3 which make provision for grocery stores and wholesale produce markets, including spaza shops and informal traders, to trade during the current lockdown.

In terms of the amended Covid-19 regulations, the informal traders must operate on condition that they have written permission from their local authority.

Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the city, said: “In light of the above, informal traders and spaza shop owners will have to apply for temporary trading permission as stipulated in the Business Act No 71 of 1991.

“The temporary trading permission will apply for the duration of the declared lockdown and shall only be issued to current legal hawking permission holders. No new permission applications or proxies or transfers shall be considered during the lockdown,” said Gadebe.

However, spaza shops that do not have trading licences or permissions as envisaged in the Business Act, shall be granted a temporary reprieve through the issuance of trading permission that will apply for the duration of the declared lockdown on condition that the application is supported by the relevant stakeholders.

The City will give sanitisers, gloves and masks to traders of processed and unprocessed food products whose applications are granted. The sanitisers, gloves and masks will be given on first come, first served basis, according to Gadebe.

Applications for temporary trading permissions will be open from noon to 4pm on Monday and from 9am to 4pm weekdays henceforth.

The City of Ekurhuleni has put in place the following procedure informal traders must adhere to in order to be issued with temporary trading permissions:

Step 1: Applicants can download or collect the temporary trading permission application forms on: https://www.ekurhuleni.gov.za/media-relations/issuing-of-temporary-trading-permission- to-spaza-shops-and-informal-traders.html, or their nearest customer care area (CCA).

Step 2: Applicants must complete the application form fully and attach a certified copy of the current trading permission (where applicable) that was issued by the City of Ekurhuleni and other required documentation.

Step 3: Applicants must secure a letter of support from relevant stakeholders or CCA manager where the business operates to confirm their residential and business address, which shall form part of the final evaluation and approval condition.

Step 4: Applicants must submit their applications at their nearest CCA manager’s office whereby a reference number shall be issued.

Step 5: All compliant applications shall be issued with a temporary trading permission within 24 hours of submitting of their application.

Step 6: Applicants shall receive a text message to collect the temporary trading permission at their nearest CCA manager’s office.

All successful temporary trading permission holders are required to carry and/or display their original temporary permissions at all times.