DATE: 17/05/2011
The Women Informal Traders Forum (WITF), a forum of women informal traders that was launched by women traders in August 2010 to fight for the emancipation of women traders in South Africa and the SADC Region, held a Public Discussion on Monday (16/05/2011) with representatives of political parties such as Democratic Alliance, Pan Africanist Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party and National Freedom Party.
As Women Informal Traders we have heightened our campaign during the electioneering period to raise awareness on our struggles and human rights violations. The long term goal of our campaign is to improve the working conditions of women traders and ensure an enabling trading environment for us. Through hosting a Public Discussion with politicians, we seek to put pressure on political parties and government to make commitment to address our demands and plight. Key amongst our demands during the campaign included:
§ A stop to confiscation of stock and reasonable rentals for all trading sites.
§ A stop to sexual and economic harassment of women traders.
§ Proper workshoping and reformulation of informal trading policies and by-laws to be gender sensitive.
§ Development and implementation of uniform informal trading by-laws and policies across the country.
§ Recognition and proper representation of informal traders at all government structures.
During the Public Discussion, a video, depicting the plight and everyday challenges of women informal traders from around Johannesburg Inner-city and surrounding areas was played. Thereof, representatives from various political parties mainly from Gauteng branches were given opportunity to react and make commitments with regard to our struggle. Below is the promises made by representatives from different political parties that attended the Public Discussion:
DA:
The representatives of the Democratic Alliance (DA) have shown interest in building relationship with informal traders. More specifically, the party promised the traders that it will do more to address their issues of allocation of stalls; health and environmental safety as well as studying trading by-laws that usually resulted in harassment of traders. After the municipal elections, DA further promised to seek audience with the Metro Trading Company (MTC), a company entrusted with the responsibility to manage informal traders in the City of Johannesburg. The party stated that it would invite women informal traders to meetings that it will hold with the MTC to explore solutions to resolving problems raised by the traders.
PAC:
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) appreciated the role played by women informal traders and went further to call them entrepreneurs because they took initiative to create their own jobs. The party criticised government for not recognising the importance of developing and supporting the informal trading sector. It stated that unlike government who prefer to grow big business only, if voted into power it would respect and seek to develop a despised sector like informal trading. It view the informal trading sector as an alternative to creating jobs and believe that some of those in offices of power in government like Ministers, MECs, metro police etc where raised by women traders, who today they are not ashamed to batter. The promise made by the party was that after the elections they would engage the trading by-laws. They urged the informal traders and their association to choose a party that will be able to listen to their needs and comply with their demands.
IFP
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) emphasised that the ruling party has undermined the will of the people by continuing to develop and implement by-laws that still oppresses people like in the apartheid era. The IFP promised to resolve all issues of informal traders by lobbying for the closure of the Metro Trading Company. The party hold the view that most of the decisions regarding the management of informal traders are made by MTC, which has lost credibility because of its corrupt officials. The party promised women traders that their doors will always open and that more discussions about their challenges would be held after elections.
NFP
The National Freedom Party said that their leader who is a woman is very dear to issues concerning women, especially their safety and development. The party noted and appreciated the ability of the informal trading sector to sustain family livelihood and the contribution it makes to the country’s economy. NFP promised women traders that if they would be voted into power they will bring innovative ways to advance the businesses of all traders. Under NFP, women traders and all the other traders will be fully supported to increase job creation. For instance, the party will introduce mobile trucks for all traders, so that from time to time they are able to trade and move freely to areas with better business prospect
Kind Regards
Nokuthula Dladla
Committee Co-ordinator: Women Informal Traders Forum
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