Residents in Hanover Park have raised concerns that elderly pensioners and struggling families are being targeted as the City of Cape Town steps up enforcement of zoning regulations and municipal by-laws against informal businesses run from homes.
The issue came to light during a discussion on CapeTalk on Tuesday, where community leader Gary Hartzenberg accused the municipality of cracking down on residents who depend on small-scale trading to supplement their income.
Hartzenberg, who said he is the chairperson of the Newfields Village Community Representative Forum and the land and housing coordinator for the Hanover Park Civic Organisation, said several residents had received warnings related to zoning and informal trading activities.
Hanover Park Families Depend On Home Businesses To Survive
According to Hartzenberg, some homeowners rent out separate entrances to foreign-owned spaza shops, while others sell baked goods and cooked food from their kitchens to earn extra money.
He alleged that the city was threatening offenders with fines of as much as R800,000 and even imprisonment for violating zoning rules.
“What we are concerned [about] is you having elderly persons, pensioners, selling koesisters and doughnuts and vetkoek from the property,” he said.
“How can the City of Cape Town target the poorest of the poor?”
Hartzenberg said many pensioners are unable to survive on their monthly grants and rely on selling food such as koesisters, doughnuts and vetkoek to cover basic living costs.
Debate Over Food Safety And Informal Trading Rules
Hartzenberg claimed that enforcement initially focused on landlords leasing space to Somali shop owners before extending to other informal traders across the community.
Cape Talk host Lester Kiewit asked whether the city’s actions could be connected to wider concerns about food safety and unregulated food preparation.
He referred to recent incidents in South Africa involving contaminated food products and suggested authorities may be trying to ensure that traders meet hygiene requirements.
Kiewit added that supporting informal businesses to comply with regulations would be more constructive than “throwing the book at them”.
Residents Reject Claims That Long-Running Food Businesses Are Unsafe
Hartzenberg dismissed the suggestion that longstanding home-based food sellers posed a health risk.
“If you for 20 years eat koesisters and doughnuts, how can that make you sick?” he said.
He also argued that residents viewed the by-law enforcement as part of broader tensions involving foreign-owned businesses and immigration.
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Hartzenberg accused the city of placing additional pressure on communities already grappling with poverty and high unemployment.
The Times Post learned that the City of Cape Town did not respond to the allegations during the radio discussion, although Cape Talk said it would seek comment from municipal authorities.
