Informal Trading Plan gets green light

Traders from Delft and Lentegeur have much to celebrate after the Informal Trading Plan was approved by full council on Wednesday 31 July.

The approval means informal traders and individual enterprises will be able to create vibrant economic opportunities to support the local economy and enhance the City’s economic and growth strategies at the same time. The plan allows informal trading to be well managed and creates an environment for an improved public space and access to basic services.

These services include amenities, electricity, water and sanitation, cleansing and law enforcement, among others.

The plan includes wards 13, 20, 24 and 106 in Delft, and ward 76 in Lentegeur, which have been reserved for informal trading bays.

This means that trading areas in the trading plan will be let out by means of an informal trading permit.

A tariff of R89 per trading bay per month will be charged, while trading hours will run from 06:00 until 20:00 from Monday to Sunday.

“It is vital that the City acknowledges the relevance and contribution of the informal trading sector to the local economy and the vibrancy it brings to the social environment of the area.

“Informal trading provides an income to those who are unemployed and affords locals the freedom to support either local or traditional formal sector retail options,” says Mayco member for urban development, Grant Twigg.

“An Informal Trading Plan makes sense as strategically, we need to demarcate specific locations for informal trading by considering local conditions and circumstances, whilst at the same time, we also need to prohibit informal trading in certain locations due to practical considerations on the ground.”