Neil Fraser
April 14, 2003
CONCEIVED as a "Showpiece of Apartheid" the Oriental Plaza was little more than a ploy to enable a racist government to arrogantly declare that it had fulfilled its obligations in terms of the law.
The Law required that alternative trading opportunities for shopkeepers had to be provided when such shopkeepers were dispossessed of their properties. So 'The Plaza' was developed in order that Indian traders could be decanted from their shops and homes in order for the geographic area that they had occupied, some since the early 1900s, to be declared 'for Whites only".
Yet, today, the Plaza is a success not because of but in spite of Apartheid and it is a living tribute to the determination of a large and varied group of persons who overcame the extreme hardships imposed on them. But the success was not achieved without a great deal of pain and divisiveness, typical outcomes of the evil of the system.
The establishment of the Oriental Plaza and the threatened evictions of the Fietas shopkeepers, had initially united the traders to resist the planned move.
However, human nature being what it is, the pragmatists broke rank and signed leases to ensure that they obtained the best possible positions in the new development. Some of this was done quite deceitfully - secretly signing leases on the one hand whilst still advocating resistance.
Interviews from the time reflect the resultant bitterness amongst those who hadn't succumbed - "It tore us apart. People were stabbing each other in the backs, taking shops in the Plaza, and still telling others not to."
"Some people were taking prime site shops in the Plaza, and made others feel left out. It caused a lot of infighting. People still don't talk to each other because of this."
Nearly thirty years later that bitterness lives on. In chatting to some of those who were involved at the time, they suggested that only when the families involved eventually pass on will the situation right itself.
The result was that only the North Mall of the newly constructed edifice was occupied, the balance of the Plaza stood vacant for nearly two years. During that time about 130 of the original 185 Fietas traders resisted until the last possible moment and moved only when the police with their dogs literally threw them out of their shops and onto the streets.
JH Niemand, Secretary of Housing and the Department of Community Development stated: "I'm not putting any blame on the Indians when I say that right from the start they did not co-operate. They were absolutely against the whole idea and resisted until the last minute."
One person told me what a difficult period it was and what a fine line you walked - "if you appeared to have good relationships with the authorities you were considered a sellout."
What was never taken into account in the planning was that, although alternative premises were being provided, the traders were not being offered a continuation of the type of trading that they were accustomed to.
Nazir Carrim recorded that "The Pageview traders traded in a style of their own. They stocked all kinds of goods, sprawled half of their merchandise on the pavements and had their shops as an extension of their homes, in most instances. The shops, as it were, flowed into the streets, and vice versa. It was on this structural foundation that Pageview traders developed their trading expertise and attracted their clientele."
The move to the Plaza forced the traders to change their style completely which undoubtedly added greatly to their already imposed insecurity. Shops weren't merely allocated as alternative accommodation for the authority's approach was prescriptive in terms of the kind of and limitation to the type of goods that they might sell.
One of the traders, Mr O Docrat said in an interview at the time: "What was worse was that the authorities tried to specify what items we had to sell in our shops. You could only sell men's trousers, another only men's shirts, another socks only, and they called this 'balanced trading'".
Thus not only were the traders forced to move but the manner of trading and the goods that they could sell, were imposed on them. And, to add insult to injury, the Department appointed white 'inspectors' to check on the traders. Many of them took advantage of their positions and extorted or just helped themselves to goods.
The approach of the Department wreaked havoc in the lives of traders and their families. Between 1975 and 1980 between 50 and 75 traders went out of business. Some of these had been forced to take shops in alleyways, which had been created in an attempt to maximise the trading area.
All of these were people who had previously quietly but successfully gone about their business for decades in the streets of Fietas. Some well known trading names, built up over many years, just disappeared.
In 1986, The Department of Community Development dropped another bombshell. They advised the Merchant's Association that they intended to sell the Plaza and were in advanced negotiations with Pretoria developers.
The Merchants Association reacted immediately and fourteen months of 'haggling' ensued as well as high-level political interventions. Finally in late '87, the Plaza was sold to the traders, each shop and stall individually valued and purchased by the occupiers on a sectional title basis.
The total purchase price was R21 million, less than half of the original asking price of R45 million. The Plaza is probably the only 'shopping centre' in the world which is owned in this way.
From then on trading steadily improved with only one serious downturn between 1990 and 1992. This was during a period of great anti-government agitation and the bulk of protesters came by rail, disembarked at a nearby station and marched through the area. On each occasion the Plaza had to close down and between 2 and 5 trading days were lost each month.
Thereafter trading again picked up and today the Plaza has become a great success story. Last year a 210 square metre stall came on the market and was sold for R2million, nearly 10% of the entire Plaza purchase price of 15 years previously.
Today the Plaza draws 700 000 shoppers on average each month. Shoppers of every colour and throughout the income spectrum make the Plaza one of the most cosmopolitan retail centres in the country.
A levy on all traders has provided a kitty from which repairs and maintenance have been carried out and some alterations made over the years. But the Plaza is planning some exciting new developments to attract more clientele, one of which is to build a 100-bed hotel in its grounds.
It will undoubtedly also benefit greatly from the construction of the Nelson Mandela Bridge and on-and-off ramps from the M1 motorway which will dramatically increase accessibility from residential areas both north and south. The footways connecting the Plaza to the recently upgraded Newtown area are currently being brought up to a similar standard as is the street lighting
There are many stories and personal anecdotes recorded about the life and death of Fietas and of the early days of the Oriental Plaza. There are also stories about some of the colourful characters that abounded in Fietas,.Adah, "The Gangster" - Patthan "The Pupil's Bodyguard" - Hans who was cricket mad - Hoosein, "The Tennis Star" - Alibhai, "the Mad Hafiz" - Harry, The Fat Man" - Mrs Ho Chon - Ah Pen and Allan, "The China Man".
Hopefully these and the many, many others will be encapsulated in some unique way in the "The Fietas Project - the journey of a community" - Citichat 11/2003.
A few weeks ago I spent an hour fascinated by the reminiscences of a past Chairman of the Plaza's Merchants Association, Mohammed Iqbal Moolla.
I heard some anecdotes about Fietas and the Oriental Plaza that I hadn't heard before including this remarkable story of how the last 'non-democratic' City Council's plans to change the traffic patterns around the Plaza were thwarted.
Evidently, in 1994 the Council decided unilaterally to change Bree Street, the main street feeding the Plaza, to a one way - a decision which would have had a seriously negative impact on the Plaza's accessibility. (This was the same Council who carried out just such an exercise on Rockey/Raleigh Streets in Yeoville with much the same consequences!) The Council reneged on their promise to consult with the Plaza's Merchant Association.
Mohammed Moolla immediately organised a blockage of Bree Street using strategically parked vehicles effectively denying access for the Council's equipment.
When that could no longer be sustained and work on the roads was started, he changed his tactics. He arranged with a large number of combi-taxi owners to drive their vehicles up Rissik Street, the major exit from the CBD to the north and, at 4.00 pm, the beginning of the rush hour, to remove their keys and themselves from their vehicles.
They completely blocked off Rissik, Wolmarans and Smit Streets and traffic ground to a halt. Chaos ensued. He stayed in the thick of things directing operations from the back of a truck whilst being interviewed on radio and advised the Council that the blockage would be maintained for 48 hours or until they reversed their decision.
After 8 hours they cracked, the work in Bree Street was stopped and what had been completed was removed (he even got a new entrance to the Plaza thrown in for good measure!).
Mohammed Moolla is clearly as controversial as he is colourful and appeared to have engendered a love-hate relationship with the traders he represented. But his actions personified the spirit of the people who turned the Oriental Plaza from an apartheid nightmare into a highly successful and thriving retail experience.
Today, Fietas lives on through the people!
