Traders fume over stall allocation delay
Municipality says stalls will be allocated to traders this week
AFTER months of waiting for their trading stalls to be completed, Empangeni A Rank traders still ply their trade in the open, subjected to wind, dust and rain.
‘For two whole years we have waited for these stalls to be finished, but they remain inaccessible. We still have no shelter against the elements,’ said A Rank trader BQ Gumede.
The traders also complain the stalls are too small, especially the ones they are supposed to share.
‘At first the municipality told us each trader would receive a single room, but now they are telling us we have to share.
‘They lied to us. We feel this setup will cause friction between the occupiers,’ Happy Mthembu and co-trader Chazeni Mthembu said.
After the recent heavy wind and rain storms, some of the stall roofs were blown away.
The toilets are also locked, and the stench of urine permeate the air outside one of the toilet blocks.
‘Men urinate outside the toilets, which could be avoided if the facilities are opened for public use,’ said one of the traders, requesting anonymity.
City response
uMhlathuze Municipality spokesperson Mdu Ncalane said the municipality would allocate stalls to traders this week.
‘Regarding the size of the stalls, a public participation process was followed involving all beneficiaries of the project, to whom the city development department presented the stall designs.
‘Owing to the number of traders in need of shelter and the nature of their trade, it was decided that those traders selling fruit and vegetables would share stalls,’ Ncalane said.
‘The municipality has never disallowed traders to keep their groceries inside their stalls, but the policy states clearly no alcohol are allowed to be kept in or sold from the stalls.
Ncalane said the municipality was not aware of the storm damage, but promised traders the damage would be repaired by the municipality.
Traders occupying a single stall with electricity and have access to water will pay R120 monthly, while those sharing a stall with no electricity and water will pay R80.
