Cops clamp down on shopkeepers

LYDENBURG – Police officers from Mbombela raided a number of shops in Lydenburg, demanding to see their “licences”.

Several business owners contacted the newspaper regarding the apparent hostile treatment they had received from the SAPS officials.

Mr Pradeep Narsai, owner of Amagents Clothing and Tandori Basket in Voortrekker Street, told Steelburger/Lydenburg News that he was not there when the raid happened.

His wife, Ms Bina Narsai, said about 10 SAPS officials entered the shop. “The female officer was extremely rude and just asked for the licence to trade. I told her politely that my husband was not here and that I would have to phone him to find out where the papers were.

“She refused to give me time to phone him and said if I could not show her the papers now, they were going to close the shop.”

She said her son went to the takeaway outlet to fetch the papers.

“A takeaway needs a licence to trade, but not a clothing shop. I asked her what papers I should provide, but she couldn’t even answer me. She even asked me if I were a foreigner.

I told her that I am a citizen of this country.” Narsai said the officer insisted that she close the shop. “I had my husband on the line, but they refused to speak to him. My husband told me to look for the closed corporation (CC) document, but she didn’t even give me a chance.

“She was extremely rude. My assistant even tried to tell her in isiPedi that we had the documents, I just needed the time to find them.”

By the time her son had found the CC document, Narsai was already outside the store. “She looked at it and just said that it was not the right document.

She said that unless we gave her the permit, we could not trade.

Again, I asked her what papers she was looking for and again she couldn’t answer me.”

Narsai said she was made to feel like a criminal. “They were closing my shop doors and people were staring, not knowing what was going on. I was so nervous. None of the other officers gave me a chance to explain.”

The owner of Bubbles and Bangles, Mr Joos van Zyl, told the newspaper a similar story regarding the rudeness of officers when they entered his store. “About eight of them came in. They didn’t introduce themselves. One of the female officers just started shouting at me, ‘We want your licence! Do you have a licence?’ I asked her what document she was talking about. I told her that I did not need a trade licence.

I told her that I wanted to be addressed in Afrikaans. It was then that she told me, ‘Oh, you are a bloody racist.’ Another one told me that they needed the retail licence. I told her that as far as I was concerned, I didn’t need such a document and that I was registered at SARS and would phone my bookkeeper.”

After the officers left, Van Zyl phoned his bookkeeper who told him that he indeed did not need the said permit.

Other Pakistani shop owners in the same street were arrested and had to pay a R1 500 spot fine.

The Mpumalanga Police Corporate Communication provincial head, Brig Selvy Mohlala responded to queries regarding the operation conducted in town. Mohlala said, “To summarise your enquiry, any person who has a complaint against the police may write a formal complaint to the police for investigation. In this case these are rumours that need to be verified.”

According to www.SME South Africa, a website for small and medium businesses, most new businesses will not require a business licence but there are certain types of businesses that may not trade without a proper trade license, according to the Business Act 71 of 1991 that governs it.

These include

• Health clinics, spas, saunas, and public baths

• massage parlours, laser and ultraviolet treatment centres

• escort agencies

• adult shops

• cinemas

• nightclubs

• pool rooms

• arcades

• any business with three or more vending or slot machines

• hawkers

• places that serve food, provide takeaways or transport meals.