Mercury: Anger over R400m mall plan

http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4990904

6 000 WARWICK JUNCTION INFORMAL TRADERS AFFECTED
Anger over R400m mall plan

May 21, 2009 Edition 1

Lyse Comins

TENSIONS heightened yesterday over the effects of a proposed R400 million shopping mall in Durban’s bustling Warwick Junction, as city officials and academics met representatives of 6 000 angry informal traders.

The traders, who fear the development will destroy their businesses, threatened to march to the city hall next Tuesday to protest against the development and what they say is a lack of consultation with traders and a “failure to follow the tender process”.

An intense two-hour debate was hosted by the Democracy Development Programme in a packed Durban University of Technology’s city campus hall.

Attended by about 600 informal traders, University of KwaZulu-Natal development studies unit researcher Caroline Skinner, Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo, and Professor Rodney Harber of UKZN’s department of architecture, the debate was vigorous and marked by angry outbursts and singing. Representatives from the private developer, Warwick Wall Consortium, were not present.

Naidoo explained the aim of the development was to upgrade and rejuvenate an area affected by urban decay. The city was investing R100 million towards the first phase of the development, which had to be completed by June 1 next year in time for 2010 World Cup. The development includes road and freeway realignments, a more logical positioning of taxi ranks and the creation of a mall with banking and retail facilities.

However, informal traders blew on vuvuzelas and stood to dance and shout slogans in isiZulu like “down with capitalism” and “leave the poor alone” to express their anger and discontent at Naidoo’s official response to their concerns.

International street traders’ organisation StreetNet was present with 25 international delegates from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Niger, Uganda, Nepal and the United states.

Warwick Market Traders Association chairman Harry Ramlall and Warwick Precinct Plan Stakeholders Forum chairman Roothren Moodley represented informal traders.

Ramlall said traders had not been consulted about the development, which would ruin their livelihood if they were forced out of the area.

Traders have been given notice to vacate the Early Morning Market and move to a building in Alice Street by May 31.

Naidoo said almost 500 000 commuters travelled daily through the junction, generating an estimated R1 billion in revenue for the mix of formal and informal traders. However, informal traders fear the mall has been designed to redirect commuters’ foot traffic away from their stalls and into the shopping mall and that there will be no space for them despite the city’s repeated promises to include them.

Ramlall said the city had presented the development plan to traders as a fait accompli at a meeting on February 18.

“We were told there would be workshops telling us exactly what is going on but all we had was a meeting with city manager Michael Sutcliffe where we were only asked, what are our requirements,” he said.

“It was presented to us as a proposal but we could read between the lines it was not a proposal; it was presented as what we are going to do – close the market and shut it down and relocate us to the materials management building. But there was no viability study done,” Ramlall said.

An unidentified trader asked, to loud applause by participants, why a “first world” mall was being imposed on “third world people” who do not care to visit malls like the Pavilion and Gateway.

“We have approximately eight malls within a 10km radius around the city; why put up another mall?” asked Ramlall.

He said traders were not against the development but they want to be incorporated into a new development.

Cosatu representative Mthokozisi Khuboni announced that informal traders, dissatisfied with the city’s response, would stage a protest march to the city hall next Tuesday.