Hawkers saddened at being evicted from Park Station
Vendors are worried about loss of income
Passenger Rail Agency of SA ’ s (Prasa) informal trading policy has placed hawkers in a predicament as some of them are about to lose their only source of income following an instruction that they should vacate Park Station with immediate effect.
On Wednesday, the centre management of Joburg Park Station, which falls under Prasa, issued a notice to the vendors at the station ordering them to leave the premises until the informal traders’ policy has been finalised.
“Dear Park Station hawkers... This note serves to ask you all to leave Park Station with immediate effect, in order to allow Prasa management to finalise the informal traders policy and management implementation thereof. This is expected to take place over the next few weeks and Prasa will invite your representatives in order to discuss how this will be rolled out,’’ read the signed notice.
“It is not acceptable for informal traders to force their way into Prasa premises and this must be stopped with immediate effect and informal traders must leave Park Station immediately,’’ the notice continued.
This notice has angered several traders at the station.
The traders said they were told by security guards at the station on Tuesday that they should leave the premises. The traders said they were then issued with the notice the following day.
Tsile Mosadi, 65, from Orange Farm, south of Joburg, said he is pained by their removal.
Mosadi has been selling at the station for 38 years. He sells large carrier bags, cooking utensils and stationery such as sellotape and permanent markers. He makes roughly R300 a day.
“This is so painful. We are no longer going to get income. As you can see, I am starting to pack up and go home. I do not know what I am going to do. I have no plan whatsoever. Security guards came here at 11am and told us to leave. The money I make here helps me to buy food and electricity at home,’’ said Mosadi.
Petros Mphelane, 73, said he was not aware of the notice and no security officials told him to leave.
Mphelane has been selling at the station since 1993.
“I am surprised by the whole thing. I am actually sad that they want us to move. I have children to feed. What are we going to eat? I do not even know anything about this informal traders policy they are talking about,’’ said Mphelane.
He said he does not know if he will continue trading at the station.
A fuming Miriam Dithejane, 77, said she is going to continue selling at station despite the notice.
“This Prasa thing is driving us crazy. We have worked here long before Prasa existed. I am not going to close my stall. They [Prasa] want to remove us so that they can put in their friends,’’ said Dithejane.
Chairperson of the Park Station traders management forum Phumlane Ndlovu said: “To us the notice says a lot about Prasa management not understanding informal traders. There is no eviction notice that says immediate effect. We are devastated as traders as some trade in perishables that will have to be thrown away.’’