- Members of the Nonkqubela Informal Traders Organisation in Site B are calling on the municipality to provide shelters, electricity, water, and basic services, citing appalling working conditions, especially during winter.
- The organization’s chair, Vusumzi Skeyi, accused the City of Cape Town of neglecting informal traders and only supporting commercial businesses, and claimed that the local councillor has done nothing to help despite promises made in 2020.
- Informal traders, including meat vendor Nosamkele Mxinwa, described the area as “filthy” and highlighted the lack of bins, toilets, and maintenance.
Members of the Nonkqubela Informal Traders Organisation in Site B are appealing to the municipality to build shelters for them.
They described their working conditions, particularly in winter, as appaling.
The organisation’s chair Vusumzi Skeyi said their businesses are taking a lot of strain because of the poor working conditions.
He said there are over 150 different businesses that operate in the vicinity but their contribution is not recognised by the municipality.
Skeyi accused the City of Cape Town of only supporting the commercial businesses.
“All we need are the basic services like electricity and water, including shelters. We also want the City to maintain the drainage system in the open spaces that we use.
“When it’s raining, the area is flooding and we are unable to operate,” said Skeyi, adding that all the drains in the area are blocked.
He also accused the local councillor of neglecting them.
He claimed the City agreed to help them in 2020, but until now, nothing tangible came from the councillor’s office.
“(He) used to pass here before he owned a car. Even now, he still passes here when he is going to assess the progress on the renovation of Nonkqubela railway station. He never says a word. He sees us every day but has done nothing,” he explained, adding that they need bins to dump their rubbish.
Skeyi described their space as a “shame”. He stated that some of the meat vendors had opted to close their stalls because of the poor conditions.
He also cited a decline in the number of customers due to hygienic reasons.
“Some of the stalls here closed a long time ago because of vandalism. Some of the vendors decided to quit because of the poor conditions. They only have one tap for more than 28 vendors,” explained Skeyi.
Meat vendor Nosamkele Mxinwa said she has been selling in the area for 23 years.
She described the place as “filthy”.
Mxinwa said there are no bins to throw rubbish and they end up discarding waste anywhere.
“Look, there are piles of ashes and bones. We don’t have a place to dump them. We hire a bakkie to help us to dump somewhere. Not all of us can afford it because we don’t make money here.
“We are selling just to buy bread,” she said.
She said all they want are structures, temporary toilets, electricity and a place to be cleaned and maintained.
Ward 91 councillor Thando Mpengezi refuted the claims that he neglected the informal traders.
He stated that some meat stalls were vandalised by the criminals.
“As the community, we need to learn to take responsibility and ownership of our facilities. There are meat stalls that were built next to the train station but they were vandalised. I don’t know where this narrative that I’m neglecting them is coming from because we do meet with their leaders, including Skeyi,” said Mpengezi, adding that he will see how much he has on his new budget allocation.
