The City of Mbombela (CoM) and law enforcement agencies raided Currie Street near the Buscor terminus on November 15. This was to ensure hawkers are following municipal by-laws. The municipality was accompanied by police, traffic officials, immigration services and the municipal by-law enforcement team.

According to the CoM’s spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, this comes after complaints were received by both the municipality and police about traders without permits operating in the area, and sometimes selling illegal goods.
“Hawkers are not following municipal by-laws. Some of them have occupied municipal spaces illegally and are selling counterfeit products. It is the responsibility of the municipality to deal with people who are violating municipal by-laws. We must take action to keep the city clean. This is not a one-time occurrence, we will continue to enforce our policies as needed,” Ngala said.

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He added that undocumented immigrants were arrested, and fake products and goods that were sold illegally were confiscated. People, who occupied municipal areas or were non-compliant with municipal by-laws, were removed.

Meanwhile, some hawkers and members of the public were not happy with the raid, blaming the municipality for raiding their area while ignoring other areas in the city that are dens of criminal activities.
One hawker, Sunai Muamar, said law enforcement was afraid of approaching Anderson Street where all kinds of crimes are being committed.

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“In Anderson Street there are drug dealers, sex workers and illegal immigrants, but you will never see the police or the so called by-law enforcement team and immigration services visiting the area, because they are scared of those operating there.”

Sello Mhlaba said she had been selling fruits and vegetables on the streets for more than five years and supports a family of six. She said what they did to her was uncalled for, because she did not commit a crime. “I was just trying to make an honest living to support my family, now they have confiscated all my stock for no reason. They should have told me to leave their street and not have taken my products.”