A resident of Goodwood was complaining about the flea market in Milton Road that is not operational and he saw an opportunity to become a prospective trader.
When he enquired at the local municipality he was told that no bays were available and therefore he could not become a trader.
“We were all affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and some of us were not able to put food on the table. I saw the flea market as an opportunity to help my family and was upset when I was informed no bays were available. How is it possible if there is no flea market?” the resident who wants to stay anonymous, asked.
TygerBurger sent an enquiry to the City of Cape Town to clarify the situation and in his response James Vos, Mayco member for economic growth, explained the process and hope this information will help prospective traders.
“The first step for prospective traders is to encourage them to apply for advertised informal trading bays on the City of Cape Town e-service portal by completing an online application.
“The fee for the Goodwood area is usually R107 per month. Currently, all permitted and new traders are trading for free in line with Covid-19 relief as approved by Council,” Vos says.
After completing the online application it normally takes about 30 days for an applicant to obtain a permit. This is because the available trading bays have to be advertised. The City officials do however make every attempt to process all applications as thoroughly and quickly as possible.
“The traders in the Milton Road bays have gone through the process by applying online and paying the fee and these bays have been allocated to individual traders. What we have observed is that not all traders are present every day. At present, they are not paying tariffs due to Covid-19 tariff relief as approved by Council,” Vos says.
According to the Council records all trading bays in Milton Road are occupied or taken and traders are allowed to trade.
“We are currently monitoring the trading sites and sending notices to all traders who are not trading to understand why they are not using the allocated bay. Vacant bays can be allocated to those who want to trade, but we wait on the feedback of the notices sent out to the current traders.
Besides the Goodwood Fleamarket there is one in Parow behind Shoprite that operates on certain days, Vos says.
He also says that no specific items can be sold at fleamarkets.
“Fleamarkets normally sell different goods with no limitations. As for trading permits in allocated trading bays, a prospective trader will choose which goods he/she wants to sell and these will be printed on the permit. My suggestion is that prospective traders check the City’s website to see if any vacant bays are available,” Vos says.
