The City of Cape Town recently handed over keys to informal traders to conduct their business from the new kiosks, also referred to as business hives, at the upgraded Dunoon Transport Public Interchange. The new kiosks form part of the City’s ongoing efforts to support the informal trading sector. Read more below:

Informal traders at the Dunoon Public Transport Interchange (PTI) are trading from their newly revamped kiosks, which formed formed part of a greater upgrade of the site.

‘This is truly a proud and joyous moment for us as the City as well as the people of Dunoon, to be handing over 27 newly constructed informal trading business hives to our people. To see this partnership between the City’s Area Economic Development Department and the Transport Department come into fruition is a major milestone for the City. As a City, we continue to play an important role in contributing to economic development and improvement of the lives of our people. This couldn’t have come at a better time when the City is striving to recover the Cape Town economy during a world pandemic that saw the most vulnerable members of our communities suffer the most, including informal traders. We wish our informal traders well in their new journey as they trade from these kiosks,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Management, Alderman Grant Twigg.

‘Transport is the beating heart of a city and has an important role to play in providing access to opportunities and, where possible, taking a proactive role in creating the spaces for opportunity at facilities such as public transport Interchanges as well,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Councillor Rob Quintas.

The new Dunoon PTI was under construction to rebuild the old PTI since 2019 and has recently opened up Phase 1 of the facility. The recipients who received keys to the business hives/kiosks have been traders at the Dunoon PTI for many years and have undergone a strict vetting process to qualify to be eligible for occupancy.

‘These traders were previously trading in containers that were not conducive for business for years, with no access to basic services. All these 27 traders will now have access to clean running water and electricity providing them with an enabling environment to do business. Those that sell foods are now able to apply for certificates of acceptability which they could not do due to the previous trading conditions,’ said Alderman Twigg.

In total, 27 new units have been built, which will host services such as hair salons, internet cafes, fast food takeaways and other products, such as furniture and clothing etc.

Over and above the business units, the City intends to support informal trading further by having an additional 33 open trading bays at the Dunoon PTI. These bays will be available shortly, and will also be allocated first to those traders who occupied the spaces prior to the construction of the PTI.

‘I am very happy that the City has built the new PTI and that they handed us the keys to trade in a world-class facility. As the people of Dunoon, we are grateful to the City of Cape Town. It’s like a dream that has come true for us traders. There is light and hope for us traders now,’ said trader Ncumisa Nokeva.

‘Our lives have become richer with what the City has offered today as we receive the keys to our new business hives. We feel that there is hope again and opportunity. We can look forward to the future as this means a lot to us,’ said trader Oscar Ikem.

This project was a transversal partnership between two city departments, Urban Management and Transport.

Source: City Of Cape Town