Joburg informal traders cry foul as crackdown threatens their livelihoods

Johannesburg’s informal traders are up in arms over what they describe as an unfair and heavy-handed clampdown by the City of Johannesburg. Hundreds of traders across the inner city say they have lost their trading spaces, with permits revoked and stock confiscated — leaving them without income or recourse.

For decades, informal trading has been the economic backbone for thousands of households, offering a modest but vital means of survival. Now, with growing enforcement operations by municipal officials, traders like those in De Villiers Street say they are being pushed out without alternative solutions.

“We are not criminals. We are just trying to feed our families,” said one trader, holding onto what was left of her goods after a recent raid. “If they take our stalls away, how are we going to survive?”

City officials argue that the clean-up campaign is part of efforts to restore order, ensure compliance with by-laws, and create safer, more hygienic trading zones. The municipality has pledged to speed up the registration and verification of traders as ordered by the Gauteng High Court, but many vendors claim that the process is slow, unclear, and excludes long-time traders.

Advocates for informal traders say the city’s approach undermines livelihoods and fails to recognise the informal sector’s role in sustaining local economies. “The informal economy is not a nuisance; it’s an engine of survival for the urban poor,” said a representative from a street traders’ association