Cape Town - From sleeping in tuck shops to the conditions and quality of food kept at these premises, the dos and donts of trading, were shared with immigrant traders, landlords and members of the community in order to ensure compliance and understanding.
Africa Unite with the City, Department of Home Affairs, Municipal and Environmental Health Services, law enforcement, and police, held a ‘Community Conversation’, at the Subcouncil 12 office, Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, on Wednesday.
The engagement provided traders, landlords, and the community in Mitchells Plain, with information on how to be compliant of health and safety regulations, from well-illuminated and ventilated premises, pest proofing, and the handling, transporting and storing of foods.
The engagement follows a similar event held in July, in which immigrant traders shared specific challenges faced.
Africa Unite director Zoe Nkongolo said: “They explained how they’re getting harassed by the police so it was kind of sharing the challenges with other departments. The way they are always being arrested, they’re sleeping in the shops sometimes, selling expired food, all those kinds of things but no one ever told them about by-laws.”
The engagement allowed for each department to share what the requirements were, with questions taken thereafter.
Nkongolo said these engagements were critical. “When you look around the country, you’ll see Operation Dudula is just looking for a small mistake immigrants are making and then it becomes general. It's also about promoting social cohesion. If people understand what needs to be done, everyone will be living in peace.”
Often immigrants are fearful of interacting with police or Home Affairs. The event aimed to facilitate conversations to ensure everyone was on the same page.
A Somali shop owner trading for the past 12 years, Abdirizak Ossoble said getting the necessary documentation has been a challenge, creating “chaos” for shop owners.
“There’s a challenge with the fee. You have to pay a certain fee to some local vigilantes, otherwise they will say they’ll close down the shop,” Ossoble said.
“I have fears but you have to live with the fears. We are used to them. For the last couple of years when they were new in 2010-2011, but now it's the norm.”
New Lentegeur resident, Frances Schoeman said it was important for the community to be a part of the engagements.
When an incident takes place, the police would arrive three to four hours later, and the crime is finished already, Schoeman said.