‘Mantoetse Maama MASERU — The Mayor of Maseru Mothimokhulu Mosotho says vendors in Thibella must not turn their newly built stalls into “public bedrooms and public bars”.
Mosotho was speaking during the official handover of stalls to vendors on Friday.
The stalls were constructed by the Maseru City Council (MCC) as part of efforts to restore order at the bus stop area and keep the city clean.
“We hope you won’t turn this stall into public bars and bedrooms like other vendors near the Pitso Ground Police Station,” Mosostho said. Mosotho said of all the cities he had visited in the world, Maseru seems to be the most chaotic. The deputy minister of local government, Selibe Mochoboroane, who was the special guest at the ceremony, said the street vendors at the Thibella taxi rank must stop selling alcohol to students. “When I came here to inspect the stalls during their construction, I found school kids drinking alcohol during school hours,” Mochoboroane said.
“You should stop selling alcohol in these stalls, especially to children as it goes against the rules of the MCC. “I have found students drinking alcohol in your shacks during school hours.” The deputy minister promised that the government and the council will build more stalls as long as vendors abide by city bylaws. “The reason we build these stalls is to keep Maseru clean and we promise to build more stalls to keep the town clean,” Mochoboroane said.
’Mateboho Moshao, a committee member of the street vendors in the area said vendors had pleaded with the MCC for the past 12 years to build the stalls. “It’s been 12 years since this taxi rank was opened and we have been asking MCC to give us stalls so that we can work in protected places,” Moshao said. “However, these stalls are not enough as there are many vendors who are still working in those improper shacks, we hope to get more.”
Lerato Ramatšalle, a representative of the vendors, advised her colleagues to “obey the rules of the MCC”.
“There are some vendors who are selling alcohol yet they know that we are only allowed to sell food, fruits and vegetables,” Ramatšalle said. “We thank MCC for giving us these stalls because we have been breaking rules with the shacks we had. When MCC allocates us the market place, they only expected us to shield our tables with umbrellas.”
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