Komatipoort — Hawkers plying their trade at the Lebombo border post between Mpumalanga and Mozambique will be relocated to a specially built marketplace, said Nkomazi mayor Selby Khumalo on Thursday

The hawkers were told they had to leave their stalls by January 31 so the border post and road could be upgraded.

"Rocks will be blasted and it would be dangerous for the traders to remain where they are," explained home affairs provincial director Robert Zitha.

To accommodate the hawkers the departments of home affairs and public works together with the Nkomazi municipality joined forces to build official stalls for the hawkers at the Komatipoort airport.

The hawkers' trade would not be jeopardised because their new stalls will be located at the airport pre-clearance centre. Trucks and all other heavy vehicles have to pass through the centre before crossing the border.

Khumalo said the upgrade was supposed to have begun in September last year but an alternative market had to be found for the hawkers first.

"Some of the traders have no other job and are the sole breadwinners for large families, so we couldn't just leave them with no alternative," he said.