There’s a pandemic.
Besides the health crisis and immediate threat to our lives and health, we're also in somewhat of an economic crisis.
Unemployment is at a record high of 7.2 million, or 32.5%.
And that's a direct result of the Covid-19 lockdown, which saw South Africa's economy shrink by 7% in 2020.
Business has suffered, some have had to shut down for good.
Industries like tourism, entertainment, events and nightclubs are still on hold.
More and more people have had to trade in their jobs in these sectors for small and home businesses as an alternative income stream.
With salary cuts and short-time the norm, it feels like everyone has hooked themselves up with a "side hustle".
Apart from TERS and the R350 relief grant, government hasn't offered much in the way of income support.
And with the corporate sector also taking a hit, 9 to 5 jobs have become scarcer.
The answer is small business development.
The little guys need all the support they can get.
So what was the City's Law Enforcement thinking confiscating a poor vendor's fruit and veg stock this week?
Officials were doing their rounds in Long Street on the Foreshore, as part of "revitalisation operations", when they checked up on Ebrahim Solomons.
They asked to see his trading permit. He has one, but it was with his daughter at the time.
Ebrahim's son, however, had a picture of the permit on his phone.
This wasn't in order, so a whole regiment of officers proceeded to confiscate his goods and issue him with a R500 fine.
He was told he had to go to their Bellville depot, where he would have to pay a R1600 release fee for his stock.
They loaded his fruit and veg on a truck, some of his naartjies and grapes ended up scattered in the street.
And when Ebrahim stood in the way of the vehicle, the 57-year-old says officers pushed him out of the way.
Even when his daughter arrived with the permit paper, the City's finest said it was too late, the fine had already been issued.
A R500 fine, R1600 release fee and R2000 worth of perishable goods impounded.
That's a heavy loss for a vendor whose family's livelihood depends on that income.
Anyway, when the Daily Voice asked the City why they were being so harregat with Ebrahim, Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for City Law Enforcement, said: "Only hard copies of permits will be accepted when requested by an authorised official, as described under the Informal Trading By-law as amended.
"If a hard copy is not available when requested, officials can confiscate/impound.
"It was explained to Mr Solomons that a hard copy of the permit was necessary because it allowed law enforcement to check its validity, which is not always possible on digital devices.
"This incident is being further investigated by Law Enforcement."
Now, for crying out loud, man...
This is not apartheid where you can get locked up for not carrying a dompas!
Our small business people need support, not draconian, bureaucratic law enforcement.
Times are tough, have a heart.
Be helpful, don't be bullies.