GRASKOP – “They have been there for years, why do something about it now?” asked the spokesman for Thaba Chweu Municipality (TCM), Mr Emmanuel Marobela, about the messy stalls in the heart of this beautiful town.
Lowvelder recently investigated this matter after numerous complaints were lodged by concerned members of the community. Businessmen and residents are up in arms about it.
For years they have been trying to sort out this “lawless chaos” as Mr Johan Ligthelm, chairman of the Democratic Alliance Constituency calls it.
“The only hope of having these traders relocated, is when decent municipal by-laws are applied,” he says.
These new laws are, according to
Ms Babsie McNelly, chairman of the Graskop Business and Tourism Forum, after several years still just a concept. She also confirms that none of these traders have permits to occupy the sidewalks. “In
a previous instance, they were given
24 hours’ notice to evacuate, but they still remain there,” says McNelly.
For Mr Bennie Kruger, co-owner of Biltongland, it is a constant headache.
A corrugated-iron structure has been erected next to his establishment, which completely blocks the visibility of the building from Church Street. Besides this barrier, litter is dumped right behind the structures. Biltongland is situated in the heart of town, right opposite Harrie’s Pancakes.
In an interview with Lowvelder, Marobela stated that the traders were just trying to make a living, and that this should not be a problem for Kruger as they didn’t sell the same items.
“It helps tourists, and therefore we can’t just chase them away. Do we have to remove them so that they can go and steal?” asks Marobela. “Because one person is complaining, it doesn’t mean that we have to move them all.”
It was only after Mr Kemmy Mashego, unit manager of TCM in Graskop told Marobela to keep quiet, that the true facts were brought to the table. Mashego confirmed that there were currently no by-laws to relocate these traders. “We can’t just chase them away like chickens, we need ‘teeth’ (by-laws) to relocate them.
“We need to find a way to let them benefit from tourists too, but formally,” says Mashego. “The plan is to move the traders to neat, fixed structures with storage space and bathroom facilities, but getting them to cooperate is easier said than done.”
The municipality, in cooperation with the business forum, is according to Mashego, currently working on a plan to accommodate everyone, “But without confirmed by-laws, we don’t have any teeth,” he says.
To date there has been no development in the confirmation of the by-laws, but negotiations are currently underway.
