Cape Town - The 2023 Informal Sector Summit and Expo concluded with commitments and many concerns for informal traders who seek lasting solutions to safety, transport, storage space and out of touch policies.
Business associations and informal traders from different communities braved the wet and cold weather on Tuesday to attend the engagements in hopes of receiving answers to their daily struggles.
Rosheda Muller Chairperson of the Cape Peninsula Informal Traders Forum said the summit offered the City a chance, not only to hear their challenges, but also to support their visions and proposals.
“In the past we always walked away with the fact that it was a talkshop, however, the most important action that was implemented after last year's summit was that we would have regular area management committee meetings and that happened. However, the meetings were not that fruitful for an example we used to operate by the DHL Stadium and were evicted when it was built and promised to be returned.
“About 12 years later we are still talking about the same issue. There is also an issue with infrastructure including storage for traders, safety, toilets and dignified places to trade.
Although the City says it’s here for us and wants to work with us we don’t really feel the partnership on the ground. So we are waiting with bated breath for the implementation of our needs that we presented today,” said Muller.
A Khayelitsha trader who sells vetkoek and asked not to be named for fear of safety, said different sectors also need to work together and tackle extortion.
She also requested the City to make it easy to access tenders by training and deploying officials to educate them, especially the elderly.
Philippi Development Forums’ Bukelwa Sonamzi, who is also the owner of Women Healing Space which operates around Crossroads in Nyanga said: “There is a very big disconnect between the policies and by-laws. The policies introduced may be working for the City but not for the people on the ground. That is why we have so many challenges, for example when one goes to City offices an official will tell you that if you have problems with services go to sub-council or refer you to the by-laws. Also the City is not holding sub-councils accountable. We are also not treated the same in different communities which also creates conflicts.”
Mayco member for economic growth James Vos said among the programmes they have launched was an Index which will track ten critical indicators of business-facing services, with a special focus on enabling greater infrastructure investment and economic growth in Cape Town.
“The indicators include electricity and water connections, building plan approvals, and informal trading permits.
“We are on a journey of culture change in the City to make our government much more efficient, responsive and digitally accessible.
The Economic Growth Directorate is planning on spending around R100m on capital works on the City’s strategic economic assets and informal trading infrastructure.
“This means funding more capacity building, streamlining trader-facing services such as our e-permitting system, and growing a pipeline of infrastructure projects,” he said.
Executive director of Enterprise and Investment in the Economic Growth Directorate Lance Greyling said they noted all concerns and requested patience while trying to address them.
Meanwhile, the public has until tomorrow to comment on the City’s proposed plan to formalise 69 mobile business trading areas in Cape Town.
Mobile businesses include food trucks and services offered from trailers.
The draft can be viewed at www. capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay Comments can be made by emailing Mobile.BusinessPolicy@ capetown. gov.za
Cape Times