Hawkers’ stalls in CBD will be regulated
The formalisation of the illegal hawker markets in town has finally started.
HAZYVIEW – The stalls have long been a contentious issue with residents, who have been concerned about the danger and the unsightly litter created.
According to Mr Christopher Harvie of the Hazyview Chamber of Business and Tourism, the City of Mbombela has set aside a significant budget for formal stalls, marked out this week.
“Stakeholders have been at it since 2015, and it just goes to show that persistence pays off,” Harvie said.
A big contributor was the recently launched Hazyview Upliftment Programme.
Harvie said that suggestions posted on the Whatsapp group were helpful and being acted upon.
“We are very grateful to the municipality for their proactive approach.”
Licensed stall-holders, especially those who have been trading for the past three generations, will each be allocated a six square metre area and trading will only be permitted in these.
“The by-law enforcement team, led by Jomo Malupe, backed up by Elvis Ngomane of the Hazyview Chamber of Business and Tourism, will continue to clear illegal stalls every Friday until the message gets across that illegal traders will no longer be tolerated,” said Harvie.
Once this has been achieved, Sanral may continue with plans to clear the illegal stalls along the R40. The roadside stalls next to the R40 were demolished in the first week of October, but were mostly rebuilt shortly afterwards.
The informal traders have been warned on numerous occasions that operating on this stretch of road is in direct contravention of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) Founding Act.
The issue, however, is that these sellers have nowhere else to go, and council representative Elsie Janse van Rensburg argued that they should be allowed to sell their goods close to their homes.
“We have been in discussions with the Giba community of the Burgershall Land Claim and they are as keen as we are to resolve the problem, but we desperately need budget to build a permanent market in an area already designated by them,” Harvie said.
