City of Cape Town demolishes “illegal” roadside stalls
Councillor says stall users intended to occupy land
City of Cape Town law enforcement has demolished roadside vendor stalls in Marikana, Philippi.
Community leader Qiniso Ngema asked why people’s businesses had been destroyed. “We will open a case against the law enforcement because it was genuine businesses that provided food for families.”
Grant Twigg, Mayco Member for Human Settlements, said: “These structures were erected illegally on a City-owned road reserve without permission … A mattress, bricks and mortar were found inside one of the structures, which indicated an intention to build a permanent structure and to live inside that structure.”
Nomtha Nama said five stalls were demolished last week. She had been selling chicken giblets from one of the stalls. “The officers asked us to remove our belongings then started demolishing.”
“My husband works part-time and the money I made here helped a lot,” said Nama. She sold a cup of giblets for R7.
Twigg said: “The City condemns land invasions on private- and City-owned property, regardless of its zoning, because these actions are illegal and consequently impact on service delivery to other residents.”
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