Informal traders at the Mitchell's Plain Town Centre have expressed their satisfaction with a decision by the City of Cape Town to halt its proposed eviction process. At a workshop held last week, the Concerned Hawkers and Traders Association (Chata) were informed that they will be able to trade until the end of December this year. Last month, hawkers were issued eviction letters by city officials stating that they would need permits to trade and would be relocated from November 1st. Chata spokesperson Mischka Cassiem said 20 delegates were invited to the workshop with three representatives from each trader organization.
"At the meeting, we raised the issue of a vote of new confidence in the umbrella body and the irregularities of the relocation. According to Cassiem, Urban Renewal Programme manager Ivan Anthony decided that a tribunal committee would be set up within two weeks which would deal with the relocation and allocation of new trading bays," she reported.
"We need to commend Parliamentary officer for Mitchell's Plain, Marius Fransman, for his intervention, along with Mayor Dan Plato, for organizing the workshop. A huge thanks to Chata members as well as the ANC officers in Mitchell's Plain for their energy in this regard," she said.
Chata has however criticized the Mayor for attending the workshop for "only ten minutes", due to another engagement. Cassiem said it was important for the Mayor to hear the grievances amongst traders on the ground. This would nonetheless be forwarded to the Mayor's office in seven days, she added. Cassiem said she was "disappointed" that the ANC parliamentary constituency had not been present, even though the City had extended an invitation to members on October 28th.
The trader organization is hosting a picket in the CBD on Tuesday to highlight the plight of informal traders and to call on the City to permanently halt the eviction process. "We want this process to stop because there is so much corruption taking place between the umbrella body and City officials. We are being oppressed by own people who have signed an agreement with the City. We hope that more grievances will surface with regards to corrupt officials," she alleged.
Interested parties can contact Mishkah on 073 128 6657 for more information on the picket. VOC (Tasneem Mohamed) |
