Informal beach traders who operate at Clifton and Camps Bay say they have been unable to trade for months as they wait for their permits from the City.
The traders sell ice cream, cool drinks and rent out deck chairs to visitors, with some having traded in the area for decades.
Vincent Cedras, 62, from Strandfontein, said they applied for the trading permits at the Civic Centre in April.
“We have not received communication from the City since. We don’t know what the hold up is.
“I am sitting at home, anxious to get back to work to make a living.
“We do not have permits to trade at the moment. My wife is on medication, and the situation is difficult as she is unemployed,” he said.
Cedras said they had not been told when they could expect an update on the situation.
“The guys that work with me are all unemployed. It’s tough. We don’t know when we will get the answer.
“It’s almost like we must beg for our contracts, and that is not right,” he said.
Another trader, Faizil Khan from Mitchells Plain, said he was hopeful for some positive news every day.
The 63-year-old had been selling ice cream and renting out deck chairs on Clifton beach for 12 years.
“I applied in April, when the applications came out. So far, we have not heard anything from the City.
“I am now at home, waiting and praying that maybe there will be something for us on the beach,” he said.
In response to the traders, the City said: “The recreation and parks department will provide details with regards to the appeals process when unsuccessful applicants are informed.”
Freedom Front Plus councillor Paul Jacobson said he had had engagements with the traders.
“I have been in regular contact with all the beach vendors, including Mr Cedras, who is the father figure for all the beach traders.
“Mr Cedras has traded on the beaches for more than 50 years, first working for his father when he was a school boy and then eventually obtaining his own beach trading permits at Camps Bay and Clifton.
“He then ventured into the hiring of beach chairs and umbrellas.
“It is fair to say that Mr Cedras knows only about beach trading. At the mature age of 62, he is unlikely to find employment elsewhere.
“Not only that, but he is heavily invested in beach furniture, each deckchair costing R1200.
“It is the policy of our City to treat our service suppliers with respect. It is our policy to offer employment, both formal and informal, based on merit and not on quotas.”
President of the Informal Economy Development Forum, Rosheda Muller, said they were looking into the matter.
“Informal traders are struggling for survival day by day, and the City of Cape Town is not working in our interest but against us,” she said.
Cape Times