Cape Town - Mitchell’s Plain councillor Solomon Philander has called on the community, particularly informal traders, to safeguard their allocated spaces.
Philander shared his sentiments after an uncontrolled blaze tore through the informal trading bays in the heart of the Cape Flats community’s CBD on Wednesday morning.
According to the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Services, officials were alerted to reports of flames visible at the Town Centre shopping centre in Mitchells Plain at 3.28am.
City Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Edward Bosch said four firefighting vehicles and a rescue vehicle with 19 firefighters responded to the incident.
“Upon arrival, the service found numerous stalls alight. Smoke was also visible from the roof void of an adjacent building. With swift action by the firefighting crews to gain access to the building, the adjacent shops sustained minor damage.”
Bosch said the fire destroyed three farm stalls. However, no injuries or fatalities were reported.
While the City could not comment on the cause of the fire, Philander alleged that the blaze resulted from an unattended fire lit by people guarding the property of some informal traders at the facility.
Speaking to the Cape Argus, Philander said despite being aware that they were not allowed to spend the night at the facility, some informal traders left people to guard their belongings at the site at night. In winter, these people light fires to keep warm.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened, it’s just that this time the damage was extensive, and affected some formal businesses, too. We keep experiencing this unfortunate loss because some people do not want to abide by the regulations.
“They are there for a reason. It’s not safe or right that a person should spend the night there.
“The City becomes a bad enforcer when raids and enforcement services come to this area, but if they don’t, look what happens. The very bread and butter that people are crying for is gone in minutes.”
Philander said last week he had met a group of informal traders to discuss how best local government could support them. He said the group had been informed of the City’s plans to rework its trading plans and reallocate trading bays for communities in need.
“Adding to that intervention, my ward also has a budget that it is looking to use to fund an area that can accommodate about 30 informal traders,” he said.