Hawkers cast their votes
Hundreds of hawkers yesterday (July 9) cast their votes at the Tshwane Events Centre in the west of Pretoria to elect a body that will represent them in the city.
A dream of most hawkers in the city to go to poll has finally become a reality as hundreds of hawkers cast their votes at the Tshwane Events Centre in the west of Pretoria this week.
The aim of the election on Thursday (9 July) was to choose a representative body for hawkers in the city.
The hawkers’ election took place after it had been called off twice last month with speculation at the time that the delays were deliberate to benefit hawker organisations that were behind in their preparations for the election.
The hawkers’ election was initially scheduled to take place on or before the end of June.
It was called off at the last minute on June 29 after the first postponement barely a week earlier.
The road to election has been long and even life-threatening for some.
Two hawkers’ leaders, Elliot Ngkadimeng and Shoes Maloka, had nearly lost their lives in apparent assassination attempts.
Ngkadimeng and Maloka were shot after they had been dropped off by taxis near their homes in October last year and early in April this year, respectively.
These attacks left the informal trader leaders with scars, living in fear until street vendor politics could be settled.
Hawkers believed a representative body could ensure a peaceful resolution of their problems with Tshwane metro without the need for violent protests.
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