Durban — The Dalton hostel informal traders have accused the eThekwini Municipality of squandering R25 million that was set aside to renovate their stalls.
KwaZulu-Natal DA premier candidate, Chris Pappas, visited the traders who mainly produce Zulu traditional regalia made from animal skin, on Thursday afternoon. Pappas has promised to assist informal businesses should he be elected as the premier of the province.
One of the traders, Sizwe Hlongwa, who has been trading for more than 20 years, said that in 2018 they were approached by the City’s business unit about the municipality wanting to renovate their stalls as their businesses contributed to tourism.
He said the officials told them a budget of R25m was allocated and the project would be completed within six months.
Hlongwa added that the contractor started demolishing the old building but immediately abandoned it, leaving cracked walls and an open roof. He said the contractor told them that the City had run short of money; and that the municipality officials had said the money was redirected to Covid-19.
“We are not buying the Covid-19 story. It is not true that the contractor abandoned work in 2018 and then the money was used in 2020 when the Covid-19 broke out. We want to know what happened to the money when the contractor abandoned work in 2018.
“It is clear the R25m was squandered,” said Hlongwa.
He added that they were promised that after completion of the project, traders would have showrooms that would be separated from the production area, as the stench from animal skins chased customers away.
The traders who peel animal skins and sell them from the same stalls are still using the abandoned building. Their work which includes cowhide shields, drums and amabheshu (the traditional attire around the male waist which is worn by Zulu warriors) are highly in demand from foreign tourists.
Speaking after the engagement, Pappas who was accompanied by Glenwood councillor Sakhile Mngadi, said the party had instructed its councillors to put pressure on officials to explain what had happened to the funds.
He said it was important to support informal traders such as the ones producing material that was loved by tourists.
Mngadi, who also sits on the City’s economic development committee, promised to pressure the business unit for answers on behalf of the traders.
In its response, the municipality did not explain what happened to the funds, but said: “The Dalton project is budgeted for in the next financial year 2024/25; this means implementation will start in July this year after the necessary processes have been exhausted.”
The chairperson of the governance and human resources committee and ANC Whip of the Executive Committee, Nkosenhle Madlala, said the work will include the refurbishment of the building, the provision of ablution facilities, the refurbishment of the wetting of cow skin and the drying area, mezzanine area for storage purposes and the display area, and the provision of cleaning services and security.
“We are hard at work focusing on service delivery and attracting investment into the City,” said Madlala.
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