Informal traders in Hammarsdale are gaining safer, better-equipped business spaces through a multimillion-rand municipal investment designed to support livelihoods and local enterprise growth.
The eThekwini Municipality has officially opened the Lucky Mngwengwe Traders’ Precinct in Mpumalanga township, providing approximately 75 upgraded trading spaces for local informal businesses.
Developed through the municipality’s Economic Development Directorate, the precinct includes 23 secure containers and 52 trading tables, replacing inadequate trading conditions with infrastructure designed to help entrepreneurs operate more safely and sustainably.
Traders will also have access to dedicated storage facilities, cleaning services, ablution blocks and 24-hour security.
The facility will accommodate businesses selling products including cooked meals, fast food, fresh fruit and vegetables, clothing and poultry.
For eThekwini Municipality, the investment forms part of a wider strategy to recognise the informal economy as an important source of employment, household income and entrepreneurship.
Economic Development chairperson Thembo Ntuli said supporting informal businesses could create stronger pathways for people who struggle to enter the formal economy.
“It creates livelihoods, supports households, and opens doors for those struggling to enter the formal market. Supporting this sector means supporting thousands of families,” Ntuli said.
“We want an informal economy that is supported, recognised, and structurally positioned to grow.”
The precinct is named after late councillor Lucky Nhlanhla Mngwengwe, who was sworn into office in 2006 and served three terms.
During his time on the municipality’s Economic Development and Planning Committee, Mngwengwe supported several development initiatives in the area, including Hammarsdale Junction Mall, the Mpumalanga Museum and local housing projects.
The new trading facility reflects an approach to development that places community needs and dignity at the centre of public infrastructure investment.
Its opening also follows the launch of the Mansel Road informal economy development project in Durban’s CBD last month, signalling a broader rollout of infrastructure supporting informal traders and micro-enterprises across the municipality.
The municipality is encouraging traders and residents to protect the new infrastructure and use the precinct as a platform for sustainable business growth and household income.
Further support for the sector is expected in October when eThekwini hosts a two-day Informal Economy Summit.
The gathering will bring informal traders, government representatives and strategic partners together to identify future development priorities and explore new approaches to strengthening the sector.
Through investments such as the Hammarsdale precinct, the municipality is seeking to provide informal entrepreneurs with more than somewhere to trade — creating safer, more dignified environments from which small businesses can grow.
