Over 20 Kwadwesi informal traders will officially fall under the Nelson Mandela Bay informal business sector after they received their long-awaited trading permits on Wednesday.
The Metro's delegation, led by executive mayor, Athol Trollip, handed over 23 informal trading permits to vendors in the area.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Metro's Economic Development Head, Andrew Whitfield, said this was a major step in the municipality's mandate to empower the informal economy, which contributes to job creation in the metro.
Whitfield said the metro wanted to also attract tourists into the area and to other identified informal trading spots across the city.
He said the informal business sector would also be regulated to ensure that traders, as well as consumers, are protected.
"The municipality will be embarking on more outreach programmes to engage with informal traders and empower them with information on to how to trade better and ensure that ultimately your rights as traders and consumers are protected," he said.
Whitfield said regulating the informal sector would be a major job creation opportunity within the informal economy.
"From a tourism point of view, it's going to be a massive asset to our city because when tourists from abroad arrive in South Africa they want to do what I did in Ghana. They want to go straight to the source of where people are producing, real authentic goods and proudly South African goods," he added.
Business vendors, who have been trading in the area for years, spoke of how small stalls were their only source of income.
This included mother of two, Lindo Ntshoko, who spoke to Algoa FM News about how she was able to put her daughter through university with income generated from her sweets business.
"Everyday I must give this child R50 for bus fare because she is at NMU. On the 15th,16th and 17th of the month, I must borrow money for bus fare but I made up my mind that God gave me hands to do something, so I thought of coming here," she said.
Although the event was filled with excitement, many vendors, were concerned about safety and the lack of ablution facilities in the identified informal settlement area.
Salon owner, Phakama Masele, said the area needed fencing, ablution facilities and running water.
Masele said she had to carry water from home to use at her salon.
Whitfield said many of the concerns raised would have been covered using R1m earmarked to deal with informal trading issues, in the adjustments budget which was rejected at a council meeting last month.
"The implications of not passing that adjustments budget has a devastating impact on these people who are trading here - but I'm convinced that we will be able to pass the adjustments budget. Once it is passed that million rand can be released to deliver services," he said.
He said that the municipality is committed to convincing other parties to pass the adjustments budget at the end of the month.
