Poverty efforts a farce

GREG KELEBONYE
Staff Writer | Thursday December 9, 2010 00:00

 

This is the position of owners of roadside tyre repair shops in Mogoditshane following a council crackdown on the repair shops, all of which are unlicensed.

'Yes we are unlicensed because council claims that we cannot be issued with a special license to operate our repair shops. All they keep telling us is that owners of big businesses that do what we do are complaining that we are taking their customers,' said Joseph Marope. On this day Marope and others had gone to Mogoditshane police station to redeem their tools and other merchandise that had been confiscated by the police at the instigation of the District Council.

'I make at the most P700 a month, how can anybody reasonably expect me to afford rental for a warehouse whose rental is P20,000?' he asked.

'Initially these people would come and confiscate our machines and charge us P200 or P150. They would then give us the equipment. Now for the second time running they have charged us P1,100,' added Lekgotla Tladi.

Just then a man who has been shuttling between the police offices near where the men are sitting, waiting for the Station Commander declares as he passes by: ' This time even if you pay, you will not get those generators.'

'How are we supposed to make a living? If council refuses to issue us with licences where are we supposed to operate?' asks another of the men, Keaboka Lesotlho.

Lesotlho says it is sad that government should be speaking from both sides of the mouth.

'Right now government is going all over the place claiming that it is eradicating poverty. We are poor people trying to eke out a living. Now simply because we are a threat to big shots' companies our businesses are being closed.'

The council raid, which has been going on throughout the week has also targeted street vendors and sellers of water drums in the Mogoditshane area.

Efforts to get a comment from the council by-law officers hit a snag as the Council Secretary and the head of by-law were both said to be out of the office. Meanwhile other officers who might have shed light on the issue were said to be busy at the town-wide raid.