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It is official. The City of Johannesburg now has a brand-new Informal Trading Policy ready for implementation. This follows the approval of the policy by the council on Tuesday 26 April 2022.

The policy, which has been in the making since 2018, was first endorsed by the Economic Development Section 79 Oversight Committee to be tabled at the ordinary sitting of Council. The policy was subsequently adopted by council and officially becomes law, paving the way for an organised informal trade sector within the City.

The new policy provides an opportunity for informal traders to be represented in decision-making processes across various City structures through the Informal Trading Stakeholder Committee. In addition, it provides for an effective and streamlined application process that will make use of the latest technology, which is in line with the Multi-Party Government’s Mayoral priority of a Smart City.

The approval of the policy by Council will also trigger the process of reviewing the demarcation map, which will inform clearly marked stalls and spaces for traders to legally trade from. It will also ensure transparency in the allocation of stalls which will safeguard the “one stall, one trader” policy and avert the unauthorised sub-letting of stalls across the City.

MMC for Economic Development, Cllr Nkuli Mbundu says, “This is a victory for the informal traders of the city as it will ensure a level of organisation for the sector. This document might be an official City policy; however, all stakeholders can feel a sense of ownership as they largely were the driving forces in the development of this all-encompassing document. We are pleased that we could close this chapter.”

The terms of reference that will inform the implementation plan have been agreed upon with various stakeholders including the informal traders’ associations.

Issued by City of Joburg Office of the MMC Economic Development