Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) is refurbishing Yeoville Market, which went up in flames on 21 June and left many of the immigrants trading there without an income.
Traders lost stock worth hundreds of thousands of rands.
Yeoville is part of the Johannesburg inner city situated in region F and is home to a diverse population from all over Africa.
In a statement City of Johannesburg Economic Development MMC Nkululeko Mbundu said the process of refurbishing and restoring stalls damaged in the fire had begun.
The fire razed 25 trading stalls belonging to some of the 208 informal traders. Many of the foreign national victims lost their livelihoods in the blaze.
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The SA Human Rights Commission is currently looking into the incident, and police are investigating the cause of the fire.
Mbundu said the JPC, the custodian of the City’s property assets, had cleared away the rubble, “allowing neighbouring traders to continue with their business operations without the health and safety risks posed by the damaged site”.
“The area had been cordoned off after the blaze to prevent illegal entry and further damage to property. The affected traders were also allocated temporary trading stalls by the City to ensure that there is continuity in their business operations and to prevent any further potential loss of income.
“The JPC has initiated the process to secure suitable and qualified service providers for repairs and maintenance of the entire market to ensure electrification and installation of plumbing at the facility. These processes are expected to be completed soon to ensure the informal traders return to their trading stalls and have the market fully operational,” she said.
He said the local government was committed to supporting Joburg’s informal trade economy to accelerate the stimulation of the growth of its participants, “such that they may move into the formal economy, scale their enterprises, and create much-needed jobs in the City of Johannesburg”.
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