FCC vows to eliminate illegal vending

Pini Bothoko | Friday January 31, 2014 17:24

'We are not done yet,' that was the warning from Francistown City Council (FCC) clerk, Leboile Israel, after the stealth operation that saw council officers demolishing vendors' stalls and carting their merchandise away to the landfill last December. He said ever since they started raiding the Central Business District (CBD) and the Bus Rank last December, they have never stopped the operation. 'We managed to control cleanliness of the city.

Now we want to stop illegal operations by vendors and hawkers around the city,' said Israel. The mayor, James Kgalajwe once disclosed that about 300 vendors are operating in the city without licences. He said the number might have increased, as every day, there is a new vendor in the city. He said that the number of vendors operating without licences is giving them sleepless nights. He accused the illegal traders of making the city dirty. 'We want only people with licences to remain operating in the city. Those without licences should apply for them because operating without licences is against the law,' he said.He said that recently, they arrested 10 vendors who were selling illegally at the bus rank.

'They were trading without licences. There were three Batswana and we have banned them from ever trading because they were selling illegal things such as drugs,' he explained. He said that they will continue with the operation until all vendors followed rules and regulations.'Vendors have been coming to our offices, congratulating us for the good work we have been doing, appreciating the cleanliness of the bus rank and saying they now have customers unlike before,' said Israel. He said that the operation to remove illegal traders was to protect Batswana so that they do not have foreigners competing with them in business.

'On a daily basis, our officers are patrolling CBD and bus rank sniffing out illegal traders. Bona fide traders should always carry their licences to work to avoid being inconvenienced,' said Israel. He stated that they have cleared vendors who used to operate from pavements and hindered pedestrian movement. 'We have to protect everyone even pedestrians. We have to look after their safety. We do not want pedestrians to walk along the roads as they might be exposed to accidents especially around the bus rank because it is crowded,' said Israel. 

He disclosed that they have been charging shop owners for littering, especially those who had the penchant of indiscriminately tossing boxes and crates outside their stores. 'We advised them to have waste receptacles inside their shops, not to throw litter elsewhere. Many shops around Haskins Street have been charged and they paid the fines recently, ' he said. Israel complained about the mushrooming of churches that squat at open spaces around the city. The city clerk said by so doing, they break the law. He explained that they will consult the churches before they launch raids to evict them.

'There are lots of churches squatting around the city. They build permanent shacks and also degrade the environment. We are worried because we do not know whether what they do inside those churches is good or not. But we are sure they are occupying the land illegally,' he said. He said that very soon, they would establish a self-regulating informal sector association. He explained that through the association, players in the sector will be able to control themselves and stop illegal operations in the city. 'We have also advised them to form an informal sector committee which will communicate with the FCC on whatever pertains to their businesses,' said Israel.