Tasmi Quazi
Asiye eTafuleni’s (AeT) work in the realm of inclusive urban planning and design was featured in Spark Newsletter (March 2013, Issue 7, pages 15 and 16). AeT’s work appeared under the theme “Public Participation”, including an excerpt on its Markets of Warwick community tourism project which received a Mayoral Award of Excellence in tourism.
Spark is a newsletter for civil society and all municipalities including provincial and national departments and Members of Parliament. It was initiated in order to profile inspirational projects around the country which stimulate local action. Spark is published quarterly and distributed with the local government DELIVERY magazine in which AeT’s Imagine Durban Informal Recycling Project also featured.
In the Spark article titled “Including Informal Traders in Urban Planning”, Tholakele Nene writes:
“Informal workers are often excluded from policy processes and infrastructure plans. They have a limited say on the development of their working spaces and their needs are often not represented in the infrastructure and development plans developed by government.
Based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) is partnering with the eThekwini Municipality, the Warwick informal workers’ community and partners to involve workers in urban development and infrastructure plans. Literally, Asiye eTafuleni means ‘taking it to the table’, explains the organisation’s research officer, Tasmi Quazi. Figuratively, it means ‘let us negotiate’ and creates a space for local government and informal workers to discuss matters concerning urban development, share ideas and negotiate strategies that meet the needs of the workers while also benefiting the development planners…
… She (Quazi) points out that municipalities are at the forefront of dealing with the informal economy, often with little direction from the other spheres of government. This is why it is important to share lessons and experiences as widely as possible across the sector to ensure that the voices of informal workers are heard in debates about planning and redevelopment.”
To read the whole article which appears on page 15, click here.
