Traders within the Mother City say they are unhappy about the City of Cape Town’s decision to block trading at the Grand Parade this weekend.

Around 250 traders have been barred from operating during what they describe as one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Rosheda Muller, chairperson of Grand Parade Traders Alliance, says traders have been prevented from trading because of the annual Adderley Street Christmas lights switch-on festival, something that has never occurred before.

According to traders, the City initially informed them that they would not be allowed to trade from 24 November to 29 November. After strong objection and an appeal to Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth Alderman James Vos, the City partially conceded and allowed trading from 24 November until 27 November.

City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo says the City had been in discussions with traders throughout the year.

 “The City tries to accommodate the traders where possible. However, for this year, the City decided to exclude Friday (today) from the trading schedule. In previous years, the City has had challenges with traders’ late breakdown of stalls and material being left behind on site, which delayed the construction of crucial Festive Lights Switch-On infrastructure.”

 

Muller says the decision affects nearly 3 000 people, including workers and families, and will cause significant income losses.

“The economy is down and we just survived a winter of little to no trading due to strong winds and storms, and now towards the end of the year, we are yet again disadvantaged. We depend on this season to make up for the trading we missed out.”

She says informal traders are not only disappointed, but now face the worry of not making ends meet.

“We make known our profound disappointment in the current administration of our City. We realise now that it is neither pro-poor nor in favour of informal business development. We urge Capetonians to bear this in mind when voting in next years’ municipal elections.”

 

Tyhalibongo says the City has offered an alternative option for some traders, adding that 40 Grand Parade traders will be accommodated in a designated space in Lower Plain Street on Sunday to sell their products during the Festive Lights Switch-On.

Also read: Festive Lights Switch-on Events extended to Langa and Mitchells Plain