Operation Fiela was a great success for police, but the foreign nationals were unhappy about their profits being lost.
Numerous allegations flew around about how the foreigners were treated, but Brig Delisiwe Motha quickly cleared the air during a Stakeholder Business Forum.
This took place on Wednesday, February 27 at the Witbank Police Station.
Present at the meeting were, among others, the General and Deputy General alongside Vosman Station Commander, Basic Conditions Inspectors from the Labour Department, Town planner, Witbank cluster, Embassy, Home Affairs, Vosman communications officer and members from the Witbank CPF (Community Policing Forum).
The police argued that before they can close down a business, they issue a notice to the owner.
This happened during the first week of Operation Fiela. If nothing is done by the owner to pay his or her fines or getting a permit and still open the business and operate, the police are forced to close down the business or confiscate the goods and keep them in a municipal property.
The businesses were closed because after the first raid, they still operated.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that trading permits are issued to business located in business centers of areas such as malls, shopping complexes but not in residential areas such as Ackerville, Vosman and Kwa Guqa unless if their business is situated in a business area within the residential area, but these small businesses were operated from garages in the residential area.
It was also stated by an anonymous source, that workers were not paid who worked in these shops and that they live in the shops.
“Here they eat, clean, use the facilities and tomorrow we buy food from them,” the source said.
It was highlighted in the meeting that it takes about two months to get a trade license and that the application goes through a lot of departments and if a department rejects the application, then you can not get it.
Which means your business can not operate.
Vosman Station Commander highlighted that most of the business owners sell medicines and facial creams that are not in line with the Medicine and Substance Relations Act and that only professional doctors and pharmacists can sell these medicine and substances. She also urged them to go through Mpumalanga Business Act 2 of 1996.
One business owner, Alex Mazivela, asked how the government can help them to formalise their unregistered businesses because the businesses already exist and they are making a living from them.
He believes he never got an answer from the officials.
“There was no solution on my side. I raised my point clearly. We have established businesses and the municipality would not provide permits for our residential businesses so they should provide some sort of formality because we survive on what we make from the businesses.”
The general urged the Embassy to encourage their people to abide by the rules and regulations of the country.
