Pretoria - Informal traders at Denneboom railway station in Mamelodi have made peace with the developer of Tshwane Regional Mall and the City of Tshwane after years of legal wrangling.
For years, the developer – Isibonelo Property Services – had been at loggerheads with informal traders who wanted an alternative trading space.
At some stage the traders accused the developer of using a bulldozer to raze their trading shelters to the ground, forcing them to embark on protests.
In one of the court battles, a judge ordered in 2017 that neither the City nor the developers could demolish the structures without providing a suitable place for the relocation of traders.
The traders had issues with relocating to the alternative space identified by developers, saying it was far from the train station where their customers could access them.
This was after the informal traders were forced to relocate from the site where they have been selling their goods for decades to make way for the construction of the multimillion-rand mall, which began in 2015. This has now been completed and the mall is in operation.
Traders’ leader Mary Choma said the position to let bygones be bygones was reached during a meeting of the three parties last Thursday.
The meeting was proposed by the traders, who wanted clarity regarding a promise made by the developer, Isibonelo, to allocate them trading space this month. Choma said the traders were growing impatient because there had been no actual date specified for the allocation.
However, during the meeting an undertaking was made by both the municipality and the developer that the allocation process would start today. The first stage would involve all three parties going to view the space earmarked for the allocation of traders.
Choma said: “Following the viewing we will allow a three-day period where all informal traders will be given an opportunity to view the stalls. We will then revert back and communicate details of further planning of allocations.”
She said the general sentiment expressed by informal traders was that the meeting was “fruitful” and it “opened communication lines between all stakeholders involved”. The platform enabled stakeholders to plan and communicate “in an amicable manner”.
Isibonelo Property Services could not be reached for comment, but the Pretoria News understands that the company was on board in terms of providing vendors with trading space.
Pretoria News