Business owners tired of vendors selling without permission in Tzaneen town
Ratepaying business owners in Tzaneen’s CBD say they are sick and tired of vendors selling their products in the streets without permission. Sidewalks in Tzaneen’s CBD, particularly Danie Joubert Street, have become impassable with 200 hawkers occupying the pavements.
Vutivi Makhubele, Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM) media liaison officer, told the Herald that there are only 75 legally demarcated vendor sites on the sidewalks in the CBD. The Herald reported on the matter two weeks ago with vendors selling anything from fruit and vegetables, cosmetics, clothing, makeshift photography studios and hair salons. A resident told the Herald in an email that the town’s cleanliness has come under pressure due to the situation.
She also questioned the legality of permitholders “To be honest, our town is too dirty, we struggle to get to shops, especially outside the malls. How are they managing the sanitation in town?” She asks whether residents have been desensitised to such an extent that they do not notice it anymore. A business owner in Danie Joubert Street contacted the Herald complaining about the noise some of the vendors create. The owner said smoke from cooking in stalls and littering are very disturbing.
Also read: Street traders take over Tzaneen CBD
She told the Herald that she pays rent, taxes and rates, unlike the hawkers. “If I’m paying, why are hawkers not paying? Where do these people go when nature calls, our town is dirty, I don’t think the municipality or the police are doing enough to manage this problem,” she said. She stated that calling GTM or the traffic department to remove a hawker who creates noise selling their products, has fallen on deaf ears. She said she was told that they would only remove them at night during an upcoming operation.
She said the hawker were eventually removed. “If I pay my rates and taxes, I deserve to run my business in peace, the municipality must attend to my complaint.” According to her many hawkers overnight in their stalls polluting the area when preparing meals. She suggested that the GTM employ a full-time observer. GTM’s by-laws state that anyone selling in the streets must have a permit which is obtained by applying at the municipality’s offices.
The by-laws state that traders must keep their area clean, must not obstruct pedestrians from moving around and they must not trade in parking areas. The by-law further reads that no person should promote their merchandise using megaphones, speakers or by shouting and singing.
