City of Joburg says almost 80% of printed trading permits haven’t been collected

The City of Johannesburg said almost 80% of printed trading permits have not been collected.

The Department of Economic Development revealed this on Wednesday at a meeting with inner city informal traders.

The traders had met with officials to complain that they have not received their permits, and that they are being forcefully removed by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) as a result.

The Department of Economic Development said while it acknowledges that it still needs to get through thousands of applications, it said over 900 permits that have been approved have not been collected.

The traders also suggested that the department keeps a database so that they are clear on who was given a permit.

They also suggested that their block leaders be given a letter of authority and are recognised as the people responsible for groups of people to keep communication singular.

Another burning issue that was raised is the lack of demarcated areas while traders await their permits.

The department’s Patson Khoza said they have put that as a priority.

“I am unable to quantify those trading areas but it’s a sizeable number. We have demarcated Noord, King George, Eloff, Joubert streets and the list is continuing.”

The traders also requested that their complaints of police brutality by JMPD officials be investigated.