Bree Street businesses struggle to adapt to ‘new normal’ weeks after explosion

It’s been just over a month since the July 19 Joburg CBD explosion, but the impact still lingers in the atmosphere, as businesses on Lilian Ngoyi (formerly Bree) Street struggle to adapt to the “new normal.”

What may seem like “business as usual” from a distance is the complete opposite for the many shop owners and informal traders who’ve been struggling to get customers, as Joburg CBD’s arterial route remains damaged and dysfunctional.

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‘Business has been really bad’

A friendly shop assistant eagerly ushered The Citizen into Pie Paradise bakery while arranging freshly baked bread onto a rack during what would typically be a morning rush – before Joburg’s busiest street was turned upside down.

Yusuf Moosa, Pie Paradise assistant manager, said business had been very slow since the Joburg CBD explosion.

“We can’t really say there’s been business in the last 30 days,” Moosa told The Citizen.

WATCH: Bree Street hours after disaster

He said pedestrians simply walked on the “pavements” to access other parts of the City, and were seemingly no longer interested in shopping.

“Business has been really, really bad,” said Moosa, adding that he’d hoped the government would’ve offered some form of disaster relief to assist affected businesses.

ALSO READ: How businesses at the epicentre of Joburg CBD explosion are picking up the pieces

“If this continues, many businesses in the city centre will close down,” he said.

“[In fact] they’ve already started to shut down,” he added.  

According to Moosa, the City of Johannesburg said repairs would take 18 to 24 months to complete.

“Can you picture what this part of the City will look like?” Moosa asked, adding that he wished the time-frame could be improved.

“There’s no real business, we’re really inconvenienced,” he concluded.

Likely to relocate

Meanwhile, just down the road, I.S Family Fashion’s doorsteps also remained short of foot traffic.

When asked how business had been going since the explosion, I.S Family Fashion shop assistant Badudin Adman laughed sarcastically.

“Let’s not talk about it,” he jokingly said.

Adman said before the explosion, customers would anxiously wait outside for the store to open.

Sadly, that has changed.

He told The Citizen that keeping up with rental had also become difficult due to declining sales. He added that other business owners faced the same challenge – with landlords demanding full rental regardless of their tenants’ cash flow struggles.

He also said the company had been considering to relocate elsewhere for better access to customers.

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‘Living from hand to mouth’

Joburg CBD informal traders have also been hit hard.

Lydia Livi, who sells cosmetic products alongside her husband on Bree Street said “it’s been tough”.

The mother of two said she used to make sufficient income to cover monthly household expenses, while meeting her children’s needs before the explosion, but couldn’t make enough money over the last month, and had to resort to loans as a result.

According to Livi, City of Joburg promised to provide alternative trading facilities for street traders, said but was still waiting for an update.

Echoing Moosa’s sentiments, Livi also said she hoped government would provide financial relief to assist struggling informal traders.

“We don’t have basic salaries, but live from hand to mouth,” she told The Citizen.

ALSO READ: Joburg CBD explosion explained: Methane gas identified as cause

Rotten fruit basket

Geoffrey Nemakonde, a fresh fruit informal trader, told The Citizen he’d been operating at a loss since the explosion due to fewer customers buying his goods, as a result of reduced foot traffic.

The informal trader said he’s had to get rid of plenty of spoiled stock in the last month, while barely making enough to re-stock.

Nemakonde said that he and other traders had previously made numerous requests to the City of Joburg for intervention, but were unsuccessful.

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Logistical nightmare

A minibus taxi driver who asked to remain anonymous told The Citizen that business had been “too slow”.

He said rerouting minibus taxis to another street had posed a logistical nightmare for both drivers and commuters, with taxi users struggling to locate transport to various destination.

Anonymous also said that taxis located in more accessible parts of the city on similar routes were a threat, as customers opted to use them instead, leaving other drivers with empty seats.

Expert weighs-in

Economist Dawie Roodt said while most businesses on Bree Street were unlikely to fully recover, the explosion may have left SA’s economy in jeopardy.

Roodt said the viral video of the Joburg explosion could potentially affect SA’s image in the global economy, by giving potential investors the impression that South Africa is in a state of “collapse” and an “unsafe” economic environment for investment. 

“From a macro-economic point of view, the viral video probably caused more damage to the SA economy due to loss of [investor] confidence,” he told The Citizen.

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘Moment’ Joburg CBD explosion hit

JMPD Statement

Meanwhile, Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s (JMPD) Spokesperson Xolani Fihla told The Citizen that business activity on Bree Street had returned to normal.

He said members of the public were no longer restricted from accessing Bree Street, and that foot traffic had returned to normal.

“It’s business as usual,” he said contrary to the popular sentiments of Bree Street business owners.

When it comes to vehicle traffic, Fihla said “active” measures were implemented.

The JMPD spokesperson said Joburg CBD traffic was rerouted to Helen Joseph, Prichard and Albertina Sisulu streets, meanwhile parts of Wanderers, Simmonds, Loveday and Harrison streets remained closed.

“We’ve tried to manage traffic,” he told The Citizen.

City of Joburg: Too early to set a timeline on repairs

The City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said “it’s too early” to tell when repairs would be completed.

He added the City is currently in the process of appointing a service provider to “undertake design work” before repairs can begin.

“A service provider will be appointed this week,” Modingoane told The Citizen.

READ MORE: Bree Street repairs: ‘It’s too early to tell’ says City of Joburg