Definiciones de tipo y ámbito de violencia contra las mujeres según la LOIPEVCM

4.6.1 2005/6

In an interview with Theophyllus, a Nigerian trader who sells branded shoes and clothes he mentioned that in the week of 18 April 2006, the Council brought officials to measure the demarcated areas of each trader in Kerk Street. This was part of the Council‟s intention to put up shelters or stands for these traders. He mentioned that the process of measuring created uproar, as those who were found not to have a demarcated cite were chased away from Kerk Street. When speaking to respondents regarding the lack of shelter, Ms Sithole, from Orlando East, stated: „As long as we can have a decent place to sell, we will be okay. They say they will get us tents/stands next week.‟ She was hopeful that the City of Johannesburg would provide them with tents, which would serve as shelter for their stock. Another trader, Cyril from Cameroon, stated: „If we had the confidence of the government that street trading provides jobs…If we had shelter, a clean spot to trade and protection for goods, we will have a sense of security. Paying for the spot will be worth it.‟ Further comments and recommendations were made by three other traders, namely a barber, a respondent who sells used shoes and a lady who is a hairdresser, and sells sweets and cigarettes.

The provision of shelter is related to protection of their stock as well as protection from bad weather conditions. Ms Sithole, from Orlando East, who sells facecloths and cosmetics, was not happy regarding shelter, and stated that „The City Council… promised to put up stands for us this month [February], but even if they give us tents, they are too small. They cover only the stock. When it rains, I still have to run for cover. The government is failing us…They just talk and don‟t act on their words. Government caters and provides stands for foreigners more than us [South Africans]‟. She is unhappy about the perceived attention given to non-South African street traders. From the researcher‟s observations, all street traders received the same type of assistance or treatment from the City Council. Material differences between traders can be attributed to how successful they are depending on the profit they make. Noted differences are those who have shelters and those who do not, and those who able to afford assistants which is an indicator that they are making a profit. For example, see picture 5 and 6 which shows a

South African street trader who has two stands. It is a clear indicator that the perception that foreign street traders being treated better than South African traders is an example of xenophobia and that the progress of a trader is based on their aspiration.

A large number of street traders in Kerk Street complained that during rainy and bad weather conditions, there is sometimes little or no business, especially for the hairdressers. They maintain that when the sun comes there is business. When it is raining or cold, there is no business because there is no customer base. Bad weather conditions are directly related to the need for shelter. One of the respondents who sells DVDs and CDs, used to cover poles in a tent shape with black plastic bags. He cited that this method of shelter is better than the standard tents other street traders use. He noted that those

„other tents‟, or to be more specific, gazebos, are made of canvas and plastic and “let the water come through when it rains‟. These tents (gazebos) are „bought at any shop in town, Makro or Game…‟ as described by Chris from Nigeria, who sells a variety of vegetables. Edward, a barber from Meadowlands, stated the following: „When it rains, there is no business.‟ Veva from Congo, who sells shoes, bags and earns an additional income by operating a public phone, also stated: „When it is cold and raining, there is no business.‟

Half of the respondents who were interviewed in Kerk Street had shelter in the form of tents, while the other six respondents had some kind of stand. There are not many street traders with tents in Kerk Street. The street traders without the tents stated that the Johannesburg City Council had promised to provide them with tents by the end of April.

They complained, however, about the size of the shelter, as the area demarcated per trader is small. One of the hairdressers (a female), who in fact had a tent, stated that she and her co-workers did not like sitting under a tent or shelter because they were not visible to their customers. On the day the interview was conducted with her, Saturday, 11 February 2006, it was drizzling. She and her co-workers were sitting close to the shop windows of the Edgars Stores, a major retailer. There is slight shelter from the veranda of the shop, which is situated on the corner of Joubert and Kerk Street. One South African street trader complained that most foreign street traders had tents, and that she felt that the Johannesburg City Council cared more about the foreign street traders.

Photograph 4.1 Lack of adequate shelter in Kerk Street

4.6.2 2009

In interviews conducted in May 2009, three respondents mentioned that the Johannesburg Municipality intended to build a market for the Kerk Street traders, but were not certain of the dates. One of the respondents mentioned that the Municipality does aid street traders in different ways. For instance, the Council provided them with plastic bags to enable them to move away from the window displays of the retail outlets based in Kerk Street. This is an indication that the Council had been making interventions to assist street traders with regard to shelter, but that this had not been completely fulfilled. The responses, however, also indicate that the traders would like some assistance from the City of Johannesburg, and that they would be fairly optimistic about their conditions, if they were provided with shelter. Photograph 4.1, indicates that shelter is still a problem as there are not many formalised tents, but it must be noted that the City Council has provided traders in Kerk Street with some tents. Photograph 4.2 is an indicator that some traders have tents.

Photograph 4.2 Some traders have tents