A strong warning has been issued by aggrieved and angry hawkers in Thohoyandou to the local Thulamela Municipality, namely that they will not vote for the current government next year.
Many hawkers under the auspices of the Sihlalangenkani Hawkers Association were forcefully evicted from their makeshift stalls at the central business district in Thohoyandou last week by Thulamela municipal police and members of the SAPS.
In an operation that nearly turned nasty, some hawkers had their stock damaged in the commotion.
Hawkers who preferred to remain anonymous said they had been trading in town for many years under very trying conditions, where municipal officials would just come and issue them with fines for trading illegally.
They said they had tried to get trading licences from the municipality on several occasions, but they were told they could only trade out of the CBD.
Ms Fhatuwani Nefuri, secretary of the organization, said they would not go anywhere. "These people can't give us jobs and we are trying to fight poverty ourselves. They are blocking us from making an honest living. Look at the police; they have a duty to fight crime, but they are after us who are earning an honest living through selling these tomatoes here."
Ms Matodzi Ndonyane, Sihlalangenkani Hawkers Association's chairperson, said they were tired of being harassed by municipal officials. "They always come for us and give us fines for trading here in town. I have lost count of the fines I have got. They amount to thousands of rands. If they remove us again this time, we will get them. We will withdraw our votes from the ruling party. We are the ones who put them in office, but they are now neglecting us. We will punish them next year."
Thulamela Municipality spokesperson Mr Nndwamato Tshiila said it was not true that they were refusing the hawkers licences. "We are a very caring municipality and we cannot deny people from earning a living, but this should be done within the confines of the law.
"The hawkers in question know they are trading at wrong places. Those are areas meant for parking and we cannot issue them with licences to trade there. We have places meant for trading in our town and they're free to come and apply for licences," said Tshiila.