The MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Rev. Musa Zondi is today, officially handing over the Informal Trading Stalls at Msinga Local Municipality.
The Regional and Local Economic Development (RLED) Unit of EDTEA ran a survey in May 2020 to understand how the informal sector was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and where they would need intervention the most to enable them to recover. Informal traders are a vital part of the economic landscape, driving employment, access to goods, and economic resilience, especially in areas with limited formal sector opportunities.
To assist the informal traders, a call for proposals was made through the Municipal Infrastructure for Informal Enterprises (MIIE), which the uMsinga Local Municipality applied and upon conclusion of the evaluation process was allocated grant funding. This grant was for the implementation of the uMsinga Informal trading stalls project in Keates Drift, Tugela Ferry and Pomeroy.
Market stalls for informal traders are an essential part of both the formal and informal economies, offering a variety of economic, social, and cultural benefits to both traders and the communities they serve.