Abstract
M.A.
„Street trading is an activity which involves the selling of goods or the supply of services
for a reward in a public road‟ (City of Johannesburg, 2009b: 5-7). This minor dissertation
is an examination of the conditions and aspirations of street traders in Johannesburg‟s
Central Business District (CBD), specifically Kerk Street.
The underlying rationale is the fact that, while there is a small, but growing body of
literature on street traders in South Africa, there is little on street trading in the
Johannesburg CBD. Moreover, to the best of the researcher‟s knowledge, virtually none
of this deals with the views and aspirations of the street traders themselves. This
dissertation is based on the following research question: How did the conditions and
aspirations of street traders in Kerk Street change between 2005 and 2009?
Fieldwork was conducted in two phases: 2005/6 and 2009. The separation in periods
of study, and the opportunity it provided for comparison, was unintended and largely as a
consequence of work pressures. But it proved unexpectedly beneficial.
The researcher‟s original concern was to discover how traders viewed their existence
and detail of the developments that they would like to see. Conditions were clearly poor
and tales of dissatisfaction were predominant in informal conversations and formal
interviews. When the researcher returned to the field in 2009, the assumption was that
conditions would be the same, allowing me simply to update my earlier assessment.
However, this was not the case. Whilst much was familiar, some conditions had
improved and the traders were relatively more positive about their situation and more
optimistic about the future. It is clear that the Johannesburg City Council has intervened
to introduce improved conditions, and this contributed to improved morale amongst
traders.
It is recommended that there be continued engagement between street traders, the
City of Johannesburg, and official bodies, namely the Johannesburg Metro Police
Department (JMPD), Central Johannesburg Partnership and Metro Trading Council. This
will serve as inspiration for more traders to learn how to grow their businesses, to ensure
that infrastructure around trading is further improved, and to increase adherence to and
acceptance of relevant by-laws concerning the traders.