By Selloane Ntshonyane
- The City of Johannesburg has started issuing smart cards and stalls to verified informal traders from the AK1 and AK2 court lists.
- Some traders were disqualified for using temporary passports, while others must prove they inherited trading spots from relatives.
The City of Johannesburg has started giving smart trading permits and stalls to informal traders in the Inner City after launching a strict verification process.
The process began on 4 November, focusing first on traders from the AK1 and AK2 court lists. Officials checked documents to confirm who is legally allowed to trade.
According to Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, the list first had 720 names. But the City discovered many duplicates. After cleaning it up, only 500 were confirmed as real traders.
So far, 161 traders have been fully verified. Out of those, 44 received their smart cards this week and were also given new stalls so they could start trading right away. The rest of the verified group are expected to get their cards by the end of the week.
Morero said problems came up during the process. Thirteen of the traders were using “suspended permits”. In some cases, this happened after the original permit holder died and a family member took over the stall. Those people must now show proof to be officially approved.
Nine people were found to be in the country with temporary passports. The City said they cannot be given stalls or permits.
Another group of 67 naturalised traders were confirmed to be fully South African citizens after their documents were checked.
Officials also revealed that there are 2,819 new people who want to start trading in the city. The City is now looking for more trading spaces across Johannesburg to try and accommodate the demand.
Pictured above: Johannesburg informal traders queue to receive permits and stalls.
Image source: City of Johannesburg
