Nelson Mandela Bay spaza shops, hawkers may now apply to trade

Spaza shops and hawkers in Nelson Mandela Bay can now apply for permits to trade.

Bay economic development, tourism and agriculture executive director Anele Qaba made the announcement on Tuesday.

This follows the decision by the national command council in the economic cluster that informal traders were deemed “essential” under the Disaster Management Act last week.

The council announced that informal traders were now allowed to sell goods during the lockdown, provided they had permits.

In a statement, Qaba said: “There were certain amendments made in the regulations.

“There were those that talked to informal trading and on the basis of those we had to open our offices to assist informal traders with the application for permits.

“While the regulations are there, they do talk to certain categories of informal trading such as SMMEs to grocery shops, spaza shops fruit and vegetable stalls,” Qaba said.

He said the permits of informal traders who already had theirs before  the Covid-19 lockdown remained valid.

“However, they must ensure they adhere to the health regulations which means they must ensure they have masks and sanitisers, and ensure hygiene and proper sanitation to prevent Covid-19.”

He said new applications would be considered; “however, we’ll be following informal trading policies to ensure compliance of all other bylaws within the city.”

The department is working from City Hall and is open from 9am-12pm.

“It’s important for SMMEs to take this seriously because it’s a compliance matter and they need permits to operate.

“Should they not get permits and continue operating, they must know they are doing so illegally.

“We urge everyone to apply for permits for consideration,” Qaba said.