September 7, 2006
By Michael Tsingo
INFORMAL traders in Randburg will soon be able to sell their wares from stalls in a new Traders Market in the Randburg Mall taxi rank.
The market, a project of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), will be ready for use by the end of September, according to the JDA's development manager, Ursula Ntsubane.
Located at the intersection of Hendrik Verwoerd Drive and Jan Smuts Avenue, the market is classified as a type A trading facility, which is a permanent structure associated with a taxi rank.
According to Ntsubane, there are 120 selected traders who will be accommodated over time. The first phase sees some 110 stalls being erected.
Trading stalls facing Hendrick Verwoerd Drive
The facility is serviced with cooking stoves, storerooms, water, electricity, and other necessities like toilets. Such a market "will uplift Randburg traders, making sure that they are trading from a safe and clean environment", said Ntsubane.
To benefit from this market, a trader has to be a South African resident and should also have a long trading history in Randburg, she added.
The selection criteria were drawn up after informal traders moved to Randburg during the market construction period. "When traders hear that a market is going to be built in a place they move into that area in the hope that they will benefit. When we did a survey, there were only 120 Randburg traders recognised," explained Ntsubane.
The market forms part of a comprehensive plan to revitalise the declining district, and turn Randburg into a business destination after years of neglect and decay.
Randburg CBD's road to recovery started when it was declared a city improvement district in 2004 in an effort to deal with the district's problems and win back business confidence.
This was followed by the launch of the Randburg Management District in April 2005, a joint effort by the City and the local business community to give Randburg a makeover. The management district borders Selkirk Road in the south, Dover Street in the north, Kent Avenue in the west and Hendrik Verwoerd Drive in the east.
The City has also earmarked R5-million to finance a three-year plan for upgrading the CBD infrastructure, and boosting economic and social development.
The construction of the Randburg Traders Market also marks the start of a new campaign by the City to control illegal informal trading in Randburg CBD.
According to Xolani Nxumalo from the City's economic development unit, there are some 400 informal traders in the Randburg CBD, despite it being a restricted trading area.
The City intends to issue notices informing traders about the restrictions – set in place to clean up the area, making it more attractive to businesses and to encourage investment.
The restrictions have been drawn up in terms of the Business Act 71 of 1991.
Once the notices have been issued, a period of 21 days will be given for objections, after which the traders outside the market will have to stop selling their wares in the CBD.
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