On the first few days of lockdown, it became clear that the regulation to stop food vendors from trading was not well thought out. Instead of being able to purchase food close to their homes, as many usually do, residents of townships and informal settlements were forced to trek to the few supermarkets serving their communities, exposing them to crowds of other people at a time we should all be practicing social distancing.
“National government understood it made sense to permit food vendors to trade, and quickly changed the regulation. But the City of Cape Town has been dragging its feet on the issue for nearly a week, saying it needs more clarity.”
GOOD asked Western Cape Premier Alan Winde to involve his Red Tape Reduction Unit in speeding up the process. But the only aspect of the regulations that has had Winde jumping up and down was the ban on cigarette sales.
No need for any clarity, there. By failing to facilitate township food trading, the City of Cape Town is directly placing residents health and lives at risk. It is nonsensical to ask people to queue for hours outside supermarkets they don’t usually frequent. On Day 6 of the lockdown GOOD Secretary-General, Brett Herron, spent the day in Khayelitsha assisting to distribute fresh vegetables donated by the Oranjezicht Market to the Khayelitsha Community Action Committee. Herron filmed a 500-metre queue outside a Shoprite in the area. “Every supermarket I drove past had unbelievably long queues outside. Supermarkets had become mass gathering points, totally defeating the purpose of the lockdown.” The next day Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced the new rules allowing street vendors to sell food. “This is massive relief,” Herron said. “It removes the need to crowd out supermarkets, people can walk shorter distances to get food and street vendors can get their livelihoods back.” According to the new regulations street vendors may sell food provided they have permission from their municipality. Hello, Mr Plato, is anyone there?
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