Cutting edge | Tricks of the Trade

In the lead-up to the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg, the city launches a massive crackdown on inner-city informal traders, suddenly enforcing long-ignored bylaws and introducing a strict verification and new permit system. Hundreds of street vendors – many of whom have traded legally for years – are forcibly removed from prime spots such as De Villiers and King George streets, accused of trading illegally or lacking proper facilities.

The episode follows several traders, including Mama Felani Kheswa (a food vendor with a valid city-issued permit and certificate of acceptability) and Miriam Gabone, who are bewildered and financially devastated after being barred from their usual pitches despite holding documentation.

At the heart of the story is the politically charged verification process ordered by the High Court: thousands of traders – especially non-South Africans – simply do not come forward, fearing deportation or because they lack the required paperwork.

The programme exposes the growing influence of nativist movements: Patriotic Alliance activist Victoria Mogoba openly calls for mass deportation of African migrants, while Operation Dudula’s Thabo Moeketsi (of the now-banned “SA Standard” TikTok account) is shown blocking foreign nationals (including parents with sick children) from accessing public clinics in Soshanguve – actions later interdicted by the Gauteng High Court.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero insists the clean-up is purely about bylaw enforcement and creating a “clean, safe city ahead of the G20, rejecting claims it is an anti-foreigner campaign timed for political gain before the 2026 local elections. Yet the South African Informal Traders Forum accuses him of using the operation to counter the rising popularity of Operation Dudula and parties like the Patriotic Alliance.

With nationalist rhetoric surging, foreign nationals increasingly scapegoated for crime and unemployment, and traders left unable to feed their families, “Traders” asks whether Johannesburg’s historic promise of hope and opportunity – the very essence of the City of Gold – is being permanently rewritten in favour of a narrower, more exclusionary vision.

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