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Grand Parade traders say the City of Cape Town’s restrictions ahead of the festive lights switch-on event cut them off from their most profitable trading days, worsening financial pressures on informal households.
By SHAKIR ACHMAT
The Grand Parade Traders Alliance has accused the City of Cape Town of sidelining informal livelihoods after hundreds of hawkers were barred from operating during what they describe as their most profitable trading window of the year.
In a statement released last week, the Alliance said more than 250 traders, along with hundreds of assistants who depend on weekend earnings, were instructed to stop trading in the days leading up to the festive lights switch-on event. The decision, they said, has left many families facing unnecessary hardship during a period that typically provides crucial income ahead of the holiday season.
According to Rosheda Muller, President of the National Informal Traders Alliance of South Africa (NITASA) and chairperson of the Grand Parade Traders Alliance, traders had been informed three weeks earlier that they would not be allowed to trade from November 24 to 25, before the City granted permission for operations to continue until Thursday, November 27. She said Friday’s exclusion came without proper justification and left traders unable to recover from earlier losses due to heavy rain and flooding on the Grand Parade.
Muller said the Alliance had been scheduled to meet City officials and SAPS on November 24 to raise their concerns, but their delegation was asked to leave shortly before the meeting was due to begin. She said the City then reaffirmed that no trading would be allowed on the Friday or Saturday before the event, describing the encounter as dismissive and lacking consideration for the realities of informal traders.
‘We were given no alternative, no empathy and no effort to understand how these decisions affect households,’ Muller said. She added that the traders’ proposal to use adjacent areas for temporary operations had been rejected.
Responding to the allegations, City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said the City had engaged with traders throughout the year regarding the event’s infrastructure needs and the associated restrictions. He said traders were initially informed that no trading would be permitted from November 24 to December 1 because of construction for the festive lights switch-on event. After further consultation, the City extended trading until the Thursday.
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Tyhalibongo said Friday was excluded to prevent delays, explaining that in previous years traders’ late breakdown of stalls and materials left behind had hampered construction teams. He said the City tries to accommodate traders where possible but that operational requirements must take priority in the lead-up to major events.
He added that 40 Grand Parade traders were given the opportunity to trade in a designated space in Lower Plein Street on the day of the festive lights switch-on.
Despite this, the Alliance said the majority of traders remain financially strained, particularly after a difficult year marked by unpredictable weather and reduced foot traffic. Muller said the latest restrictions have worsened pressures on informal households that rely on weekend trade for survival.
‘We are left with no choice but to express our disappointment. This administration has shown no support for pro-poor economic development,’ she said.
The Alliance has urged residents to reflect on the City’s treatment of informal traders when casting their votes in the upcoming municipal elections.
