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Warwick mall plan is bad news for informal traders

May 27, 2009 Edition 1

MANY informal traders and other citizens of Durban have sent a strong message to the city council that they are not happy with the strip mall proposed for our primary transport hub – the Warwick Junction.

At a public meeting last Wednesday, more than 600 participants sang protest songs voicing discontent. Yesterday, protesters demanded the municipality “find somewhere else to build their mall”.

The site for the new mall was initially over the railway lines adjacent to Berea Station. Without any explanation, the site was switched to the Early Morning Market. This fresh produce market was established in 1910, and is a listed building.

The market has 673 trading sites, and over 50 market gardeners sell their produce there. These traders supply other informal traders throughout the city, and are thus an important part of the city-wide fresh produce distribution chain.

By month’s end, the council threatens to move the traders to temporary accommodation, and there is no information about where they might be accommodated in the longer term. The new site is out of the way and has no facilities. There is space for only 170 traders. Accordingly, the traders have resolved that they will not budge.

On a busy day, it is estimated that as many as 8 000 street and market traders operate out of Warwick. There are many others working to support this trade, such as barrow operators and suppliers of tables, paraffin and shopping bags.

Our research shows that earnings from these very small businesses support large numbers of households located in poorer parts of the city.

Plight

In addition to concern for the particular plight of the market traders, there are a number of issues that as citizens of Durban we should be raising about both the content and process of these plans.

The council claims the redevelopment will affect only the market traders and the 185 traders who work directly around the proposed site.

But any trader, formal or informal, will tell you that their business depends on passing feet. The proposals will result in the redesign of the area, ensuring that the current foot traffic, estimated at 460 000 commuters a day, is directed past the formal traders rather than the informal ones. This will seriously impact on the viability of all street and market traders in the Junction.

In addition, the new development will introduce 30 000m2 of formal shops, including a large supermarket chain. The informal traders are unlikely to be able to compete with these formal retailers.

In 1997, the city established the Warwick Junction Urban Renewal Project. This area-based management initiative has become a model of how to manage, support and provide infrastructure for street traders.

It is this track record of inclusive planning that has previously helped give substance to the eThekwini Municipality’s aspiration to be “Africa’s most caring and liveable city”.

The council had a track record of continuous negotiations with traders in this area. And yet, in this case, the first consultation about this new mall was held on February 18, even though construction is meant to commence in early June. Traders said they were not consulted, but instead were presented with a fait accompli.

There are a number of other problems with this process. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) that was done was for the site over the railway lines. No new EIA has been conducted, despite the fact that the site has changed. The original EIA, in fact, outlines the importance of the market to the city.

There was no call by the council for expressions of interest when this valuable public land was to be released, nor was there a public tendering process. Also, no existing traders are included in the share ownership of the black economic empowerment consortium driving this development.

The first designs of the proposed new mall omitted to include any traders. Durban’s central business district was in fact to be transformed into a sanitised, American-style inner city.

Inappropriate

The more recent architectural drawings do pay lip service to integrating traders. The design, however, is essentially an enclosed box with blank facades. Local architects describe this as “inappropriate form”, contributing nothing to the streetscape.

All agree that there is a need for continual investment into this district. Over the past decade, the council demonstrated its commitment to continuous upgrading in the Warwick area, with the traders and commuters at the heart of decision-making.

The proposed allocation of an additional R100 million of funds in support of development in the area is positive. But it should surely not be used to subsidise the narrow interests of large formal businesses.

In cities the world over, markets are celebrated as an integral element of the urban fabric. In Durban, we have a market that continues to play a critical role at the core of the lives of the majority of Durban’s residents. Supplanting the market with a publicly subsidised retail mall will only serve to further marginalise the urban poor.

Deputy mayor Logie Naidoo claims that a win-win solution is possible. However, the content and process of the current proposals are fundamentally flawed. No one will win if, in our vision for Durban, the interests of the majority of poorer citizens do not feature.

Street Traders Threatend with Eviction for New Mall in Warwick Junction

A presentation to a public meeting by Caroline Skinner

Warm greetings to all, Sanibonani

In the light of a number of years of research in Warwick, there are four key concerns I want to raise both about the content and process of the current proposals for a shopping mall development Warwick.

1. The first issue is the number of livelihoods that will be affected.

On a busy day we estimate that there are 8000 street and market traders that operate out of Warwick. The city claims that the redevelopment will only affect the 670 Early Morning Market traders and the 185 traders working around the proposed site.

I would dispute this. As all the traders here will tell you, their business depends on passing feet. The proposals will result in the redesign of the area ensuring that the current foot traffic (estimated to be 460 000 commuters a day) is directed past the formal rather than the informal traders. This will seriously impact on the viability of all street traders in the area.

In addition the redevelopment will introduce many formal shops – Spar, Jet, Foshini, Truworths among others into the area. The informal traders are unlikely to be able to compete with these formal retailers. There is a history of formal business using their economic muscle to out compete the informal traders.

2. The second issue is that street traders are supporting large numbers of dependents located in poorer parts of the city

Our research shows that for every trader on the street there are between 6 and 25 people depending on their income. Unlike the profits of the large formal retailers which go directly to Gauteng, the profits from these very small businesses support large numbers of households located in poorer parts of the city.

3. The third issue is the particular plight of the EMM traders

The site for the first phase of the Mall development is the Early Morning Market. Fresh produce has been sold in this area for over a century. This market was established in 1910 and is a listed building. There are 673 sites there and over 50 market gardeners who sell their goods from here. By month end all these traders will be moved to temporary accommodation without any knowledge of where, and if, they will be accommodated in the long term. The new site is out of the way and has no facilities. It has enough space for 170 traders.

4. The forth issue is that the current proposal threatens an international best practice of street trader management and support.

In 1997 the city established the Warwick Junction Urban Renewal Project. This area based management initiative of the city council has become a model of how to manage, support and provide infrastructure for street traders. Over the years the project has received a number of awards most recently in 2008 the UN Habitat / Dubai International Award for Good Practice.

At School of Development Studies over the last two years we have been carefully documenting the lessons learned from this project. A key finding is the value of the cities approach to consultation in the area. One trader leader described this as follows:

The city afforded informal traders the opportunity to participate on a sustained and continuous basis in negotiations about their needs.’

The City held its first consultation about this new Mall on February 18, 2009 and plans to start construction in early June. Since February there have been a few smaller workshops. In all of these the City has presented the proposals. Although there has been time for questions, many of these have been left unanswered. Traders have said that they are not being consulted but presented something that has already been decided – a fait accompli.

* Why has the city changed its approach to consultation particularly given the history in this area?
* Why was there no call for expressions of interest when the city considered releasing this land? Why was there no tendering process?
* Warwick Mall Pty limited is a black economic empowerment consortium. Existing traders are glaringly absent. Why are the traders not included as part of the share ownership?

This is not to say that the area is not in need of an upgrade, but that the content and process of the current proposals are flawed. Warwick Junction is significant to the city as a whole. It is part of what makes Durban unique. This is not just about street trader livelihoods it is about the vision we have for our city. Durban has prided itself as an inclusive city and we call on the councilors and city officials to continue this.