"Street traders' have no policy

Thu, 17 Apr 2008

Government was on Wednesday condemned for not having any policy to regulate the informal business sector in South Africa.

Chairperson of the African Federation of the Informal Traders Organisation, Sam Khasibe, said it was disheartening that there were no by-laws to guide street traders.

"There are only draft by-laws that exist from 1997 and this is unacceptable. How do you expect the traders to know their rights?" he asked.

Khasibe was speaking at the launch of a survey on street traders released by the Ecumenical Service for Social and Economic Transformation (ESSET).

He complained that the informal sector was undermined by government as it was not even mentioned in the national budget.

The survey — which highlighted the challenges faced by street traders — revealed that most traders had failed to secure formal employment and blamed government for not providing enough jobs.

Most of the traders interviewed for the survey said they did not have trading licences.

The survey revealed that most traders are South African while 17 percent are from Zimbabwe, eight percent from Mozambique and seven percent from Nigeria.