2010-03-19:Joburg opens first linear market for informal traders
On Wednesday 24 March 2010, the City of Johannesburg will open its first linear market for informal traders in Hoek Street, Johannesburg between Bree and Plein Streets.
Almost 45 informal traders will be doing business from this linear market that is situated on the eastern gateway to the City that has a high traffic volume. Traders will be free of the concerns of having goods confiscated or removed here and even the market itself is compliant with the City’s safety and health bylaws.
Built at a cost of R3million it has ablution blocks, wash basins, running water and electricity, guarded by closed circuit television cameras as well as full time security guards.
A linear market is defined as a trading area designated for street trading in a pedestrian street or road reserve closed for vehicles movements. The City made commitments through the Inner City Charter process to amongst other things develop a policy that will provide guidance on how to ensure that there is no more unmanaged trading on the streets of the Inner City. This resulted in the approval of the Informal Trading Policy at the end of 2007.
The policy provides a regulatory framework that seeks to ensure that informal trading in the City happens in a manner beneficial to all affected stakeholders, namely the traders, property owners, law enforcement agents, all spheres of government and consumers. Fundamental to the policy is the idea of designated and defined trading areas, which relates to permissible structures that should be developed to accommodate informal trading. Such structures include linear markets, formal markets, mobile trading, and periodic markets, which will become permanent spatial features in the City.
The City believes that while the needs of street traders to sustain a livelihood and explore and exploit future economic opportunities is very important, these needs cannot be met at the expense of the needs of commuters, pedestrians, formal businesses, residents and other users of Inner City space. In this way the Inner City area becomes a clean, safe and well-organised public environment.
Ends
“Joburg, a City where community development, personal growth and social mobility are enhanced so that challenges of poverty, vulnerability, inequality and social exclusion are fundamentally addressed”.
By
Virgil James
Communications Specialist
City of Joburg
011 407 7226
082 467 9415