The decision by the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality to remove nearly 200 shipping containers used by informal traders in the Mthatha CBD has raised serious concerns among residents and small business owners.
While the municipality has every right to improve the appearance, cleanliness, and order of the city, there is also a moral and economic responsibility to protect the livelihoods of those who survive through these businesses.
Mthatha, like many towns across SA, is battling with high unemployment, poverty, and economic hardship.
Informal trading has become one of the few available avenues for citizens to generate income, support families, and create jobs for others. For many people operating from these containers, this is not merely business, it is survival.
These business owners are not just traders, they are parents, brothers, sisters, and breadwinners who play an essential role in sustaining their households and supporting the broader economy of KSD.
Through their daily businesses, they pay school fees for their children, provide food and shelter for their families, contribute to household stability, and participate in the local economy through daily spending, municipal charges, and business-related expenses.
Their economic contribution may appear small individually, but collectively it forms an important part of the economic heartbeat of Mthatha.
The real challenge is not whether the containers should stay or go. The challenge is how the municipality can achieve its strategic goals while still protecting small businesses and local economic activity
The municipality’s vision to clean and modernize the city should be welcomed. No community wants a CBD that is overcrowded, poorly managed, or unattractive to investors and visitors.
Urban renewal, proper town planning, and improved infrastructure are necessary if Mthatha is to grow into a competitive and functional city.
However, development must never come at the expense of the poor. The removal of these containers without a clear alternative plan could worsen unemployment and deepen frustration among local communities.
Importantly, these traders are also community members and voters whose economic concerns cannot be ignored, especially as SA moves closer to another local government election cycle.
The real challenge is not whether the containers should stay or go. The challenge is how the municipality can achieve its strategic goals while still protecting small businesses and local economic activity.
The KSD municipality should consider establishing a properly planned informal trading zone or business hub where affected traders can relocate. Such a facility could include water, electricity, security, waste management, and proper trading spaces.
This would help restore order in the CBD while ensuring traders continue operating in a dignified environment.
Government departments responsible for small business development and economic growth should also assist with funding, infrastructure, and business support programmes.
Informal traders should be viewed as partners in local economic development, not obstacles to progress.
In addition, KSD must actively encourage all informal traders and small business owners to register their businesses in line with the process already announced by the department of small business Development.
Formal business registration can unlock access to financial support, training opportunities, government grants, and procurement opportunities that are often unavailable to unregistered businesses.
It also promotes accountability, sustainability, and long-term economic growth. Supporting small businesses to transition from informal operations into formally recognized enterprises should be a key part of the municipality’s economic development strategy.
Consultation is equally important. Before removals take place, meaningful engagement with affected traders and business forums must occur. A phased approach would reduce conflict and allow business owners enough time to prepare for relocation.
The municipality can also introduce affordable permits and regulations to ensure compliance with cleanliness, safety, and operational standards. This creates accountability while formalizing the sector.
A clean and organized Mthatha is important. But so is economic inclusion.
True development is not only measured by clean streets and modern buildings, but also by how government treats ordinary citizens trying to make an honest living.
KSD has an opportunity to become an example of leadership that balances urban renewal with compassion and economic justice.
Removing containers without alternatives may solve one problem while creating another. But a well-planned relocation and support strategy can achieve both goals simultaneously.
The message to government is simple: clean the city, yes, but do not destroy livelihoods in the process. Build a Mthatha that is both modern and economically inclusive.
In a country facing record unemployment, every small business matters.
Mzi Lingela writing in his personal capacity
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