The hawkers (under the tree & in the insert), the old unoccupied building (across the intersection) and new building shows a flawed process. I have seen in many places including KwaNgwanase, Bazana, Soetfontein and am sure it happens over and over again.
Local government (with a desire to help the poor) see the hawkers and, maybe pressurised by some of the old guard, want to get the hawkers off the road. They don't think of using the empty buildings nearby but build new ones. They presumably consult (but not well enough) the hawkers and design and have something built like that at Maschadodorp. They expect to attract the hawkers and get them to move into the new building.
However, the hawkers don't find any advantage in moving, possibly for one or more of the following reasons:
- the rent is too high - anything is a lot more than nothing (happened in Mellville)
- its too hot inside as its just a corrugated iron roof (I have seen this in Soetfontein)
- it doesn't meet the behavioural needs (women sit on the ground in front of counters selling from the floor in KwaNgwanase)
- its not as pleasant and socially open
However, with all the failures, I believe its the duty of local government to identify the real problems and share there experiences so that others don't blunder after them.
These small stalls obviously were not an enormous cost but the problem is that similar errors are made with many public buildings (including many similar stalls, Majadje Food Processing Center in Limpopo, Community Center on road from Josini to KwaNgwanase ... - all possible future stories.)
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