Informal traders at Cape Town’ St George’s Square say they are worried about their businesses

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Informal traders say they are worried about the future of their businesses at the popular St George’s Square in the Cape Town CBD. They say reduced trading hours are putting serious financial strain on their operations.

Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town says it’s implementing its CBD Economic Recovery Strategy to try and draw more customers to the area.

Business for informal traders at St’ Georges Square otherwise known as the Greenmarket has suffered in the last two years.

At first, it was due to the foreign nationals who occupied the local Methodist Church while demanding to be moved abroad and then the COVID-19 hard lockdown.

The alleged breaking of by-laws by the occupiers was also a concern. Local traders say they’ve now been ordered to stop trading at 1pm as opposed to 5pm before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“We don’t even know if we came to the Square to come and work. We don’t even know if we are coming in because we have to work. Or we are coming in and they tell us, okay you finish displaying and finish setting up at about 11 o clock and they tell you to pack at one o clock. There is an event and that is happening. Who is doing that event? They said they want to revive the green market square and the city,” says Informal trader, Lucas Ashu.

Kenyan-born Ann Wanjiku Ndengwa left her home to come to South Africa to seek greener pastures. She says the money she makes here helps to feed her family back home. But Ndengwa says the reviewed times have put her and her business under severe financial distress.

“About these new laws you are here by 8 o’clock and you start packing. It can take you three hours to display. After you’ve done all of that by 1 or half-past, you have to be out of the market. It is really tiresome… even the tourists who were coming here you are targeting them. At the end of the day, you can’t sell anything. You end up packing and recapping. It really feels like you can’t do it anymore. Even the displaying you can’t display all of the stuff” says Vendor Ann Wanjiku Ndengwa.

The City says efforts are underway to help struggling businesses in the CBD.

“As part of the CBD economic recovery strategy, the city has been approving and hosting events to take place in the evening at no detriment to the day traders. During the COVID-19 pandemic, traders gave reported low to no income generated at the square due to low tourist arrivals and have appealed for relief from the city. In response, the City implemented various strategies to support the sector, including the approval of the night market at the Square where Green Market square traders participate on a rotational basis. Greenmarket square has reported that they generated more income at the night market than they do during the normal working hours in the day,” explains MAYCO member Economic Growth, James Vos.

However, the traders say they are not benefiting from the night markets.

“The night market we were not even invited to the meeting to check if we are going to partake. They gave us a number that just 8 members of the market can partake in the night market. In that night market, you pay a fee before trading, which is not fair. That fee is paid to who in the City?” Lucas Ashu asks.

The traders say they hope to return to their normal trading hours before the pandemic.

VIDEO: Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square traders unhappy with squatting refugees

 

 

2 years ago