Jubie Matlou
If the newly built Rockey Street Market in Yeoville is anything to go by, then the face of informal and street trading is set to undergo an unprecedented fundamental change.
Informal and street trading in Johannesburg has a rich history that is interlinked with the country’s migratory labour system just before the turn of the 20th century.
The trade of selling goods on the streets is also related to the commuter patterns of South Africa’s dormitory township system, which saw the mushrooming of traders parading a variety of goods at the taxi and bus ranks as well as at the railway stations.
However, the relaxation and abandonment of the influx control system, accompanied by a constricted economy on the receiving end of international sanctions, led to the proliferation of makeshift trading stalls on the city’s pavements. Overcrowding, filth, grime and crime set in as the city of gold woke up to the dynamics and challenges of urban geography.
According to Graeme Reid, the inner-city manager, the Rockey Street Market is a pilot project that seeks to “rejuvenate Johannesburg, attract investment and return the streets to the ratepayers and pedestrians. In return, hawkers are provided a sheltered site, with proper facilities, to sell their wares in an appropriate and conducive environment.”
The market can accommodate 300 hawkers. The rental for trading sites varies between R270 and R900 a month, depending on the size and the position of the site. Office space costs around R570 a month. The market boasts two courtyards, an entertainment area, a food court, and bathing and ablution facilities. It costs 20c for a single visit to a lavatory and R5 for a shower.
Culturally, the market epitomises a melting pot of people from different backgrounds throughout the continent – more so after the central business district hawkers chased non-South Africans off the city’s streets two years ago.
Themba Ncusana, chair of the Yeoville Hawkers Association (YHA), said what sets them apart from the Gauteng Hawkers Association (GHA) is that “the GHA doesn’t want non-South Africans because they believe they are taking business from local hawkers. Secondly, the GHA is opposed to the concept of the market, it wants hawkers to remain on the streets.”
Ncusana says membership of the YHA is open to all hawkers from Yeoville, and this is reflected in the representation of non- South Africans on the committee. The YHA is currently engaging the Johannesburg council to reduce rental rates for the trading stalls. “People were selling freely on the streets, but with the market it’s different. We now have to pay for a whole range of services rendered. Despite our differences with the council, we are determined to make the market successful. I hope the negotiations will yield some positive results.”
In between the council and the hawkers stands the Metro Trading Company, which is responsible for managing the council’s commercial ventures, and the market is the first of such initiatives. The council is to establish five more informal trading markets around the city, including Hillbrow, Newton and Park Station.
Tsepo Matubatuba, Rockey Street Market manager, said the market is a joint venture between the council and the traders. The long-term objective is to run the market along business principles in which hawkers acquire equity shares.
“Part of our long-term plan is to impart business development skills to hawkers. The Yeoville Standard Bank branch has offered to open accounts for hawkers and to serve as a reference for those who wish to expand their entrepreneurial ventures,” said Matubatuba.
He said that the challenge facing the company at present is to cover overheads. Operational costs for running the market stand at R108 000 a month. This includes security, cleaning, refuse removal, rates and services, and promotions.
“Although the market is supposed to run on pure business lines, the concept is informed by other social concerns such as city rejuvenation, alleviating crime levels, property values and unemployment. The success of the market depends on a workable partnership between the council, the traders, the private sector and the broader community,” said Matubatuba.
The Metro Trading Company has developed a set of house rules, in conjunction with traders, to govern the market. One is the prohibition to operate a shebeen. Management also presides over disputes between traders.