Petition drawn up against metro’s fines for market vendors

Food traders, stall holders and exhibitors at markets and events in and around Pretoria are potentially facing extreme financial difficulties because of the metro’s punitive penalties being imposed on them.

A petition has been drawn up by Madelaine Hicklin, a former member of the National Assembly of South Africa and now a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

She calls on the Tshwane metro, the Gauteng Department of Health, and the Gauteng Legislature to waive all additional requirements demanded of vendors.

She explained to Rekord these traders, stall holders and exhibitors all hold valid Certificates of Acceptability (COA), granted to them by various Departments of Environmental Health across Gauteng as required by Regulation R638.

According to Hicklin, they are now however required to produce on a market day at their place of selling a costly separate and additional COA.

If this cannot be produced and shown to the metro’s inspectors, the vendors are fined to the tune of R5 000.

“R638 certificates cover the manufacture, distribution and sale of foodstuffs, cosmetics and disinfectants as regulated by the South African Government,” explained Hicklin.

“All Certificates of Acceptability issued following the regulation must be acceptable all across Gauteng.

This must include the deviations and variations being applied by Tshwane alone, which forces vendors to apply for additional certificates for separate premises at crippling costs,” she said.

She confirmed that she has discussed the issue with city councillors who confirmed that no such extra by-law was passed by the city council requiring an extra certificate.

“They debated it but it has never been recorded on the City Council website. It is therefore not passed as a current by-law. As far as I’m concerned, it therefore makes any fines that they are issuing completely and utterly illegal. Residents who have been forced to pay this extra certificate license fee, need to be refunded and they cannot charge anyone any further,” she explained.

“I think this is a travesty of justice,” said Hicklin.

An organiser of a Pretoria banting and keto market, Karin Loots of Pretoria east said for vendors to be allowed to sell, each is required to obtain a COA from the municipality.

“Inspectors visit your premises, home or factory and determine whether you comply with all health regulations. Then you get the general certificate. What the metro does, is to enforce you to have an additional certificate for each market where a vendor sells at a cost of R1 008 per vendor together with Food Safety Training at R577 or R1 000, depending on where you do the training,” said Loots.

According to her, this means that each vendor must pay an amount of R1 577 or R2 000 for a specific market venue. For example, someone who sells at the banting and keto market and the farmer’s market must pay R2 016.

“There are some vendors who do seven markets in Pretoria, so they have to pay R1 008 x 7,” explained Loots.

“Market vendors are entrepreneurs who depend on the income. With the new rules, it is a huge burden on small businesses.”

CD van Reenen, manager of the Pretoria Boeremark, said it is a challenge for exhibitors working with food at their market to comply with the new format.

As organisers, they set out at the introduction of the new compliance rules to prepare their vendors.

“It is however one thing to do the course but another to pay the fee every time a vendor participates at a market. The vendors also indicated that the course taught them nothing new. Some of the vendors told us that with this extra cost and compliance rules it might not be worth their while to continue to sell at markets,” said Van Reenen.

He explained that some vendors do more than one market a month to survive and then it is a real challenge to stay afloat.

“As a market, we have done well in complying with executing the new rules by the metro, but our vendors are finding it difficult because of the extra cost.”

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said with the recent outbreak of foodborne illnesses, the city takes seriously its responsibility to enforce compliance with Regulation 638 to ensure food sold to our citizens is safe and free from health hazards.

“We however emphatically refute and condemn the unsubstantiated allegations about malpractice and corruption around these certificates. We encourage anyone with evidence to provide such to the city or approach any law enforcement agency of their choice,” Mashigo said.

“The city does not tolerate any form of corruption and where such is substantiated, consequence management will be implemented without fear of favour.”

He explained that the city has no by-law on food premises but rather enforces national Regulation 638.

“There is currently no by-law enforced by the city, but rather the regulation (Government Notice R638 of June 22, 2018) governing the general hygiene requirements of food premises, the transportation of food and other related matters,” said Mashigo.

“The enforcement thereof allows inspectors to request additional information as deemed necessary for the protection of food against contamination or spoilage.”

He confirmed that compliance with the regulation was carried out for the metro’s Health Department by the Municipal Health Services Section and that fines given to vendors are paid into the Tshwane Municipal Account.

Tshwane did not want to divulge any information about the amount that has been collected by way of fines for non-compliance.

Mashigo was also vague on why an added certificate had to be bought and shown in the metro by vendors even though the rest of Gauteng municipalities do not require it.

“The municipality is enforcing Regulation 638, which requires every food premise defined in the Regulation as a building, structure, stall or any other similar structure including a caravan, vehicle, stand or a place used for or in connection with the handling of food, to operate having a valid COA,” he said.

“This certificate is not transferable from one person to another or from one premise to another. Therefore, each premise based on the nature of handling, is issued with a certificate at the address at which the vendor is operating.”

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